Echoes of Justice (DI Matt Turrell Book 2) (27 page)

Chapter 93

It was Christmas Eve and the lights from the Christmas tree bestowed a shimmer on the room, softening the corners and giving it a snug, inviting feel. For the first time, Matt felt the charm of the tree. He drew Eppie onto his knee, enjoying the feel of her body as she relaxed against him. ‘Alone at last.’

‘Not for long. Mum should be back soon.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong.’

Eppie sat up straight and turned to look at him. ‘What are you up to, Matt? You’ve had that look all day.’

‘Your mother is at this moment enjoying a welcome drink…’

‘You found somewhere?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where?’

‘Heath End Spa.’

‘Oh.’

Eppie looked worried and, given the memories of the place, Matt thought it wasn’t surprising. He tried to reassure her. ‘Hey. Clive Draper is in custody. They don’t breed serial killers there.’

‘No. Of course not. It’s just… I can still see… Promise you’ll never take me there.’

‘I’ve got no intention.’

‘Was she pleased?’

‘Couldn’t get out of here fast enough.’

‘Did you tell her it was—’

‘No way. Anyway, I don’t intend to spend Christmas talking about your mother, Mrs Turrell.’ He pulled her close and indulged in a long kiss.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to my beta readers: Janet Williams, Maureen Hill, Barbara Speake, and my police advisors, Paul Taberner for Warwickshire and Kevin Robinson for overall police procedure.

I would like to thank Marina Zain, Head of Legal for The Royal Shakespeare Company and Jackie Handy of Stratford-upon-Avon College.

Also Rodney Bright at Wootten Wawen Marina who gave me a lot of help and information regarding narrowboats.

Thanks to Jann Tracey, my editor, for her eagle eye and Jane Dixon-Smith for her work on the cover. Also, for excellent advice given on my first draft, the Hilary Johnson Authors’ Advisory Service.

I’m extremely grateful for the help and advice of Rowena Ball of SilverWood Books in bringing this book to print.

Also by JJ Franklin

Urge to Kill

The first DI Matt Turrell investigation

Matt shivered at the odd mix of images. It was almost as if they had the copper’s nightmare to deal with – a child’s murder. Except this was no innocent child but a young woman; he would guess around twenty-two and with everything to live for. Though it was obvious she was a woman, the bows in her hair, her pink party dress and white ankle socks said she was a little girl.

Detective Inspector Matt Turrell returns from honeymoon to face the most bizarre and dangerous case of his career after the body of a woman is found at a luxury spa near Stratford-upon-Avon. However, struggling within the confines of his new marriage, and haunted by a past mistake, Matt finds it difficult to concentrate.

Killer Clive Draper is a clever, ambiguous character whose motives and personality are not beyond empathy. Empowered by his first kill, Clive uses his charm to draw further victims into his net. Seeing Matt as his mortal enemy, he uses his charisma to lure Matt’s new wife into his snare.

With the danger coming ever closer to home, Matt finds himself drawn into a deadly duel, where he must put his own life on the line and where the stakes have never been higher.

Urge to Kill
is the first in a series of novels featuring DI Matt Turrell of the Warwickshire Police. It is a rich psychological thriller with great character development of both the detective and the murderer. The reader quickly becomes engaged in the epic battle between these two men. The book is set within the historic district of Stratford-upon-Avon.

About the Author

JJ Franklin
comes from a mental health and counselling background. She wrote scripts for the
BBC
before penning her first novel,
Urge to Kill
, a psychological police thriller featuring DI Turrell, set in and around Stratford-upon-Avon, where she runs a crime-writing group. For more by the author visit her website
www.bmlittlewood.com

Copyright Notice

Published in 2016 by SilverWood Books

SilverWood Books Ltd

14 Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DE, United Kingdom

www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk

Copyright © JJ Franklin 2016

The right of JJ Franklin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Open House was a real event to celebrate the opening of the renovated main theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Royal Shakespeare Company has kindly given permission for the theatre setting and the Open House event to be used for the relevant scenes in the book, although the incidents portrayed in this novel are fictional. Gregory Doran, now Artistic Director of The RSC, was involved in The Open House and has graciously given his consent to be mentioned in this regard.

ISBN 978-1-78132-482-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-95719-353-6 (ebook)

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Set in Sabon by SilverWood Books

Printed on responsibly sourced paper