SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense (25 page)
Read SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense Online
Authors: JOY ELLIS
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CRIME ON THE FENS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
https://www.amazon.com/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER
Detective Inspector Nikki Galena
Nikki is a brave, honest and dedicated police officer who started at the bottom and clawed her way up through the ranks. Although once a loner, hardened by personal tragedy and some of the terrible cases that she has dealt with, the formation of a new, close-knit team has given her drive and enthusiasm.
She is based in the Lincolnshire Fens and her ‘patch’ includes miles of agricultural farmland, massive stretches of dangerous marshes and Greenborough, a big market town with as many criminals as some urban areas. Nikki is divorced, with one daughter.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter
Joseph had a middle-class upbringing, good education, went to university then left to join the military. He keeps this fact a secret from his colleagues as he became bitterly disillusioned after an operation went wrong and innocent people died.
He has a quiet way and a calm, reasonable attitude, and he is completely unaware that he a very attractive man. After a dramatic first case with Nikki Galena, he is asked to join her team permanently, and he looks forward to a new life in Greenborough. He is divorced with one daughter Tamsin, a girl who hated the thought of her father being a soldier and killing people, and who lives with her mother in the States. Joseph is desperate to win back her affections and hopes that one day she will see just how much he has changed.
DC Caitlin ‘Cat’ Cullen
Age 27, Cat is tough and shrewd and the most streetwise copper on the team. Since joining Nikki’s team she had redeemed a failing career and is becoming an excellent detective. Cat is a chameleon and works brilliantly undercover. Nikki recognises her skills and knows that she can trust her. One of Cat’s strengths is that once she gets her teeth into a problem she never gives up. Another is her keen interest in technology. She is fiercely loyal to her team and works closely with her older working partner, Dave.
DC Dave Harris
Dave is good old cop and a proud man who chose to hide serious family problems in order to cope alone. Nikki found out about his background, and does her best to help and protect him. He repays her by committing wholeheartedly to her team and brings with him a wealth of local knowledge and old-style intuitive policing.
Superintendent Rick Bainbridge.
Rick is an officer who has earned his reputation of being fair, and is generally respected by both lower and higher ranks. He likes Nikki and is the only man at the station who knows about some of her darker secrets. He has been out on a limb for her many times and his trust in her has always paid dividends. Now Rick is approaching retirement, but he is not having an easy ride.
Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E:
Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro:
Violent behaviour, aggression
A Level:
exams taken between 16 and 18
Barm:
bread roll
Barney:
argument
Beaker:
glass or cup for holding liquids
Benefits:
social security
Bent:
corrupt
Bin:
wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Bloke:
guy
Blow:
cocaine
Bob:
money
Burger bar:
hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let:
Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop:
thrift store
Carrier bag:
plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home:
an institution where old people are cared for
Car park:
parking lot
Chat-up:
flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist:
pharmacy
Chinwag:
conversation
CID:
Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street:
civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock:
punch
Cock up:
mess up, make a mistake
Common:
an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.):
High school
Cop hold of:
grab
Copper:
police officer
Coverall:
coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS:
Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder:
someone who looks after children for money
Council
: local government
Deck:
one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck:
hit (verb)
Desperate Dan:
very strong comic book character
DI:
detective inspector
Do a runner:
disappear
Do one:
go away
Doc Martens:
Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
DS:
detective sergeant
ED:
accident and emergency department of hospital
Early dart:
to leave work early
Eggy soldiers:
strips of toast with a boiled egg
Estate:
/files/09/96/12/f099612/public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent:
realtor (US)
Fag:
cigarette
FMO
: Force medical officer
Geordie:
from Newcastle
Garden Centre:
a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
GP:
general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft:
hard work
Hancock:
Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut:
tough person
HOLMES:
UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home:
care home for elderly or sick people
Inne:
isn’t he
Into care:
a child taken away from their family by the social services
Lad:
young man
Lass:
young woman
Lift:
elevator
Lord Lucan:
famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry:
a truck
MOD:
ministry of defence
Mobile phone:
cell phone
MP:
Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
Naff:
lame, not good
National Service:
compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s
Net curtains:
a type of semi-transparent curtain
NHS:
National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick:
police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt:
nothing
Nutter:
insane person
Nursery:
a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
Old Bill:
police
Owt:
anything
Pants:
noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible
Para:
paratrooper
Pay-as-you-go:
a cell phone you pay for calls in advance
PC:
police constable
Petrol
: gasoline
Piss off:
as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.
Pissing down:
raining
Playing field:
sports field
Pleb:
ordinary person (often insulting)
Portakabin:
portable building used as temporary office etc.
Post:
mail
Planning Department
: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property
Prat
: silly idiot
Premier League:
top English soccer division
Public Analyst:
scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes
Rag
: newspaper
Ram-raiding:
robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window
Randy:
horny
Right state:
messy
Ring:
telephone (verb)
Roadworks:
repairs done to roads
RTC:
road traffic collision
Rugger:
rugby (posh American football)
Sarge:
sergeant
Scrote:
low life
Semi:
Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only
Shedload:
a large amount
Shout the odds:
talk in a loud bossy way
Sixth-form college:
school for high school students in final two years.
SIO:
senior investigating officer
Skip:
a large open container used for building waste
Slapper:
slag
SOCO:
scene-of-crime officer
Sod:
an annoying person
Sort:
to do or make
Solicitor:
lawyer
Spook:
spy
Squaddie:
a soldier of low rank
Stunner:
beautiful woman
Super:
superintendent (police rank)
Sweeting:
endearment, like sweetheart
Tabloid:
newspaper
Tea:
Dinner (Northern English)
Till:
cash register
Tipsy
: a bit drunk
Top himself:
commit suicide
Torch:
flashlight
Tutor:
university teacher
Tower block:
tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)
Upmarket:
affluent or fancy
Wacky baccy
: cannabis
Wally:
silly person
War Cry:
Salvation Army magazine
Wash:
the washing machine
Water board:
company supplying water to an area
White van man:
typical working-class man who drives a small truck
Widow’s weeds:
black clothes worn by a widow in mourning
Wilco:
will comply i.e. yes
Yellowbelly:
native of Lincolnshire
Yob:
a rude or aggressive youth or person
