The Silence (Dc Goodhew 4) (37 page)

He glanced across to the pool table in time to see Gully slam the black into an end pocket. ‘Your round, Bryn.’

Bryn demanded a rematch. Goodhew’s grandmother demanded a game of doubles.

And so it went on for the rest of the evening. It was a good night.

Then he walked home alone, with the blur of streetlamps illuminating his way through the icy Cambridge fog. He knew every step of the way, so visibility could have been zero and Cambridge would still be there, clear and bright in his mind. It was other things, things he couldn’t quite see, that fed his insomnia, or visited his dreams once he managed to sleep.

Tonight, he knew, he’d stay awake.

My first thank-you is to Jacen, Natalie, Lana and Dean for all your encouragement, good company and music in the workplace.

There are many friends I’d also like to thank for small favours and great kindness at various times: Claire and Chris Tombs, Sue Gully and Gary Goodhew, Richard Reynolds, Christine Bartram, Jon and Gabrielle Breakfield, Kelly Kelday, George Wicker, Jane Martin, Rob and Elaine Watson, Elaine McBride, Liz Meads, Genevieve Pease, Charlotte Prince, Martin and Sam Jerram, Tim and Diane Slater, Alison Hilborne and Kimberly Jackson.

During the writing of
The Silence
I was lucky enough to be able to have some great support from the Royal Literary Fund and specialist knowledge from several generous and helpful people including Dr T. V. Liew, Dr William Holstein and Tony Ixer.

Thank you to the team at Constable, in particular Krystyna Green, Rob Nichols, Jamie-Lee Nardone and Jo Stansall. And my thanks also go to Joan Deitch, whose comments were greatly appreciated.

I’ve had great fun at events this year, with talks at libraries, reading groups and literary events, and the opportunity to meet so many readers in person has made it a very memorable one. Also, to the readers and other authors I’ve met during my first year on Twitter, @Alison_Bruce; it’s been a joy getting to know you all. One person deserves singling out for a special mention: @milorambles; Miles, thank you for all your support.

And finally a huge thank-you to my lovely agent Broo Doherty, whose kindness, common sense and words of wisdom I truly value.

When I write a book I find there are songs that can inspire me as I write a particular scene or chapter. By the time I finish I have a playlist that belongs to that book alone and some of those tracks will have been played several hundred times. These are the twelve songs I listened to most as I wrote this book, my soundtrack to
The Silence
.