Chapters (67)
- Cover
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
He had only been in Lafferton a month, over from the Met and to their station’s gain, as Fern intended to tell Serrailler, if she ever got the chance to tell him anything. As well as being an all-round nice guy, Denzil was sharp and ambitious, but never banged on about his old force, as ex-Met bods were prone to do. He had stirred up the Lafferon CID, which was under-manned, even before the flu epidemic, they felt stale, they were sick of winter, and they were getting on one another’s nerves.
‘Cup of tea?’
‘Sure. How’s Pearl?’
‘Still really sick. I’m a bit bothered to be honest and the midwife said if it went on much longer she’d have to go into hospital, but what can they do there that they can’t do at home? She’s safer at home.’
‘Not necessarily. They’ll put her on a drip to keep her hydrated and give her some nourishment that way too – she needs it and the baby needs it, Denzil. Hospital’s the best place for her.’
‘I hate those places. You go in with one thing and catch something else while you’re there. Happened to my grandad, only he never came out at all.’
‘Well, that’s not going to happen to Pearl, she’d only be in a couple of days, get her right. This doughnut is disgusting. What do they make them out of?’
Denzil reached over and took it.
‘You still like it here?’
‘I love it.’
‘We love you too.’
‘Thanks. It’s a quieter life as well.’
‘You don’t miss the London buzz?’
‘Nope. And I reckon I can go further here – too many climbing on top of each other to get promotion in the Met.’
He wiped sugar off his fingers and finished his tea.
‘This OD case . . .’
‘We never used to get them here. Bevham did but Bevham’s different. Now we’re seeing them on our patch all the time.’
‘They’ll never get an ID on him. His mother wouldn’t recognise him.’
‘You’re wrong there. This isn’t the Smoke. If he’s local, someone will fetch up here to tell us and he’ll be recognisable to his family, even in that state.’
‘I haven’t been up to that village where he was found – Starly. I might go and have a sniff around.’
‘Off you go, and if you think you smell weed as well as joss sticks, you do.’
‘Just weed?’
‘Yeah – it’s all gentle hippydom and free spirits fifty years on, Denzil. Our boy won’t have got his fixes in Starly, even though he was found there. But you’ll see the place for yourself. Actually, I’ve got a soft spot for it . . . I like a bit of chilling out every now and again.’