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Back Broken Hearts Save as PDF
Chapters (79)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. PART ONEEdinburgh November 2008
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. PART TWOLondon November 1988
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. PART THREEEdinburgh November 2008
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Chapter Forty-Five
  53. Chapter Forty-Six
  54. Chapter Forty-Seven
  55. Chapter Forty-Eight
  56. Chapter Forty-Nine
  57. Chapter Fifty
  58. Chapter Fifty-One
  59. Chapter Fifty-Two
  60. Chapter Fifty-Three
  61. Chapter Fifty-Four
  62. Chapter Fifty-Five
  63. Chapter Fifty-Six
  64. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  66. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  67. Chapter Sixty
  68. Chapter Sixty-One
  69. Chapter Sixty-Two
  70. Chapter Sixty-Three
  71. Chapter Sixty-Four
  72. Chapter Sixty-Five
  73. Chapter Sixty-Six
  74. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  75. Epilogue
  76. Acknowledgements
  77. About the Author
  78. By the Same Author
  79. About the Publisher

Something was under my foot. I wriggled my toes around it and over it–it wasn’t hard like a stone. I used my big toe to dig it out so I could kick it out of the way. The obstacle had been trampled into the mud, and was larger than I had initially thought. Bending from the waist, I reached into the mire and tugged.

By the time I found myself shaking hands with a corpse, even Bancho could hear my screams.

From his position further up the field, Bancho had a clear view of my feet as they danced up and down out of the mud.

‘He’s dead, Brodie. Whoever he is, he’s dead. Has been for ages, by the looks of things–don’t suppose it matters to the poor sod now, but at least the pigs didn’t get him. Now, calm down…you’re destroying a crime scene,’ Bancho told me.

The police sergeant accompanying Bancho was older and more compassionate, his dark brown eyes peering out from a lined and baggy face. He took my arm. ‘Ssssh,’ he said. ‘Everything is going to be all right.’ I knew he was lying, but the tone of his voice was soothing. Duncan Bancho looked at the setting sun. ‘Let’s get back inside,’ he said. ‘The temperature’s dropping.’

The walk back across the field seemed to go faster. Maybe it was shock. I held on to the fact that Joe was alive and that I was still breathing–right now that was enough for me. The brush with death, and with whom I presumed was a dead farmer, had clarified my priorities. A taxi back to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and then a hot bath and a scrub-down with carbolic soap.

The door to the farmhouse was open when I got there. I could feel its warmth on my cheeks as the heat escaped out into the cold night air. Even though the downstairs looked like a spread from Homes & Gardens, it was a crime scene. The ID boys had arrived in their transit van, so we had to be careful. Gerry Cornwell had cadged a lift with them, and new deep lines of grief and fear were etched upon his face. We still hadn’t found Sam. His eyes, damaged by days of drunkenness and crying, half hidden behind his glasses, had sunk into his skull. He wasn’t a man who looked as though optimism was an option.