Title Page

Dedication

For Ishbel

Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Without Whom

Saturday

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Sunday

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Monday

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Tuesday

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Wednesday

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Thursday

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Read on for an exclusive short story by Stuart MacBride

By Stuart MacBride

About the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Without Whom

Without Whom

Books like this would be a nightmare to write without access to a bunch of very clever people who don’t mind me picking their brains and asking stupid questions. As usual, anything I’ve got right is down to them and anything I’ve got wrong is down to me.

So a big thank you is due to all of my forensic experts: Ishbel Gall, Dr Lorna Dawson, Prof. Dave Barclay, Dr James Grieve, and Prof. Sue Black.

More go to Dave Reilly, and Jon Lloyd for hints and tips and tricks of the trade.

Then there’s the excellently historical Chris Croly, and Fiona Musk. (If you’re in Aberdeen – go see the archives. They’re great, and they’re free!)

As always HarperCollins deserves a big shout out, especially those ninjas of publishy goodness Sarah Hodgson, Kate Elton, Jane Johnson, Julia Wisdom, Laura Mell, Oliver Malcolm, Laura Fletcher, Roger Cazalet, Lucy Upton, Damon Greeney, Catherine Friis, Emad Akhtar, Kate Stephenson, Anne O’Brien, Marie Goldie, and the DC Bishopbriggs Wild Brigade.

The same’s true of Phil Patterson, Isabella Floris, Luke Speed, and everyone at Marjacq Scripts.

A number of people have helped raise a lot of money for charity by bidding to have a character named after them in this book: Peter and Emma Sim, April Logan, and Ian Falconer. Thanks, guys.

And saving the best for last – as always – Fiona and Grendel.

Like it or not, you’re still alive.

Saturday

Saturday

Chapter 1

1

She holds up the book of matches. Licks her lips. She’s practised the words a dozen times till they’re perfect. ‘Do you have anything to say before I carry out sentence? ’

The man kneeling on the floor of the warehouse stares up at her. He’s trembling, moaning behind the mask hiding his face. ‘Oh God, oh Jesus, oh God, oh Jesus. . .’ The chains around his wrists and ankles rattle against the metal stake. A waft of accelerant curls through the air from the tyre wedged over his head and shoulders. Black rubber and paraffin.

‘Too late for that.’ She smiles. ‘Thomas Leis, you—’

‘Please, you don’t have to do this!’

The smile slips. He’s spoiling it. ‘Thomas Leis, you have been found guilty of witchcraft—’

‘I’m not a witch, it’s a mistake!’

‘—condemned to burn at the stake until you be dead.’

‘I didn’t do anything!’