Title Page

Praise

Praise for V. L. McDermid

“One of my favorite authors, Val McDermid is an important writer—witty, never sentimental, taking us through mean streets with the dexterity of a Chandler.” Sara Paretsky

“If you haven’t discovered this award-winning trailblazer in lesbian detective fiction you’re missing out on a good one.”

Katherine V. Forrest

“There is no one in contemporary crime fiction who has managed to combine the visceral and the humane as well as Val McDermid . . . . She’s the best we’ve got.”

The New York Times Book Review

“Val McDermid is one of the bright lights of the mystery field.”

The Washington Post

“McDermid’s a skillful writer—comparisons with such American novelists as Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton are appropriate.”

Chicago Tribune

“Lindsay Gordon has got a heart of gold and a nose for trouble.”

Randye Lordon

“Lindsay Gordon is smart, tenacious, daring, lusty, loyal, and class-conscious to the bone.” Barbara Neely

Also by Val McDermid

Also by Val McDermid

The Grave Tattoo
Stranded
The Distant Echo
Killing the Shadows
A Place of Execution

Lindsay Gordon novels
Report for Murder
Common Murder
Deadline for Murder
Conferences are Murder
Booked for Murder
Hostage to Murder

Kate Brannigan novels
Star Struck
Blue Genes
Clean Break
Crack Down
Kick Back
Dead Beat

Tony Hill and Carol Jordon novels
The Mermaids Singing
The Wire in the Blood
The Last Temptation
The Torment of Others

Non-fiction
A Suitable Job for a Woman

NOTE TO READERS

NOTE TO READERS

For the best part of a decade, I was an active member of the National Union of Journalists, holding a variety of posts at local and national level. During that time, I was elected as one of Manchester’s representatives for several Annual Delegate Meetings. My experiences in the union provided me with the knowledge that underpins this book. But I should emphasize that neither the events nor the characters in Conferences are Murder are even remotely based in fact. The truth is that, just as thousands of delegates to union conferences have told their spouses, we spent our time in earnest debate, working tirelessly to improve the lot of our members. If we looked worn out by the time we returned home, it was simply because of the energy we had expended in passionate argument. Would I lie to you?

On a more serious note, I’d like to thank the many fellow trade unionists who became friends over those years for their help, conscious and unconscious, in the preparation of this book. These include Sue Jackson and Kerttu Kinsler, Diana Muir, Scarlett MccGwire, Gina Weissand, Malcolm Pain, Eugenie Verney, Nancy Jaeger, Pauline Norris, Sally Gilbert, Colin Bourne, Tim Gopsill and Dick Oliver. Most of all, I want to thank BB, who gave me inspiration when I needed it most.

Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely in the mind of the reader.

Dedication

For BB:
Good things come to she who waits

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

Mid-Atlantic, April 1993