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Back Graveyard to Hell Save as PDF
Chapters (69)
  1. Cover
  2. Epigraph
  3. INTRODUCTION
  4. BOOK ONE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. BOOK TWO
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. 6
  36. 7
  37. 8
  38. 9
  39. 10
  40. 11
  41. 12
  42. 13
  43. 14
  44. BOOK THREE
  45. PROLOGUE
  46. 1
  47. 2
  48. 3
  49. 4
  50. 5
  51. 6
  52. 7
  53. 8
  54. 9
  55. 10
  56. 11
  57. 12
  58. 13
  59. 14
  60. 15
  61. 16
  62. 17
  63. 18
  64. 19
  65. 20
  66. 21
  67. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  68. Also by Jack Higgins
  69. About the Publisher

Need to sit promotion exam waived by Watch Committee and put forward for place at Bramshill, 2/12/63 (See File Dale-Emmett Ltd., 3/10/63)

Completed Special Course Bramshill with Distinction and promoted sub-stantive Detective Sergeant, Central Division, effective 1/1/65

COMMENDATIONS: 1/8/60 See File 2/B/321/Jones R.

5/3/61 See File 2/C/143/Rogers R. T.

4/10/61 See File 8/D/129/Messrs. Longley Ltd.

5/6/62 See File 9/E/725/Ali Hamid

21/12/62 See File 11/D/832/National Bank Ltd.

3/10/63 See File 13/C/172/Dale-Emmett Ltd.

CONFIDENTIAL ASSESSMENT: A highly intelligent officer with a genuine capacity for police work who possesses potential leadership qualities of a high order. Greatest fault, a tendency to work on his own. Tends to unorthodoxy in methods. It should be noted that this officer is a judo brown belt and an exponent of the art of karate, a Japanese mode of self-defence by which it is possible to kill an opponent with the bare hands. The undesirability of using such methods in the execution of his duty has been pointed out to this officer.

BOOK ONE

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT

As always – for Amy

1

Fog drifted up from the Thames, pushed by an early morning wind, yellow and menacing, wrapping the city in its yellow shroud, and when the duty officer at Wandsworth opened the judas gate and motioned the half dozen waiting men through, they stepped into an alien world.

Ben Garvald was last in line, a big, dangerous-looking man, massive shoulders swelling under the cheap raincoat. He hesitated, pulling up his collar, and the duty officer gave him a quick push.

‘Don’t want to leave us, eh?’

Garvald turned and looked at him calmly.

‘What do you think, you pig?’

The officer took an involuntary step back and flushed. ‘I think you always did have too much bloody lip, Garvald. Now get moving.’

Garvald stepped outside and the gate clicked into place with a finality that was strangely comforting. He started to walk down towards the main road, passing a line of parked cars and the man behind the wheel of the old blue van on the end turned to his companion and nodded.

Garvald paused on the corner, watching the early morning traffic move in a slow line through the fog, judged his moment and crossed quickly to the small café on the other side.

Two of the others were there before him, standing at the counter while a washed-out blonde with sleep in her eyes stood at the urn and made fresh tea in a metal pot.

Garvald sat on a stool and waited, looking out through the window. After a while, the blue van cut across the line of traffic through the fog and pulled in at the kerb. Two men got out and entered the café. One of them was small and badly in need of a shave. The other was at least six feet tall with a hard, rawboned face and big hands.