BooksBarbecue
Back Perfect Crime
Chapters (55)
  1. PERFECT CRIME
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Acknowledgments
  47. Can’t get enough of the Perfect series?
  48. Chapter 1
  49. Loved Perfect Silence? Then why not get back to where it all started with book one of the D.I. Callanach series?
  50. Welcome to Edinburgh.Murder capital of Europe.
  51. The worst dangers are the ones we can’t see …
  52. When silence falls, who will hear their cries?
  53. About the Author
  54. By the same author:
  55. About the Publisher

Lance woke, blinking wildly and shaking this head. A couple of strips of gaffer tape took care of any noise he was about to start making. Clumsy but necessary. From his bag, The Crow took the last item he needed. The length of bungee rope was professional grade – the sort used for thrill-seeking idiots to jump from bridges over rivers and pretend they could fly. Flight was reserved for the truly evolved. Such gifts could only be earned, not bought.

He measured the correct length of bungee cord and tied a hangman’s noose at each end before casting a brief glance out of the window. No lights. Few vehicles. Crucially, no sirens. Vicki’s friend, RJ, would be in custody by now. Ava Turner would be busy trying to trip him up in interview. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the irony of it all.

‘One for you,’ he said as he slipped the first noose over Lance’s head, ignoring the wild dance of his eyes as he began to struggle. ‘If you do that, you’re only going to kill poor Janet even faster. Best to lie still,’ he cautioned. ‘And one for you.’ He put the second noose over Janet’s head with an iron effort.

The bungee cord took all his strength to pull between their two necks, constricting as he let it go, pitting one against the other as the weight of their bodies strained against the rope on their legs. The industrial-grade elastic pulled their necks together and tightened both nooses at the same time. Janet’s eyes flashed open, nostrils flaring as she tried – and failed – to draw a full breath. Both their hands went above their heads immediately, grabbing at the bungee cord and trying to pull it down to slacken the noose around their own neck.

‘Now you want to live,’ The Crow preached. ‘Which of you is willing to kill the other to survive? Pull hard enough and your noose will slacken, but you’ll speed up the other’s death. Breathe slowly is my advice, try not to struggle. Thrashing your legs won’t help.’

He looked at his watch. He’d already been longer than he’d intended. If the police were on their way, and he didn’t think they really were, but if so, then now was the time to get out.