Fry waited anxiously on his words, conscious of an overwhelming need for someone to make a decision. One way or another, the decision that she had to take in the next few weeks would change her life, and she needed some guidance. Any kind of direction would be welcome right now. A sign, a portent, a few words of advice.

‘Actually, Peter Massey had a thought about decisions,’ said Cooper.

‘Oh?’

‘Do you want to hear it, Diane?’

‘Go ahead. Tell me.’

Cooper glanced at her curiously, before turning over a page of Massey’s statement and read from the last paragraph:

A finger on the button, or a bundle of cloth on the doorstep. An outbreak of the plague, or the radioactive cloud of a nuclear holocaust. It only needs a second. It only takes one person’s decision. And who knows what pestilence might be released into the world?

About the Author

STEPHEN BOOTH is the internationally bestselling author of thirteen Cooper & Fry novels and the recipient of numerous awards. He lives in Nottinghamshire, England.

Also by Stephen Booth

FICTION

Black Dog

Dancing with the Virgins

Blind to the Bones

Blood on the Tongue

One Last Breath

The Dead Place

Scared to Live

Dying to Sin

Lost River

The Devil’s Edge

Dead and Buried

Already Dead

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