You're Next

by Michael Fowler

  ‘Here comes the candle, to light you to bed,’ Jason shrieked as he came ever closer.

  Scarlett knew what the next line was – and the glint of something shiny flashed at the end of his arm.

  A knife!

  Still struggling for breath, she made a last scrambled effort to push herself up. Her right hand nudged something and she closed her fingers around it. A pebble: one of the large pebbles she and her aunt had brought back from Brighton beach to decorate the garden. It was as big as her hand. She grabbed it.

  ‘And here comes a chopper to chop off your head.’ Jason laughed. He sounded maniacal.

  As he bent towards her, in one desperate effort Scarlett lunged, arcing her hand to where she thought Jason’s head would be. She felt the pebble strike home, and there was a sharp crack followed by a loud yell. The momentum flung her forward, onto him and they fell sideways together. She brought down the rock again and then everything faded to black.

  Seventy-four

  A gentle beeping noise drifted into her thoughts. A cold draught tickled the back of her throat. Then, the tightness in her chest gripped again and she began to panic. A bright light sparked inside her head the moment she flung open her eyes. Where was she?

  A hand wrapped around hers, giving it a squeeze and a voice said, ‘Hey, careful. You’re okay. You’re safe.’ As the flares subsided Alex’s concerned face came into view. He was unshaven and his dark hair a tousled mess. Still looks damn sexy though. As her vision widened she realised she was in hospital. The gentle beeping was her heart monitor and the cold draught came from the oxygen tubes up her nose.

  ‘What happened?’ A flicker of images entered her thoughts. ‘Jason Cabett.’

  Alex squeezed her hand tighter and leaned in. ‘You got him.’

  Her brain started piecing together what had happened. Slowly the visions began filing themselves in order. ‘I got him?’

  Alex nodded.

  ‘He was going to kill me.’

  ‘We know, but you got him.’

  She remembered grabbing the large pebble, targeting it at his head. ‘Did I hit him?’

  Alex gave a hearty laugh. ‘Hit him is an understatement.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You almost caved his skull in.’

  ‘What?’ Scarlett tried to push herself up, setting off a fit of coughing which brought back the pains to her chest.

  Alex gently pushed her back against the supporting pillows. ‘Careful, Scarlett. The smoke from the fire has damaged your lungs and throat. You’ve also got a badly sprained ankle. You shouldn’t be exerting yourself.’

  ‘Jason set my house on fire?’ It was a rhetorical question.

  Alex nodded.

  ‘Is there much damage?’

  ‘Nothing that the insurance can’t fix.’

  ‘What about Jason?’

  ‘He’s just down the corridor. He’s in a side ward. There’s a police guard on him, and your DCI, Diane Harris, is in there with him, but he’s not going anywhere for a long time.’

  ‘Did I hurt him much? You said I almost caved his skull in. Was that a joke?’

  ‘You gave him a hell of a whack Scarlett. You’ve fractured his skull in two places. He’s got a bleed to the brain. They’ve put him in an induced coma.’

  ‘Is he going to die?’

  Alex shrugged his shoulders. ‘I wouldn’t think so, but he’s going to have a hell of a sore head when he wakes up.’ He let out another laugh. ‘He got what he deserved. Your DCI told me they found a machete.’

  ‘How did they find me?’

  ‘A bit of luck apparently. One of your patrols came across his mother’s car in the next street to yours and then they saw the front of your house on fire. The officers climbed over your back fence and found you both unconscious.’

  ‘Jesus.’

  Alex shook his head and smiled.

  ‘You certainly lead a very exciting life, Scarlett Macey.’

  She started to laugh and set off the coughing again. Whacking her chest, she squirmed. ‘Ouch, that hurts.’

  Alex massaged her shoulder, ‘Look, you need to take it easy Scarlett.’

  ‘How long have I got to stay in here?’

  He threw her a ‘don’t know’ look, and said, ‘A couple of days?’

  ‘A couple of days!’

  ‘What’s a couple of days? I know one thing Scarlett Macey, when you do get out, you and I are going for that meal you promised. And it’s all on you for scaring me like this.’

  ‘Is that you actually saying you care?’

  He smiled. ‘I wouldn’t push it that far.’

  They burst into laughter together, causing a fresh bout of coughing.

  Oranges and Lemons

  Oranges and Lemons,

  Say the bells of St. Clement’s.

  You owe me five farthings,

  Say the bells of St Martin’s.

  When will you pay me?

  Say the bells of Old Bailey.

  When I grow rich,

  Say the bells of Shoreditch.

  When will that be?

  Say the bells of Stepney.

  I do not know,

  Say the great bells of Bow.

  Here comes the candle to light you to bed,

  And here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

  (Chip chop, chip chop, the last man’s dead).

  Oranges and Lemons was the name of a square-four-eight-dance published in 1665, but it is not clear if the dance relates to this rhyme. It is however popular as an old nursery rhyme, the words also used in a child’s singing game of the same name.

  Various theories have been put forward to account for the words in the rhyme, including: that it deals with child sacrifices; that it describes executions; that it describes Henry VIII’s marital difficulties.

  The earliest recorded version of the rhyme appeared in a song book in 1744.

  Today, the bells of St. Clement Danes ring out the tune of the rhyme.

  Acknowledgements

  The settings for some of this story came from a great weekend visit to Richmond-upon-Thames courtesy of my good friend Giles Brearley.

  I would like to thank Claire Knight for generously reading the original manuscript and critiquing its content. She has given me a great idea for the next Scarlett Macey book – thank you.

  I am so grateful to my editor Sandra Mangan for making a ‘silk purse out of a sow’s ear’.

  To my wife Liz, and to my granddaughter Scarlett, for reminding me that there is something else that is just as much fun as writing.

  To Darren Laws at Caffeine Nights Publishing, who works tirelessly to support and promote my work.

  And finally, thank you to all those readers who keep sending me kind messages and reviews and invite me to talk at their groups – I couldn’t be without you.

  About the Author

  Following retirement, after thirty-two years as a police officer, working mainly as a detective, Michael returned to the deadly business of murder, as a writer. His past work brought him very close to some nasty characters, including psychopaths, and gruesome cases, and he draws on that experience to craft his novels: There is nothing gentle about Michael’s stories.

  His landmark novel Heart of the Demon, published in 2012, introduced Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr. Michael has since written five novels and a novella featuring Kerr. He also released the first DS Scarlett Macey book in 2016. Michael is also the author of a standalone crime novella and a true crime thriller.

  Michael has another side to his life – a passion for art, and has found considerable success as an artist, receiving numerous artistic accolades. Currently, his oil paintings can be found in the galleries of Spencer Coleman Fine Arts.

  He is a member of the Crime Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.

  Find out more at www.mjfowler.co.uk

  Like Michael on Facebook

  Other Books by Michael Fowler

  THE DS HUNTER KERR TITL
ES

  HEART OF THE DEMON

  COLD DEATH

  SECRETS OF THE DEAD

  COMING, READY OR NOT

  SHADOW OF THE BEAST

  BLACK & BLUE (e-book novella)

  REAP WHAT YOU SOW (short story)

  THE SCARLETT MACEY SERIES

  SCREAM, YOU DIE

  OTHER NOVELS

  CHASING GHOSTS (short book)

  NON-FICTION

  SAFECRACKER (The true story of Britain’s most infamous safe blower)

  Thank you for reading You’re Next

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  Did you love You're Next? Then you should read Shadow of the Beast by Michael Fowler!

  A DS Hunter Kerr Novel

  ‘A new terror is sweeping Barnwell and Hunter faces a killer whose evil surpasses all others.’

  The discovery of a skeleton buried beneath the altar of an old chapel should not have raised an eyebrow, but this one was different. This one had been savagely murdered, and all the evidence points to the blood-thirsty killer the press have dubbed ‘The Beast of Barnwell’; a killer who has already served time for the brutal murder of a young girl and is now free.

  Is this his handiwork?

  In the midst of the enquiry, a 22 year old woman is abducted on her way home from work. Is there a link?

  To add to Hunter’s workload his former boss, Michael Robshaw, is deliberately mown down and left for dead.

  Why?

  In his search for the truth Hunter returns to his undercover roots - with deadly consequences.

  Read more at Michael Fowler’s site.

  Also by Michael Fowler

  Caffeine Nights Short Shots

  Reap What You Sow - From the Case Files of D.S. Hunter Kerr

  DS Hunter Kerr

  Heart of the Demon

  Secrets of the Dead

  Shadow of the Beast

  D.S. Scarlett Macey

  Scream, You Die

  You're Next (Coming Soon)

  Standalone

  Chasing Ghosts

  Watch for more at Michael Fowler’s site.