by DH Smith
And off she drove, out of his life.
Her flat was rented a month in advance, giving him time to take bits and pieces. Though he hated going there. Quickly in and out.
They found her car at an airport car park a few days later. Had questioned him several times, but what could he say? ‘I don’t know where she is. And she is not going to contact me. Ever.’
He spotted Joanna in the garden. And put down his coffee.
‘There’s Joanna. I’ve got to catch her.’
‘Come back for some lunch,’ said Donna.
‘Sure, Donna.’
And he was out the back door. Joanna was gazing at where the summerhouse had been. Now a rectangular hollow, about two feet below garden level.
‘Changed your mind?’ he said.
‘Could be a pond,’ she contemplated. ‘That would be restful, go out and work and watch the dragonflies and fish. Could have a little gazebo.’
‘I’m done here,’ said Jack. ‘Last skip has gone. I’ve left my invoice with Nora.’
‘Oh, she’s useless, Jack. I’m going to have to sack her. Carol was the best I ever had. Any idea where she is?’
‘All we know is she flew away.’
‘She speaks three languages, according to her CV,’ said Joanna. ‘French, Spanish and Japanese. That gives her a lot of continents.’
He’d spent two weeks grieving. It was like a death in the family. Thinking too much of her. At the top of the hill, her glee at seeing Jupiter though his telescope… If she were to evade capture, she’d need to create a new identity and make no contact with anyone she’d ever known. As if she had died. He’d spent several nights wishing Donna had never gone into that room. And then Carol might… Or he might have been arrested himself.
It was useless playing with maybe-worlds.
‘I’m back with the bloody fairies,’ declared Joanna. ‘Nora is a waste of space. And I’m setting up my new housing office…’ She stopped. ‘You wouldn’t like to be on the interview panel with me? I need someone who knows something about building work. And you know the problems. So how about it?’
‘Paid?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll do it. Give me a bell when it’s set up.’
‘I’ll fix up an appointment one evening when all the applications are in. We can go through them together. And…’
You never knew with Joanna’s ‘Ands’. And his own. Like the worlds of mights and maybes. Where would he be if Carol were still here? Lovers, partners, contemplating marriage…
Reality. Get back. She was a high flyer, way out of his league. Gone. He hoped she’d find somewhere. Someone.
What jobs were coming up? Who might he yet meet? Carol was dead. He wasn’t.
He looked at the hole in the ground. And thought of all those windows that had gone in, and come out again. Useless for anyone. Made to measure. Though he’d sold the sink, shower and toiletware. Up it went, down it came. And all skipped out. Leaving a hole.
‘I look forward to watching the dragonflies on your pond,’ he said.
‘A pond it is then.’ She turned away. ‘Where the fuck is Nora?’
Thank you!
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Books by DH Smith
DH Smith is the name I use for my Jack of All Trades series. The books are all standalone novels and can be read in any order.
Out Now:
Jack of All Trades
Jack of Spades
Jack o’Lantern
Coming Soon:
Jack by the Hedge
Jack in the Box
Jack on the Tower
Books by Derek Smith
All my books, other than the Jack of All Trades series, are written under the name Derek Smith.
Mystery/Crime
Murder at Any Price
Fantasy
Hell’s Chimney
The Prince’s Shadow
Elektra
Other
Strikers of Hanbury Street (short stories)
Catching Up (poetry)
Young Adult Novels
Hard Cash
Half a Bike
Fast Food
Frances Fairweather Demon Striker!
Children’s Novels
The Good Wolf
Feather Brains
Baker’s Boy
For Younger Children
The Magical World of Lucy-Anne
Lucy-Anne’s Changing Ways
Jack’s Bus
About the Author
I live in Forest Gate in the East End of London. In my working life, I have been a plastics chemist, a gardener and a stage manager before becoming a professional writer. I began with plays, working with several theatre companies, and had a few plays on radio and TV, as well as on the stage. In the early 80s I became involved in running a co-operative bookshop and vegetarian café in Stratford, learning to cook, and having my first go at writing a novel. The first was a mess, and, after too many rewrites, binned. The transition from drama to novels took me a couple of years to get to grips with. My first success was a young adult novel, Hard Cash, published by Faber. Buoyed up by this, I stuck with children’s work, did school visits, and made a hand to mouth living as a full time author, topped up with some evening class work in creative writing at City University and the Mary Ward Centre in Holborn. A few adult fiction titles appeared from time to time, between the children’s list, and I have since been working more in that direction with my Jack of All Trades series.
My full name is Derek Howard Smith. I write as DH Smith for my Jack of All Trades series; all other books appear under Derek Smith. Earlham Books is my own imprint.
www.dereksmithwriter.com
Contact [email protected] for a quote
Table of Contents
Contents
Part One: The Cast & Setting
Part Two: The Murder
Part Three: The Arrest
Part Four: Confronting The Killer
