Collide-O-Scope (Norfolk Coast Investigation Stories Book 1)

by Andrea Bramhall

  She closed her eyes and cried. The nurse had claimed she’d be back in a minute with a painkiller and a sedative to help her sleep. That must have been twenty minutes ago, but she knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t be sleeping that night without either pill.

  The only reason she was glad she hadn’t returned yet was her need to see Sammy. And Kate. Kate said she’d bring her. She shifted on the thin mattress and one of the wounds pulled. Maybe more than one. They’ll scar. Like a patchwork quilt. No. More like Frankenstein’s fucking monster. No way will she want that date now. Who would?

  Gina swiped at the tears. Angry that something with so much promise was gone before it even started. “Bitch.”

  “Mum! That’s a swear,” Sammy said as she entered the room.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she said reaching out a hand to her, “I just moved and caught one of my little cuts.”

  “Did it hurt?”

  “Yes, little bit, that’s why I swore.” She wiggled her fingers at Sammy and tried not to look at Kate. “Now come here and give me a hug.”

  “Be careful though, kiddo. You don’t want to hurt your mum,” Kate said as she helped Sammy climb up on the high bed. “You okay?” she asked Gina.

  Gina closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Sammy. “I’m fine now. Thank you.” She didn’t care that Sammy was probably helping to pull off all the little white butterfly strips. This was what she needed to help her heal. She clung tight.

  “You scared me,” Sammy whispered.

  “I scared myself, sweetheart.” She squeezed and pulled back to look in Sammy’s eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t do it again.”

  “Promise?”

  “Pinky swear,” she said, holding up her little finger. Sammy threw herself back into her mother’s arms and sobbed against Gina’s neck.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” Kate said quietly.

  Gina nodded. So that was how she planned to do it. Just quietly walk away. No big, teary goodbye. No, we’ll-catch-up-soon. No, it’s-been-nice-but-blah-blah-blah, just “I’ll leave you to it.” She swiped at another tear.

  “Want me to bring you something back with me? Coffee? Tea? If I remember right, the coffee here sucks.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, is that not okay to say? Sorry. The coffee’s really bad, I was going to go to the cafeteria. There’s a Costa machine. It does hot chocolates for her royal highness there, and I thought coffee might—why are you looking at me like I’ve grown another head?” Kate glanced over her shoulder, and raised a hand to her hair. “Have I got something in my hair?”

  “No, it’s just,” Gina said, “I thought that, well, I just thought, erm, that you’d have stuff to do.” Genius. That’s going to be helpful.

  Kate shook her head. “Stella told me to come and be a relative tonight.”

  Gina frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “Well, when we found out you were with Ally, I was, erm, a bit…” Kate sighed. “I lost it. Bawled out my DI in front of everyone, disobeyed a direct order not to do anything till the specialist unit arrived, and then went and did, well, what I did. I was really worried about you.” She chuckled. “I think I might have given away the fact that I’m ever so slightly crazy about you.” She reached out and grasped Gina’s hand, smiling at Sammy as she turned to look at her too. “Yes, both of you.” She ran her hand through her hair. “So, she told me to take the night off and just be here for you, with you.” She shrugged. “I can go if you’d prefer.”

  “No,” Sammy said. “You can stay. Can’t she, Mum?”

  “Kate’s probably got lots of other things to do, Sammy. She doesn’t have to stay.”

  “But she’s got the night off. Her Stella said so.”

  “Yes, but Kate’s spent a lot of time with us lately, I’m sure she has lots—”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.” Kate turned to leave but stopped by the door. Sammy was sitting up on the bed, frowning, with her hands balled into fists on her hips. She looked just like a miniature Gina.

  “I want Kate to stay,” Sammy said, sulking. “Kate said she wants to stay—”

  “She didn’t actually say that, Sammy,” Gina said.

  “But I do,” Kate said. “Sorry, I don’t want to butt in, but if you’re sending me away because you think I don’t want to be here, you’re wrong. I do. Can’t think of anything I want more right now.”

  “See?” Sammy said pointing to the chair. “Sit down, Kate. Mummy’s grumpy.”

  Kate sniggered. “I see that. I’m not sure I understand why, though. I thought I’d made myself clear. More than just a long weekend, remember?”

  Gina nodded. “That was before.”

  “Before what?”

  Gina swiped at yet more tears. Angry and frustrated at herself. “Before Ally.”

  Kate frowned. “What about her?” Kate stuck her hand in her pocket and fished out some coins. “Sammy, do you know where the vending machine is in the hallway?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Cool. Go get some sweets or something would you? I need a few minutes to talk to your mum. See if I can make her a bit less grumpy.”

  Sammy took the coins and hopped off the bed. “Good luck,” she said, and pulled open the door.

  Kate sat on the edge of the bed where Sammy had been. “Gina, what did she do to you?” Kate’s voice was little more than a whisper as she took hold of her hand and brought it to her lips. “Please tell me. Whatever it was, it can’t be worse than I’ve been imagining.” She kissed her knuckles again. “What did she do to you?” Kate’s eyes were damp as she gazed at her. “Please?”

  “She…” Gina couldn’t bring herself to say it. She couldn’t think of the words to describe how Ally had marked her. She pushed the blankets away from her shivering body and showed her instead. She lifted the edge of the hospital gown enough to show Kate line after line of cuts across her abdomen, then she shuffled around until she was showing Kate her back. “She wanted to know where Matt was. When I told her I didn’t know, she decided it would be fun to play solitaire with my back as the board.”

  Soft finger tips swept across the back of her neck and her hair was pushed over her shoulder. Then she felt a touch so light she wasn’t sure of it until it was gone and a tiny wet spot was left behind. A kiss. A tiny kiss on the nape of her neck.

  “And you didn’t think I’d stick around.”

  “No one ever has.”

  “I’m not them, Gina.” Kate touched her cheek and pulled gently until she could look into her eyes. “You are beautiful. You’re stunning, and I can’t wait to get to know every single inch of your body. Warts and all. I have my own collection of scars that I’ve picked up over the years.” She pushed up the sleeve of her jumper and ran her finger over a crescent moon of jagged dots. “Dog bite. Does that stop you being attracted to me?”

  Gina shook her head.

  Kate pulled the collar away from her neck and pointed to a thin white line towards the back, almost over her left shoulder. “Bottle, from breaking up a bar fight when I was new to the job. Does that change anything for you?”

  Gina shook her head again.

  “Then why would this change anything for me?” Kate ran her hand over Gina’s shoulder.

  Gina said nothing. She knew that if she did she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from crying again.

  “If you want me to go, I’ll go,” Kate said again. “But if you want me to go because you don’t think I want to stay, you’re very much mistaken, Gina.” She placed a tender kiss on Gina’s shoulder. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Please hold me,” Gina whispered.

  Kate leaned down and gently tugged Gina into her embrace. “With pleasure.”

  Epilogue

  Kate smoothed a hand down her black blouse and tucked the back into her jeans again. She checked her hair in the reflection of the car’s window, then quickly bared her teeth, looking for anything amiss.
Good to go. The gravel of Gina’s driveway crunched under her feet, and the wood of Gina’s door made such a loud bang under her knuckles, she felt the need to stare at her hand. Chill, it’s just a date. Just a little dinner.

  Gina opened the door in a knee-length, halter-neck, black dress, and all thoughts of playing it cool ran away screaming. Her hair was piled up on top of her head, leaving her creamy white shoulders with the barest hint of freckles showing.

  “You look amazing,” Kate said.

  “Not too overdressed?”

  Kate shook her head.

  “Because I can go and change. You’re in jeans.” She fidgeted with her bag. “I’ll just be a minute. Wait there.”

  Kate grasped her hand. “Don’t change. Please. You look incredible.” She lifted Gina’s hand to her lips and she heard Gina gasp. The scent of coconut, oranges, and jasmine lingered on Gina’s skin. “Are you all set? Stella and Sammy all set up?”

  Gina nodded and closed the door behind her. “They’ve got pizza and a night of action movies planned. Thanks for talking her into babysitting.”

  “No talking required.” Well, only a tiny bit, but it was well worth it.

  “You didn’t tell me where we’re going.”

  “No?”

  “You know you didn’t.”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  Kate had booked a table for them at The Neptune, along the coast road at Old Hunstanton. A Michelin-starred restaurant specialising in fresh local produce, they seated only a very small number of tables in a beautifully intimate and romantic setting. The food was delicious, the company more so, and Kate was very sorry when it was time to leave.

  She held Gina’s hand as they walked to her door. Gina slid her key into the lock and smiled. “Coffee?”

  Kate shook her head. “Not this time.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “Not at all.” Kate stepped in close. “It’s been perfect.” She leaned in farther until her lips were less than an inch from Gina’s. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the moment I met you.”

  Gina’s breath caught. “Then stop waiting.” Her voice was breathy, but low. Her hands slipped around Kate’s waist and she moulded herself to Kate’s body.

  Kate didn’t want to rush. There would only ever be one first kiss, no matter how many others there would be. And she planned on many, many thousands, if not more. But this was the only first kiss they would get, and Kate wanted it to be the last first kiss she ever gave. She hoped Gina knew how important it felt to her. She hoped she was appreciating and savouring it just as much. She closed the remaining space between them as slowly as she could. Moving a fraction of a millimetre at a time until she felt Gina’s lips give beneath her own.

  Kate wrapped her fingers in Gina’s hair and held her, cradling the back of her head as she worshipped Gina’s mouth. Her tongue flicked against moist, yielding lips, delved into her mouth, and explored every inch of her. She pressed her back against the wall beside the door, and steadied them both. Gina twisted one leg around Kate’s, hooking her calf behind Kate’s knee. Kate traced her fingers down Gina’s jaw from her earlobe to the tip of her chin, then slid them down her throat and along the shoulder she had admired earlier.

  Gina’s hands clutched at Kate’s sides, ran up her back, and cleaved their bodies together until there was no space between them at all. Kate couldn’t get enough. She wanted it all now, but she wanted to savour the anticipation. She wanted to taste her, breathe her in, and feel everything all at once. But there would be time for that. She slowly began to gentle the kiss and they eased apart enough to breathe. Smiling against Gina’s lips when she moaned a growl of frustration.

  “Don’t go,” Gina whispered and pulled her head forward for another kiss. This one was more passionate, more hungry, more demanding. The needs of their bodies shouting loud and clear. Gina’s hands slid down her back, grasped her arse, and squeezed. “Oh, God, that feels good,” Gina mumbled. Then she closed her lips around Kate’s tongue and sucked.

  Kate ran her hand down Gina’s side, across her backside, and tugged her thigh higher up her own leg.

  “Ahem.” Stella stood in the doorway looking out at them. A grin on her face.

  Kate and Gina turned their heads to look at her.

  “You’re phone’s going off.” Stella pointed to the phone clipped to Kate’s belt.

  “And?” Kate asked, one hand still holding Gina’s leg, the other at her throat. Their cheeks touched, Gina’s hands squeezed her arse, and they were both breathing heavy.

  “It’s Timmons. We’ve got another one.”

  Until Next Time...

  ###

  About Andrea Bramhall

  Andrea Bramhall wrote her first novel at the age of six and three-quarters. It was seven pages long and held together with a pink ribbon. Her Gran still has it in the attic. Since then she has progressed a little bit and now has a number of published works held together with glue, not ribbons, an Alice B. Lavender certificate, and a Lambda Literary award cluttering up her book shelves.

  She studied music and all things arty at Manchester Metropolitan University, graduating in 2002 with a BA in contemporary arts. She is certain it will prove useful someday…maybe.

  When she isn’t busy running a campsite and hostel on the North Norfolk Coast, Bramhall can be found hunched over her laptop scribbling down the stories that won’t let her sleep. She can also be found reading, walking the dogs up mountains while taking a few thousand photos, scuba diving while taking a few thousand photos, swimming, kayaking, playing the saxophone, or cycling.

  CONNECT WITH ANDREA:

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/AndreaBramhall

  Other Books from Ylva Publishing

  www.ylva-publishing.com

  Driving Me Mad

  L.T. Smith

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-287-7 (mobi), 978-3-95533-288-4 (pdf)

  Length: 107,000 words (348 pages)

  For Rebecca Gibson, her journey to a work convention will be one she’ll never forget. After driving around for four hours, Rebecca stops to ask for directions at an isolated house on the outskirts of Kirk Langley, Derbyshire.

  Her initial meeting with the house’s attractive owner, Annabel Howell, seems strange and unsettling, but at her hostess’s insistence, Rebecca spends the night.

  Plagued by nightmares, Rebecca senses that her dream world has blended with what she believes is reality. When she leaves the next day, her life has changed.

  Can Rebecca solve a mystery that has been haunting a family for over sixty years? Will she find love along the way?

  Or will the events drive her mad?

  Blurred Lines

  KD Williamson

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-494-9 (mobi), 978-3-95533-495-6 (epub)

  Length: 92,000 words (283 pages)

  Kelli MacCabe is a no nonsense detective with a tough exterior. Only a select few know her as a loyal, loving friend. Committed to her family, her friends, and her job, Kelli puts her needs behind everyone else’s.

  As a surgeon, Nora Whitmore is used to being in control. The hospital is her life and leaves room for little else. Respected by her colleagues, but misunderstood by the residents, Nora takes what she needs and keeps everyone at arm’s length. In the process, she creates unexpected enemies.

  Tragedy brings them together. As chaos grows around them, the lines between them begin to blur. Despite being from different worlds, friendship grows between them, turning quickly to attraction. Will these two strong, independent women find a way to deal with their individual baggage? Or will they be overcome by it?

  The Red Files

  Lee Winter

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-331-7 (mobi), 978-3-95533-332-4 (epub)

  Length: 103,000 words (365 pages)

  Ambitious Daily Sentinel journalist Lauren King is chaffing on LA’s vapid social circuit, reporting on glamorous A-list parties while sparring with her rival—the formidable, icy Catherine Ayers. Ayers is an ex-Washington politic
al correspondent who suffered a humiliating fall from grace, and her acerbic, vicious tongue keeps everyone at bay. Everyone, that is, except knockabout Iowa girl King, who is undaunted, unimpressed and gives as good as she gets.

  One night a curious story unfolds before their eyes: One political launch, 34 prostitutes and a palette of missing pink champagne.

  Can the warring pair work together to unravel an incredible story? This is a lesbian fiction with more than a few mysterious twists.

  Conflict of Interest

  (2nd revised edition)

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-110-8 (mobi), 978-3-95533-111-5 (epub)

  Length: 135,000 words (466 pages)

  Workaholic Detective Aiden Carlisle isn’t looking for love—and certainly not at the law enforcement seminar she reluctantly agreed to attend. But the first lecturer is not at all what she expected.

  Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life. After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels a connection to Aiden from the very first moment.

  Can Aiden keep from crossing the line when a brutal crime threatens to keep them apart before they've even gotten together?

  Coming from Ylva Publishing

  www.ylva-publishing.com

  Welcome to the Wallops

  Gill McKnight

  The villages of High Wallop and Lesser Wallop have graced either end of the Wallop valley since medieval times. And competition between the two has never ceased since, especially over the famous Cheese and Beer festival.

  As head Judge of Show, Jane Swallow has always struggled to keep peace, friendship, and equanimity within the community she loves, but this year everything is wrong. Her father has just been released from prison and is on his way to Lesser Wallop with the rest of her travelling family and their caravans.