by Faith Martin
Marcus Donleavy slowly scratched his eyebrow.
Sometimes she just loved this job.
* * *
The Boat was crowded. The Thrupp village pub wasn’t usually this hot on a weekday, but tonight it was filled with celebrating coppers.
Mel and Janine were in one corner, drinking Camparis and looking tense. Hillary, slightly the worse for vodka, wondered what plans they were hatching.
Frank Ross, playing darts with a local, was trying to look as if he wasn’t churning with impotent rage.
Even Superintendent Donleavy had put in a brief appearance, and made a little congratulatory speech, which had been wildly cheered by Tommy, Janine and the rest of the office regulars. It mightn’t have been, strictly speaking, their case, but they’d followed it and were pleased for her.
Finally seeing the back of the Yorkie Bars only added to the general air of hilarity and triumph.
Hillary, another vodka in hand, wandered rather haphazardly over to Tommy’s table, accepting back-pats and jokes as she went. She guessed the older black woman was his mother, and the pretty girl beside him his jewellery-loving girlfriend.
‘Tommy. Mrs Lynch.’ She glanced at the younger girl, who smiled and held out her hand.
‘Jean.’
‘Jean. Nice to meet you.’ The two women solemnly shook hands.
Tommy didn’t like the way his mother sniffed and glanced suspiciously from him to Hillary. He looked away. What was it with mothers?
But before Mercy could say anything, Hillary quickly looked up, and smiled. ‘Hey, Gary, over here!’ To Tommy’s mother, she said simply, ‘My stepson. Excuse me a minute, please.’
Mercy Lynch looked, much to her son’s vast relief, slightly mollified. In her eyes, his boss was a happily married woman with a family. Tommy, for one, was not about to let on that the situation was any different.
A ragged cheer went up when Mike Regis and his taciturn sergeant walked in. Tommy watched, gloomily, as Hillary introduced her stepson to them, and the foursome went to the bar.
Jean reached out and squeezed his hand.
* * *
Hillary was slightly drunk. She knew she was when she waved off Gary and nearly fell over. It made her walk very carefully along the towpath.
The landlady had chucked them out bang on closing time, and who could blame her? Frank Ross, for one, would undoubtedly have reported her for licence violation. Now that the last of the revellers were on their way home, no doubt hoping that someone had warned Traffic to look the other way, there was no getting away from the waiting Mollern.
She was almost tempted to walk into Kidlington and seek out a B&B. At least it wouldn’t be floating about on water.
She made it to the boat without mishap and leaned against it for a while, savouring the night air. Summer was coming and it was warm. Somewhere a bat swooped and squeaked. Who said they made sounds beyond human hearing?
She fumbled with the lock, got the door open, and staggered down the stairs.
Coffee.
She made it strong and black, then wavered and added some milk and a big spoonful of sugar. Next, she collapsed into her chair, sloshing some of the drink on her skirt, but in no mood to care.
Mike Regis had been really pleased for her, she could tell. And Frank would be at home by now, eating his heart out.
All was right with the world.
She was too high to go to bed but there’d be nothing on the box. She reached for the book in the wastepaper basket, wondering what the hell it was doing there, then realised it was Ronnie’s bloody Dick Francis.
She stared at it. Perhaps because she was slightly drunk and feeling so good, or perhaps because she was at that stage where her brain synapses were being nicely illogical, a thought popped into her head, so bizarre it made her laugh out loud.
This was it. This was what the Yorkie Bars had been looking for all this time. Ronnie’s secret hoard. The numbers for his legendary offshore account.
She put down the coffee and looked at the first page. All the numbers were on the bottom. She leaned forward, holding the book under the light of the lamp. And carefully, from the back, slowly let the pages whiffle past, her eyes glued to the numbers on the bottom of the page. Not one of them was ringed or marked.
She laughed. So much for Mrs Sherlock bloody Holmes.
Then she yelped. Something blue. She turned back the pages, slowly, and there it was.
Not a number underlined, but a word.
Sex.
She snorted. Yeah, right. Just the word Ronnie would underline.
But come on, Hills, her drunker inner voice suddenly whined, not even Ronnie was such a pathetic loser that he went around underlining dirty words in books.
Frowning now, she started at the beginning, turning the pages over quickly but carefully.
There! Another word underlined. The word “for.”
For? Four.
Another ten pages over and the word “one” was marked. Then, later, the word “there.”
There? An anagram of three?
The words “too,” “heaven,” and “mine” were added. Seven and nine?
Feeling a little sick now, she reached for a pen and paper and wrote the numbers out in order.
What had Gary said? His father had told him he had an account . . . where the hell was it? The Caymans? And it wasn’t under his name, just numbers.
But surely any bank would need some kind of password as well?
She looked at the book cover, then the inscription.
Stud.
Of course. Stud. She giggled. What the hell else? Oh Ronnie, Ronnie, you stupid prat.
She leaned back in her chair but the book suddenly felt like a ton weight, making her drop it to the floor.
How many banks were there in the Caymans? How long would it take her, armed with a possible code word and the all-important numbers, to find it?
She had some holiday time due. She could fly to the Caymans. The Yorkie Bars had given up on her. Or so they said. She could actually pull it off.
She stared at the wall in front of her, so close, so cramping. She could get off this bloody boat. Give up the bloody job. No more Frank. No more Mel and Donleavy giving her shit jobs. No more shift work, no more dead bodies, no more rapists and their victims.
Just beaches and sand and palm trees, and tropical drinks with bits of fruit floating in them.
Hillary closed her eyes. She was drunk, right?
Yeah.
But seriously tempted.
‘Oh, shit,’ she said softly.
THE END
DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES
Book 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
Book 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
Book 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
Book 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE
Book 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY
MORE COMING SOON!
DI HILLARY GREENE BOOK 2
MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/MURDER-UNIVERSITY-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076CQSYMM/
USA https://www.amazon.com/MURDER-UNIVERSITY-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076CQSYMM/
A pretty French student is found dead in her room at an exclusive Oxford college. Everyone thinks it is another tragic case of accidental drug overdose.
But Detective Hillary Greene has a nose for the truth. She quickly discovers that the student was involved in some very unusual activities.
With a shocking cause of death found, the case becomes a high-profile murder investigation.
Book 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/MURDER-BRIDE-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076YWWMDN/
USA https://www.amazon.com/MURDER-BRIDE-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B076YWWMDN/
DI Hillary Greene is called out to attend a suspicious death at Three Oaks Farm in the picturesque village of Steeple Barton.
The large farmhouse is filled with music and revellers, but when she steps into the far
m’s cowshed, Hillary finds a dead bride. Dressed in a sumptuous white wedding gown, the young, beautiful redhead had clearly been strangled.
But not everything is what it seems, and the victim turns out to be at the centre of a web of jealousy and intrigue in the close-knit village. Many of the villagers have a motive for murdering her but they’re not giving up their secrets easily.
Can Hillary discover the real reason for this brutal crime and cope with the spiralling revelations about her dead ex-husband?
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A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER
CHARACTER LIST
DI Hillary Greene
An attractive woman in her forties, Hillary Greene is a police officer of many years’ experience, and came up through the ranks. Consequently, she knows how the system works, and is fiercely loyal to the force without being blinkered to its faults. She is a long-standing friend of her immediate superior officer, 'Mellow' Mallow and enjoys a rather enigmatic relationship with the steely Superintendent Marcus Donleavy. Popular with the rank and file for her no-nonsense attitude and competence, she is currently under investigation, on account of her recently deceased, and definitely corrupt husband (Ronnie Greene). But adversity has never stopped her from doing her job.
DCI Philip 'Mellow' Mallow
Mel appreciates Hillary's first-rate ability to solve her cases, and isn't happy about her harassment by the officers from York. Known for his sartorial elegance and laid-back manners, he has a sharp mind, and an eye for the ladies. A good friend and ally for Hillary in her recent tribulations, he's determined to keep his best investigator focused on the problems at hand.
Janine Tyler
Young, and not particularly happy about working for a female boss, Janine is ambitious, and can be impulsive. Which means that Hillary has to keep a careful eye on her — not least because she is clearly attracted to Mel — and her interest seems to be reciprocated.
Frank Ross
An old-time mate of Hillary's corrupt ex, he's always had it in for her, and on investigations can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. An old-fashioned copper, and probably as corrupt as Ronnie Greene had been, he still has a nose for trouble and years of experience of low-life villains that can sometimes come in handy.
Paul Danvers
One of the team of outside officers investigating any hint of collusion on Hillary Greene's part in her late husband's illegal activities, Paul is apt to believe her innocent of any wrongdoing. Moreover, as time goes on, he finds himself both admiring and respecting her as a copper. And finds her rather attractive as a woman. A sentiment that Hillary doesn't particularly appreciate.
Mike Regis
A vice-squad officer, called in to investigate the drugs angle of the case, Mike, like Paul Danvers, finds Hillary Greene not only to be his kind of a copper, but also his kind of a woman. Rough and ready, he speaks her language.
Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
