Murder Mile
Page 36
“Grandma said to show this to you, Jane, because you are so nice to me and to her.” Simon opened the book and handed it to Jane.
The drawing, in pencil and crayon, had “Mummy” written at the top. Helen had a smiley face, red cheeks and brown hair, with a gold halo above her head. She was wearing a long yellow dress with angel wings. A voice balloon coming from her mouth said, “Thank you, Jane.”
“You can keep it, if you like.”
“That would be lovely. Thank you, Simon. Is it OK if I tear the drawing out as I don’t want to take your whole book?”
Simon nodded. Jane gently removed the drawing from the book.
“I’ll keep this on my bedroom wall.” Jane felt herself well up as she gave Simon a hug and kiss on the cheek.
As Jane left, she looked at her watch and realized she would have to get a move on to get to the church in time for Nathan’s 11 a.m. christening.
Simon was in his bedroom and opened the drawing book to the back page. He had already started a picture with the words “Bad Dentist” written at the top of the page. Picking up a red crayon, he started to draw the devil’s horns on the head of the dentist. He had been too frightened to ever tell anyone about what had happened.
Jane parked and ran up the gravel driveway to the church. Her mother was pacing up and down at the doors. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, tailored navy suit and crisp frilled white blouse.
“You’re late,” her mother said sternly.
“Sorry, I got caught up with work.”
“Really, Jane, there are times when family should come first.”
Biting back a sarcastic retort, Jane took Simon’s drawing out of her coat pocket. “I was visiting the little boy whose mother was murdered. He gave me this.” Jane handed the drawing to her mother. “Things like this reassure me that what I do as a police officer is worthwhile.”
Mrs. Tennison looked at the picture briefly and handed it back. “It’s a lovely drawing.”
Jane realized her mother hadn’t looked at it properly.
“Everyone’s waiting inside for you. Pinch your cheeks, dear. You look all washed out. You should have let Pam do your hair.”
Jane followed her mother into the church. She ran her fingers through her hair and, even though she loathed doing it, pinched her cheeks.
Pam, Tony and his brother, who was to be the godfather, were standing at the christening font with the vicar. There was a small gathering of close family and friends sitting in the front two pews.
“You cut that fine,” Pam whispered.
“Sorry, heavy traffic.”
Pam gave her a knowing smile. “You shouldn’t tell fibs in church.”
“Can I hold Nathan?” Jane asked.
“Of course. You’re his godmother!” Pam handed him over.
Jane could feel the warmth of his body through the white christening gown as she cradled him. His little face glowed with innocent happiness as he let out a gurgled laugh and smiled at her.
It was an emotional moment for Jane as the vicar baptized Nathan with holy water and made the sign of the cross on his forehead. She saw her parents’ adoring glances fixed on their grandchild, whilst Pam’s eyes brimmed with tears of pride as she held Tony’s hand.
Jane held Nathan closer to her chest, silently vowing that she would always protect him.
Acknowledgments
To my fantastic team at La Plante Global: Nigel Stoneman, Tory Macdonald and Veronica Goldstein. You keep the wheels turning and the engine running—thank you so much.
Huge thanks to all my publishers: Everyone at Bonnier Zaffre in London and New York—you are wonderful to work with and make the publishing process a joy for me. My international publishers, Allen and Unwin in Australia and Jonathan Ball in South Africa—I look forward to seeing you soon. And to the international publishers who translate my books into French, Japanese, Italian, Polish, Danish, Swedish … Je vous remercie, , Grazie, Dziękuję Ci, Tak skal du have, Tack …
Thank you to all the retailers who sell my books and promote them. You are always so creative and enthusiastic, and I still get a great thrill when I see my books on the shelves.
To all the media who have reviewed, interviewed, blogged and supported me and my books for many years—thank you so much, especially to Sarah Oliver, Malcolm Prince and Graham Norton.
Last, but by no means least—to you, my wonderful readers. Thank you for reading my books and for all the wonderful messages you send me via my website, Facebook and Twitter. I really do love hearing from you, and your kind words and positive feedback are what make me continue writing. I am forever grateful.
If you enjoyed Murder Mile, why not join the LYNDA LA PLANTE READERS’ CLUB by visiting www.bit.ly/LyndaLaPlanteClub?
A Message from Lynda La Plante …
Dear Reader,
Thank you very much for picking up Murder Mile, the fourth novel in the Jane Tennison thriller series. I’ve been so pleased by the response I’ve had from the many readers who have been curious about the beginnings of Jane’s police career. It’s been great fun for me to explore how she became the woman we know in middle and later life from the Prime Suspect series and I hope you have enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I still remember the miserable “Winter of Discontent” in which Murder Mile is set. Looking back, it seemed like a particularly bleak time for Britain, but at the time, we just got on with our lives and made the best of it. I was interested, however, in what effect the three-day week and the many strikes we faced might have on a murder investigation—and on the police officers running it. I was also interested in what life then might have been like for the young Jane. Young women with ambition faced many barriers as they climbed the career ladder and Jane has to learn from the very beginning to stand her ground. In Murder Mile she also comes up against the sort of prejudice—from class snobbery to homophobia—that thankfully we rarely see today. All these experiences play in to Jane’s character and will go on to form the exceptional detective she later becomes.
If you enjoyed Murder Mile, then please do read the first three novels in the Jane Tennison series, Tennison, Hidden Killers and Good Friday, which are now available in paperback and ebook. And you might like to know that the fifth book in the series, The Dirty Dozen, will be published in hardcover next year. The A10 investigation at the end of Murder Mile will result in Jane being taken off the murder squad and thrust into the “The Sweeney.” If Jane’s early career has often seemed a baptism of fire, it is a picnic compared with her time on the notorious Flying Squad. Here she will really learn how to toughen up—and give as good as she gets …
And in the meantime, there is a lot else going on! I’m very excited about the new publication and forthcoming film of my first novel Widows—a book and TV series very close to my heart. I’m also working on a whole new series with a central character who has really taken hold of my imagination. I’m looking forward to revealing more in due course—and if you would like more information on what I’m working on, or about the Jane Tennison thriller series, you can visit www.bit.ly/LyndaLaPlanteClub where you can join the My Readers’ Club. It only takes a few moments to sign up, there are no catches or costs and new members will automatically receive an exclusive message from me. Bonnier Zaffre will keep your data private and confidential, and it will never be passed on to a third party. We won’t spam you with loads of emails, just get in touch now and again with news about my books, and you can unsubscribe any time you want. And if you would like to get involved in a wider conversation about my books, please do review Murder Mile on Amazon, on GoodReads, on any other e-store, on your own blog and social media accounts, or talk about it with friends, family or reader groups! Sharing your thoughts helps other readers, and I always enjoy hearing about what people experience from my writing.
With many thanks again for reading Murder Mile, and I hope you’ll return for The Dirty Dozen, the fifth in the Jane Tennison series.
&nb
sp; With my very best wishes,
Lynda
TENNISON
The first book in the sensational Jane Tennison series
The Kray twins may be behind bars but the streets of London are still rife with drugs, robbery and murder.
1973, in the East End of London, a young WPC Jane Tennison joins the toughest ranks of the Hackney police force as a probationary officer.
When her first case comes in, a woman savagely beaten and strangled to death, Jane is thrown in at the deep end. But the victim’s autopsy is just the beginning of Tennison’s harsh initiation into the criminal world …
Praise for the Jane Tennison series:
“Classic Lynda, a fabulous read”
MARTINA COLE
“La Plante excels in her ability to pick out details that give her portrayal of life in a police station a rare ring of authenticity”
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
“A terrific, gutsy back story for the heroine of TV’s Prime Suspect”
WOMAN & HOME
HIDDEN KILLERS
The second brilliant crime thriller in the Jane Tennison series
When WPC Jane Tennison is promoted to the role of detective constable in London’s Bow Street CID, she is immediately conflicted. While her more experienced colleagues move on swiftly from one criminal case to another, Jane is often left doubting their methods and findings.
As she becomes inextricably involved in a multiple rape case, Jane must put her life at risk in her search for answers.
Will she toe the line, or endanger her position by seeking the truth?
Praise for the Jane Tennison series:
“An absorbingly twisty plot”
GUARDIAN
“Enthralling”
HEAT
“Vintage La Plante”
INDEPENDENT
GOOD FRIDAY
The third book in the brilliant Jane Tennison series
March, 1976. The height of The Troubles. An IRA bombing campaign strikes terror across Britain. Nowhere and no one is safe.
When Detective Constable Jane Tennison survives a deadly explosion at Covent Garden tube station, she finds herself in the middle of a media storm. Minutes before the blast, she caught sight of the bomber. Too traumatized to identify him, she is nevertheless a key witness and put under 24-hour police protection.
As work continues round the clock to unmask the terrorists, the Metropolitan Police are determined nothing will disrupt their annual Good Friday dinner dance. Amid tight security, hundreds of detectives and their wives and girlfriends will be at St. Ermin’s Hotel in central London. Jane, too, is persuaded to attend.
But in the week leading up to Good Friday, Jane experiences a sudden flashback. She realizes that not only can she identify the bomber, but that the IRA Active Service Unit is very close to her indeed. She is in real and present danger. In a nail-biting race against time, Jane must convince her senior officers that her instincts are right before London is engulfed in another bloodbath.
The groundbreaking thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama
WIDOWS
Facing life alone, they turned to crime together.
Dolly Rawlins, Linda Perelli and Shirley Miller are left devastated when their husbands are killed in a security van heist that goes disastrously wrong.
When Dolly discovers her husband’s bank deposit box containing a gun, money and detailed plans for the hijack, she has three options. She could hand over the ledgers to a detective. She could hand them over to the thugs who want to take over Harry’s turf. Or, she and the other widows could finish the job their husbands started.
As they rehearse the raid, the women discover that Harry’s plan required four people and recruit hooker Bella O’Reilly. But only three bodies were discovered in the carnage of the original hijack—so who was the fourth man, and where is he now?
Available in paperback and ebook now
Soon to be a major motion picture