‘Hello! It’s the post. Is anybody about?’ he called, expecting to be greeted by a family member. All was quiet, so he called again.
He looked into the large bright lounge, where, because of the chill of the March morning, a fire blazed in the hearth. However, nobody was there.
Down the hallway, he was sure he’d find someone in the kitchen, but, worryingly, though two plates of bacon and eggs were sitting on the large wooden table, the room was empty. A pan of milk had boiled over, and black smoke was issuing from the range, filling the room with an acrid smell. Wrapping his hand in a tea towel, he removed the blackened pan from the stove, then placed it in the Belfast sink, sending clouds of steam into the air when he turned on the cold tap.
He almost tripped over a chair, pitched over on the far side of the table. He set it back upright and made his way out of the kitchen, calling again in the hope that someone would reply.
Nothing.
After climbing the stairs and checking the bedrooms, he thudded back to the ground floor and made his way to the back door of the farmhouse. He turned the old brass key in the lock and pushed the door open, scanning the fields beyond. The grass looked a dull green under the grey sky, with a few sheep dotted here and there on the pasture. An old mare whinnied at the sight of him and trotted expectantly to the fence.
It was as though the family had been in the house only minutes before his arrival, then vanished.
Across the fields was the bungalow where William and his wife and children lived. After patting the horse, McAuley set off quickly along the lane towards the dwelling, certain that the Bremners would be there.
Also available from Polygon by Denzil Meyrick
WHISKY FROM SMALL GLASSES
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When the body of a young woman is washed up on an idyllic beach on the west coast of Scotland, D.C.I. Jim Daley is despatched from Glasgow to lead the investigation.
Far from home, and his troubled marriage, it seems that Daley’s biggest obstacle will be managing the difficult local police chief; but when the prime suspect is gruesomely murdered, the inquiry begins to stall. As the body count rises, Daley uncovers a network of secrets and corruption in the close-knit community of Kinloch, thrusting him and his loved ones into the centre of a case more deadly than he had ever imagined.
The first novel in the D.C.I. Daley Thriller series, Whisky from Small Glasses is a truly compelling crime novel, shot through with dark humour and menace.
THE LAST WITNESS
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James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, James Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction. But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. Top of his list is his previous associate, Frank MacDougall, who unbeknownst to D.C.I. Jim Daley, is living under protection on his lochside patch, the small Scottish town of Kinloch. Daley knows that, having been the key to Machie’s conviction, his old friend and colleague D.S. Scott is almost as big a target. And nothing, not even death, has ever stood in James Machie’s way . . .
DARK SUITS AND SAD SONGS
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When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It’s clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging on by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley’s world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it’s about survival.
THE RAT STONE SERENADE
http://amzn.to/1TOMQ76
It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home and his descendants have been cursed ever since.
When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming – but for whom and from what?
DALINTOBER MOON
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When a body is found in a whisky barrel, buried on Dalintober beach, it appears that a notorious local crime, committed over a century ago, has finally been solved. D.C.I. Daley discovers that, despite the passage of time, the legacy of the murder still resonates within the community, and as he tries to make sense of the case, the tortured screams of a man who died long ago echo across Kinloch.
TWO ONE THREE
http://amzn.to/1LwqX9j
Glasgow, 1986. Only a few months into his new job, Constable Jim Daley is walking the beat. When he is called to investigate a break-in, he finds a young woman lying dead in her squalid flat. But how and why did she die? In a race against time, Daley is seconded to the CID to help catch a serial killer, under the guidance of his new friend DC Brian Scott. But the police are not the only ones looking for the killer . . . Jim Daley tackles his first serious crime on the mean streets of Glasgow, in an investigation that will change his life for ever. This is a stunning eBook only prequel to Denzil Meyrick’s critically acclaimed, best-selling DCI Jim Daley series.
EMPTY NETS AND PROMISES
http://amzn.to/1pnC22z
It’s July 1968, and redoubtable fishing-boat skipper Sandy Hoynes has his daughter’s wedding to pay for – but where are all the fish? He and the crew of the Girl Maggie come to the conclusion that a new-fangled supersonic jet which is being tested in the skies over Kinloch is scaring off the herring.
First mate Hamish, who we first met in the D.C.I. Daley novels, comes up with a cunning plan to bring the laws of nature back into balance. But as the wily crew go about their work, little do they know that they face the forces of law and order in the shape of a vindictive Fishery Officer, an Exciseman who suspects Hoynes of smuggling illicit whisky, and the local police sergeant who is about to become Hoynes’ new son-in-law.
Denzil Meyrick takes us back to the halcyon days of light-hearted Scottish fiction, following in the footsteps of Compton Mackenzie and Neil Munro, with hilarious encounters involving ghostly pipers, the US Navy and even some Russian trawlerman.
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