‘Not so fictitious if the authorities are to be persuaded it isn’t just a ploy. We’d have to live together, at least for a while. After that … Well, I don’t know. But yes, it is what I’m proposing.’
‘Why should you be prepared to do this for somebody you owe absolutely nothing?’
‘I told you.’
‘But what’s the real reason?’
The real reason lay forty-two years in the past on a railway line in Swindon: Harry’s finest hour, tainted forever by every one of the consequences it had scattered across the future. If he had known what rescuing the baby in the box was to lead to, he would never have intervened. If he had understood what his action was bound to mean for himself and others, he would have walked away across the churchyard and let fate take its course. Zohra’s plight was just one fruit, by no means the most bitter, of the seed sown that day, but it offered Harry his only meagre chance of redemption. And this time the decision was not his to take. ‘I just don’t see why everyone has to lose,’ he said. ‘That’s all.’
‘I’m to be the lucky exception?’
‘You can be. Perhaps we can be. It’s up to you now.’
About the Author
Robert Goddard was born in Hampshire and read History at Cambridge. His first novel, Past Caring, was an instant bestseller. Since then his books have captivated readers worldwide with their edge-of-the-seat pace and their labyrinthine plotting. His first Harry Barnett novel, Into the Blue, was winner of the first WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award and was dramatized for TV, starring John Thaw.
Robert Goddard can be found on the web at www.robertgoddardbooks.co.uk
Also by Robert Goddard
In order of publication
PAST CARING
A young graduate starts to investigate the fall from grace of an Edwardian cabinet minister and sets in train a bizarre and violent chain of events.
‘A hornet’s nest of jealousy, blackmail and violence. Engrossing’
DAILY MAIL
IN PALE BATTALIONS
An extraordinary story unfolds as Leonora Galloway strives to solve the mystery of her father’s death, her mother’s unhappy childhood and a First World War murder.
‘A novel of numerous twists and turns and surprises’
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
PAINTING THE DARKNESS
On a mild autumn afternoon in 1882, William Trenchard’s life changes for ever with the arrival of an unexpected stranger.
‘Explodes into action’
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
TAKE NO FAREWELL
September 1923, and architect Geoffrey Staddon must return to the house called Clouds Frome, his first important commission, to confront the dark secret that it holds.
‘A master storyteller’
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
HAND IN GLOVE
The death of a young English poet in the Spanish Civil War casts a shadow forward over half a century.
‘Cliff-hanging entertainment’
GUARDIAN
CLOSED CIRCLE
1931, and two English fraudsters on a transatlantic liner stumble into deep trouble when they target a young heiress.
‘Full of thuggery and skulduggery, cross and doublecross, plot and counter-plot’
INDEPENDENT
BORROWED TIME
A brief encounter with a stranger who is murdered soon afterwards draws Robin Timariot into the complex relationships and motives of the dead woman’s family and friends.
‘An atmosphere of taut menace…heightened by shadows of betrayal and revenge’
DAILY TELEGRAPH
OUT OF THE SUN
Harry Barnett becomes entangled in a sinister conspiracy when he learns that the son he never knew he had is languishing in hospital in a coma.
‘Brilliantly plotted, full of good, traditional storytelling values’
MAIL ON SUNDAY
BEYOND RECALL
The scion of a wealthy Cornish dynasty reinvestigates a 1947 murder and begins to doubt the official version of events.
‘Satisfyingly complex…finishes in a rollercoaster of twists’
DAILY TELEGRAPH
CAUGHT IN THE LIGHT
A photographer’s obsession with a femme fatale leads him into a web of double jeopardy.
‘A spellbinding foray into the real-life game of truth and consequences’
THE TIMES
SET IN STONE
A strange house links past and present, a murder, a political scandal and an unexplained tragedy.
‘A heady blend of mystery and adventure’
OXFORD TIMES
SEA CHANGE
A spell-binding mystery involving a mysterious package, murder and financial scandal, set in 18th-century London, Amsterdam and Rome.
‘Engrossing, storytelling of a very high order’
OBSERVER
DYING TO TELL
A missing document, a forty-year-old murder and the Great Train Robbery all seem to have connections with a modern-day disappearance.
‘Gripping…woven together with more twists than a country lane’
DAILY MAIL
DAYS WITHOUT NUMBER
Once Nick Paleologus has excavated a terrible secret from his archaeologist father’s career, nothing will ever be the same again.
‘Fuses history with crime, guilty consciences and human fallibility… an intelligent escapist delight’
THE TIMES
PLAY TO THE END
Actor Toby Flood finds himself a player in a much bigger game when he investigates a man who appears to be a stalker.
‘An absorbing display of craftsmanship’
SUNDAY TIMES
SIGHT UNSEEN
An innocent bystander is pulled into a mystery which takes over twenty years to unravel when he witnesses the abduction of a child.
‘A typically taut tale of wrecked lives, family tragedy, historical quirks and moral consequences’
THE TIMES
NEVER GO BACK
The convivial atmosphere of a reunion weekend is shattered by an apparent suicide.
‘Meticulous planning, well-drawn characters and an immaculate sense of place… A satisfying number of twists and shocks’
THE TIMES
NAME TO A FACE
A centuries-old mystery is about to unravel…
‘Mysterious, dramatic, intricate, fascinating and unputdownable’
DAILY MIRROR
FOUND WANTING
Catapulted into a breathless race against time, Richard’s life will be changed for ever in ways he could never have imagined…
‘The master of the clever twist’
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
LONG TIME COMING
For thirty-six years they thought he was dead… They were wrong.
‘When it comes to duplicity and intrigue, Goddard is second to none’
DAILY MAIL
BLOOD COUNT
There’s no such thing as easy money. As surgeon Edward Hammond is about to find out.
‘Mysterious, dramatic, intricate, fascinating and unputdownable… The crime writers’ crime writer’
DAILY MIRROR
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INTO THE BLUE
A CORGI BOOK: 9780552162982
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN: 9781407055367
First published in Great Britain
in 1990 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Corgi edition published 1991
Corgi edition reissued 2010
Copyright © Robert Goddard 1990
Robert Goddard has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is p
urely coincidental.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
A CIP catalogue for this book
is available from the British Library.
Addresses for Random House Group Ltd companies outside the UK can be found
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The Random House Group Ltd Reg. No. 954009
Into the Blue Page 52
