Dead on Demand (A DCI Morton Crime Novel)

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Dead on Demand (A DCI Morton Crime Novel) Page 25

by Campbell, Sean


  In a few short days, he would get back their verdict.

  ***

  The jury took a long time. At the end of forty-eight hours of deliberation, His Honour Judge Milligan, QC, called them back into the courtroom.

  'Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed? Please answer, yes or no.'

  'No.'

  'Do you believe you could reach a unanimous verdict?'

  'No, Your Honour.' The foreman shot a nasty look at juror number twelve.

  'I am going to ask you to retire one more time to try and reach a unanimous verdict. If you are unable to do so, I will accept a majority verdict.'

  The bailiff led them back out of the courtroom.

  Kiaran's hands began to shake. It was a close call. That meant he wasn't way out of the ballpark with his arguments. He hoped the holdouts were of the not guilty kind, and would agree this time around to vote guilty.

  He knew that the second time, juries were often much quicker. Both lawyers waited in open court, watching the clock on the wall tick in an infuriating manner. Two hours later, the bailiff was back.

  'They are ready, Your Honour.'

  'Bring them in.'

  The jury came in, single file, and took their seats. They looked weary, but triumphant. Kiaran hoped it wasn't just the triumph of being home for the weekend.

  'Have you reached a verdict upon which at least ten of you agree?'

  'We have.'

  'What is your verdict?'

  'We find the defendant, Edwin Murphy, guilty.'

  Kiaran exhaled in relief. He could breathe again. At the defence table both lawyer and client looked deflated.

  'Is that the verdict of you all, or a majority?'

  'Majority, Your Honour.'

  'How many of you agreed to the verdict and how many dissented?'

  'Ten and two respectively Your Honour.'

  'Thank you for your service, you are dismissed.'

  The bailiff led them from the courtroom while Judge Milligan waited.

  'Mr Murphy, you have been found guilty of three counts of murder. You are hereby sentenced to life in prison.'

  His lawyer leapt up.

  'Permission to appeal, Your Honour?'

  'Denied.'

  The defence lawyer sank back into his seat. He had lost. He could still apply directly to the appellate court for permission to appeal, and he would, but he wasn't confident. There was nothing procedurally wrong with the verdict.

  ***

  Edwin stared at the floor in his cell, trying to avoid making eye contact with his new cellmate. As he focussed on a spot of the cell floor between his feet his mind began to wander.

  It had been lunchtime in Finnigan'sWake when Eleanor's brother Mark had joined him. He couldn't remember what the bar looked like, but the taste of the grease on the burger was fresh in his memory, making bile rise in his throat as he fought to keep the contents of his stomach down.

  He'd had more than his share of the booze when Mark arrived, and his arrival didn't stop the flow of beer. It simply substituted it with whisky, Mark's poison of choice. He and Mark had known each other for a long time. It was through him Edwin had met Eleanor.

  'So, my bitch sister wants a divorce then?'

  Edwin nodded.

  'What you gonna do?'

  'What can I do?' Edwin slurred.

  'Stop her.'

  'She's entitled to half.'

  'Mate, you earned that money. She doesn't need it anyway, she's a bloody lawyer. You know how much they get paid.'

  'I can't do anything.'

  'Hold that thought.' Mark stood.

  Mark fetched another few rounds, returning to the table laden with an overloaded tray of assorted spirits.

  'Cheers!'

  'Cheers? I'm gonna be broke, and she'll get Chelsea.'

  'So, you're a creative man. Find a solution.'

  'Like what? Kill her?'

  'That would do it,' he laughed.

  Edwin nodded. If only she'd get hit by a bus tomorrow, his life would be perfect.

  'Sometimes you have to make bad things happen to get what you want.'

  'I can't!' Edwin protested.

  'What was it you worked on during your undergrad?'

  'Darknet research on private networks. How the fuck's that gonna help?' Edwin frowned.

  ' It's anonymous, right?'

  'If you do it right, yeah.'

  'So, there are criminals on the Internet, aren't there?'

  'But they'll know who I wanted killed.'

  'So, you could hire someone else to kill them. Then no one would you are involved.'

  Edwin's lopsided smile returned.

  'That might just work.'

  'Yeah, it might, now let's go get pissed.'

  Mark grabbed him by the armpit and lifted him up, before half carrying him to the street to hail a cab to the next bar. If the idiot went through with it, Mark's parents would have no choice but to put him back in their will. Without Eleanor, he was their only child, and would inherit the whole estate. Problem son or not, they'd love him again when his sister wasn't there to steal the limelight.

  All he needed to do now was convince Edwin that the plan was all his idea. Enough alcohol should do the trick.

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORS

  Thank you for reading Dead on Demand. We appreciate how valuable your time is, and we're delighted you chose to spend it finishing our novel. If you have a spare moment, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review on the site you purchased this book on. Honest reviews help other readers find books they will enjoy, and let authors know what their readers want.

  DCI Morton returns in Cleaver Square, available now at all good bookstores.

  If you'd like to find out when we release new eBooks, please join our mailing list.

  You can also join us on twitter @90daysnovel; email us on [email protected] or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/90daysnovel

  Table of Contents

  Dead on Demand

  Chapter 1: Falling Apart

  Chapter 2: Red Spot

  Chapter 3: The Plan

  Chapter 4: Working Girl

  Chapter 5: Oh, Canada!

  Chapter 6: Jogging is Murder

  Chapter 7: Morton

  Chapter 8: Where's Mummy?

  Chapter 9: Not Here, Thank You!

  Chapter 10: A Broken Man

  Chapter 11: Confirmation

  Chapter 12: Interrogation

  Chapter 13: Too Far

  Chapter 14: Unknown Territory

  Chapter 15: Patsy

  Chapter 16: Weak Links

  Chapter 17: Data Trail

  Chapter 18: DÉJÀ Death

  Chapter 19: Worry

  Chapter 20: Hope

  Chapter 21: Suffering

  Chapter 22: Done and Dusted?

  Chapter 23: Officer Down

  Chapter 24: One of Ours

  Chapter 25: Incognito

  Chapter 26: The Barrier

  Chapter 27: Rosenburg

  Chapter 28: Flow

  Chapter 29: By Self-Defence

  Chapter 30: No Luck

  Chapter 31: Sunrise

  Chapter 32: The Frenchman

  Chapter 33: Paper Trail

  Chapter 34: Hot Pursuit

  Chapter 35: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

  Chapter 36: Pain

  Chapter 37: Guns

  Chapter 38: Keys to the Castle

  Chapter 39: Honey Trap

  Chapter 40: To Sea

  Chapter 41: France

  Chapter 42: Like Old Times

  Chapter 43: Schengen

  Chapter 44: Dishonourable

  Chapter 45: Repatriation

  Chapter 46: Loose Links

  Chapter 47: Snakes

  Chapter 48: The Colonnade

  Chapter 49: Panic

  Chapter 50: Implications

  Chapter 51: Marylebone

  Chapter 52: Devastation

  Chapt
er 53: Getting Ready

  Chapter 54: Shotgun Reflexes

  Chapter 55: Taped

  Chapter 56: Darknet

  Chapter 57: Right Place, Wrong Time

  Chapter 58: Flight or Fight

  Chapter 59: Lawyering Up

  Chapter 60: First Blood

  A Note from the Authors

 

 

 


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