by Andy Maslen
Five minutes later, a tall woman with pale-coffee-coloured skin and a heart-shaped face approached Terri-Ann’s chair. She bent down and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Mrs Calder?”
“Yes,” Terri-Ann said. “Are you Detective Perez?”
“I am. Please call me Val, though. It’s short for Valentina.”
Terri-Ann’s heart fluttered in her ribcage. Why was this police officer being so friendly? Somehow, maybe it was a wife’s intuition, she knew Vincent was dead.
“Val, has something happened to Vincent?”
Val put a hand on Terri-Ann’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you come with me?”
Sitting opposite each other in a room furnished with a pale-blue sofa and two matching armchairs, the two women stared at each other. Terri-Ann’s face was taut, pale. Val’s was softer but creased with worry lines.
“Mrs Calder, I’m afraid I have bad news. On Friday, an Arizona State Trooper out of Phoenix found a body in the desert. We got the preliminary DNA results back a half hour ago. They were a match to the information held in your husband’s service record. I am so sorry for your loss.”
Terri-Ann heard her voice echoing around inside her head.
“That was too quick. For DNA results. You guys never have enough money for rush jobs, everybody knows that.”
“Normally, that’s right. But they found a tattoo. The Army Rangers and a service number. So they contacted their regimental commanding officer. After that, they fast-tracked the DNA test. The Rangers came back with your husband’s service number, and it all matched. I’m really sorry.”
After the funeral guests had all left, Terri-Ann poured herself another glass of wine and slumped in Vincent’s battered old La-Z-Boy. Now the tears did come. As she cried, and drank, she thought of a man she hadn’t spoken to for five years. A British guy Vincent had brought home for dinner one time on leave. She knew his name. Gabriel Wolfe. She knew he was Special Forces, like Vinnie. And she knew that he and her husband had taken a blood oath to investigate if either of them should die anywhere except in bed.
She pulled out her cell phone and sent a text.
Vinnie’s gone. Remember your promise? T.
<<<<>>>>
Copyright notice
Published by
Tyton Press, an imprint of
Sunfish Ltd
PO Box 2107
Salisbury SP2 2BW
T: 0844 502 2061
www.andymaslen.com
The right of Andy Maslen to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved (c) Sunfish Ltd 2017
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover illustration copyright © Darren Bennett
Cover design by DKB Creative
Author photograph for the print edition © Kin Ho
Edited by Michelle Lowery
Created with Vellum
Acknowledgments
With each new book I write, I find I am indebted to a growing number of people who help me make these stories live and breathe.
I would like to single out for thanks the following kind, patient and talented souls for their time, expertise and understanding this time round:
Karen Allonby
Giles Bassett
Darren Bennett
Mike Dempsey
Dickie Gittins
Christina Larsson
Michelle Lowery
Jo Maslen
Sean Memory
Cheryl Torricer
Anouchka Towner-Coston
Crystal Watanabe
Andy Maslen
Salisbury, 2017
Also by Andy Maslen
The Gabriel Wolfe series
Trigger Point
Reversal of Fortune (short story)
Blind Impact
Condor
First Casualty
Rattlesnake
Minefield (novella)
No Further
The DI Stella Cole series
Hit and Run
Hit Back Harder
Hit and Done
Let the Bones be Charred (coming soon)
Other fiction
Blood Loss - a Vampire Story
Non-fiction
Write to Sell
100 Great Copywriting Ideas
The Copywriting Sourcebook
Write Copy, Make Money
Persuasive Copywriting
About the Author
Andy Maslen was born in Nottingham, in the UK, home of legendary bowman Robin Hood. Andy once won a medal for archery, although he has never been locked up by the sheriff.
He has worked in a record shop, as a barman, as a door-to-door DIY products salesman and a cook in an Italian restaurant.
As well as the Stella Cole and Gabriel Wolfe thrillers, Andy has published five works of non-fiction, on copywriting and freelancing, with Marshall Cavendish and Kogan Page. They are all available online and in bookshops.
He lives in Wiltshire with his wife, two sons and a whippet named Merlin.
Afterword
To get a free copy of Andy’s first novel, Trigger Point, and exclusive news and offers, join his Readers’ Group at www.andymaslen.com.
Email Andy at [email protected].
Follow and tweet him at @Andy_Maslen.
Join Andy’s Facebook group, The Wolfe Pack.
