It took some while for the chapel to empty, and then they made their way out to the area set aside for the flowers. Even though Frank had requested donations to charity, Nikki had decided that she couldn’t cope with seeing a plain coffin, and had ordered a single tribute, a beautiful spray of pure white lilies and ice-white roses that cascaded along the full length of the coffin.
As soon as they were outside, Joseph left Nikki greeting distant friends and relatives and accepting condolences from strangers, and went to talk to Greg Woodhall.
‘No Tamsin with you?’ asked the superintendent.
‘She begged me to let her come, sir, but I had to pull rank. She really isn’t strong enough yet to cope with something like this. That damned stuff really messed up her system.’
‘Thank the Lord, you reached her when you did, Joseph.’ Greg looked back towards the tall chimney of the crematorium and shivered. ‘The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.’
Joseph nodded grimly. ‘Luckily she doesn’t remember too much of her ordeal, but in a fuzzy kind of way she does recall that it was Nikki who stopped her from crawling across that booby-trapped room. And for that, she’s one grateful young woman, I can tell you!’
‘I’m sure she is.’ Greg looked around at the familiar faces. ‘Good to see such an excellent turnout from our guys, and as funerals go, it really was a lovely service, although I don’t know how Nikki managed to read that poem.’
Joseph nodded. He still got goose-bumps when he thought about it. He’d told her not to put herself through it, to let someone else read, but Nikki had insisted. As soon as she began he had known it had been the right thing to do. He understood that it was something she had needed to do for her father.
Joseph looked around the crowded area and tried to spot the man Nikki had pointed out before the service as being Frank’s old friend, Tug Owen. Then he noticed a lone figure walking away from the others in the direction of the car park. ‘Excuse me, sir. There’s someone over there that I really need to have a word with.’
Joseph left the superintendent and hurried after Tug. ‘Mr Blake-Owen?’
‘Ah, it seems that my carefully planned escape has been foiled.’ The older man turned around and gave Joseph a weary smile. ‘DS Joseph Easter, I presume?’ He held out a hand and his grip was surprisingly strong. ‘Call me Tug.’
‘I just wanted you to know that I haven’t told Nikki anything about what we talked about. I think it should come directly from you.’ He looked at the old airman and decided to trust him. ‘Nikki needs to know absolutely everything. Her father died before he could tell her something that was very important to him, and now that very thing is vitally important to Nikki. She deserves the truth, Tug, whatever that might be.’ Joseph looked at the doctor earnestly. ‘Look, the last place Eve was seen was at Flaxton Mere, and nineteen bodies were found interred there. I thought that she could have been one of the victims, but our pathologist has confirmed that no one brought out from that underground crypt resembled Eve. And that leads me to believe that she’s still alive.’
‘She is.’
It was a woman’s voice.
In his haste to talk to him before he drove off, Joseph hadn’t noticed that Tug’s car was not empty. As he turned, the door opened and a tall, upright woman stepped out.
The black-clad figure stared at him, and Joseph stifled a gasp. She was much older, but there was no mistaking the woman in the photograph.
‘Joseph, I’d like you to meet Eve Anderson.’ Tug’s voice held the slightest tremor. ‘Eve, this is Joseph Easter, a close friend of Frank’s girl, Nikki.’
Joseph numbly took her outstretched hand, and in an instant understood why Frank had been so desperate for Nikki to find her. ‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,’ he stammered.
He was looking into Nikki’s eyes and seeing the same quizzical upturn of Nikki’s lips. But these eyes were not smiling. They were the eyes of someone bereaved, someone who has lost her soulmate.
‘Did you . . . ? Were . . . were you in the chapel for the service?’ Joseph managed to ask.
‘No. I stayed outside. I had no right to be here.’ The voice was deep and well-spoken.
‘I think,’ said Joseph slowly, ‘that you had every right to be here.’
‘More than most,’ added Tug Owen. Then he turned to Joseph. ‘And I agree that Nikki needs to be told, although not by me. It should come from Eve.’
‘But not today,’ the woman said firmly. ‘Nikki has enough to deal with, and I have no wish to intrude or cause her any further distress.’ She smiled at Joseph. ‘Let Nikki say goodbye to her father. Let her grieve. Then,’ she paused, ‘if she’ll agree to see me, I promise that I’ll explain everything.’
Joseph took a deep breath and held it. He looked into those eyes that were so familiar, and knew instantly that Frank Reed had never had a “first wife” and there had never been a “tragic accident.” He asked, ‘Do you really mean everything?’
‘Everything,’ she replied, giving him a direct and knowing stare. She opened the car door and began to get back in.
Joseph stepped forward and held onto it, preventing her from closing it. ‘I’m sorry, Ms Anderson, but the problem is you really don’t know DI Nikki Galena. She’s not your average woman, and she doesn’t do unsolved cases, of any kind. And more than that, if she finds out that I’ve been standing here talking to her mother, and then let you drive away again, she’ll personally see me hung, drawn and quartered! Come back with us now. Please?’
‘I can’t. This is not the right time.’
‘I think it’s the perfect time.’ Joseph tilted his head to one side. ‘Look, I’m under no illusion that this will be easy for either of you, but I’ll guarantee there’s no one Nikki would rather meet. Today, or any other day.’ His smile broadened.
The woman shook her head. ‘Alright, although this is not what I had planned.’
Joseph said, ‘We need to go now before you change your mind. After everything that’s happened recently, I really don’t think I’m up to facing the wrath of Nikki Galena.’
THE END
The Last Flight
The angels have wept that one of their own
should be kept from the skies for so long.
Now their gain is our loss that you’re finally free,
to go back to the place you belong.
The heavens are yours to play with again,
to fly and to dive and to soar,
And now you have wings of your own to use
and no need for an engine’s roar.
Sadness, you said, was returning to earth
while your soul still glided above,
Now freedom is yours to fly for all time
And know that you do it with love.
For although my heart is now cleft in two
because your face I no longer can see,
the thought of you soaring through Cerulean blue,
brings solace and comfort to me.
Now starlight, and sunlight, and crystal clear air
will not allow me to mourn,
as you speed your way to eternity,
through diamond night to golden dawn.
Poem written by Nikki Galena
For her father, Wing Commander Frank Reed AFC RAF DFC
The first three DI Nikki Galena books
CRIME ON THE FENS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
https://www.amazon.com/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/
A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER
DI Nikki Galena Book 2
SHADOW OVER THE FENS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHADOW-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01HHA49SY/
https://www.amazon.com/SHADOW-gripping-crime-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01HHA49SY/
TWO BRUTAL KILLERS ARE LOOSE ON THE FENS BUT
WHO CAN DI NIKKI GALENA TRUST?
Detective Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .
And someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . . .
NIKKI GALENA BOOK 3
HUNTED ON THE FENS
A vicious criminal is targeting DI Nikki Galena and her team. One by one he will hunt them down and destroy their lives, unless she can stop him first
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUNTED-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01IYIDWCM/
https://www.amazon.com/HUNTED-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01IYIDWCM/
Character List
Detective Inspector Nikki Galena
Nikki is a brave, honest and dedicated police officer who started at the bottom and clawed her way up through the ranks. Although once a loner, hardened by personal tragedy and some of the terrible cases that she has dealt with, the formation of a new, close-knit team has given her drive and enthusiasm.
She is based in the Lincolnshire Fens and her ‘patch’ includes miles of agricultural farmland, massive stretches of dangerous marshes and Greenborough, a big market town with as many criminals as some urban areas. Nikki is divorced and her only child Hannah, died tragically in her teens.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter
Joseph had a middle-class upbringing, good education, went to university then left to join the military. He keeps this fact a secret from his colleagues as he became bitterly disillusioned after an operation went wrong and innocent people died.
He has a quiet way and a calm, reasonable attitude, and he is completely unaware that he a very attractive man. After a dramatic first case with Nikki Galena, he is asked to join her team permanently, and now he lives close to Nikki on Cloud Fen. He is divorced with one daughter Tamsin, a girl who hated the thought of her father being a soldier and killing people. Initially Tamsin lived with her mother and had nothing to do with Joseph, but slowly they are re-building their father/daughter relationship. Joseph hopes that one day she will see just how much he has changed.
DC Caitlin ‘Cat’ Cullen
Cat is tough and shrewd and the most streetwise copper on the team. Since joining Nikki’s team she had redeemed a failing career and is becoming an excellent detective. Cat is a chameleon and works brilliantly undercover. Nikki recognises her skills and knows that she can trust her. One of Cat’s strengths is that once she gets her teeth into a problem she never gives up. Another is her keen interest in technology. She is fiercely loyal to her team and works closely with her older working partner, Dave.
DC Dave Harris
Dave is good old cop and a proud man who chose to hide serious family problems in order to cope alone. Nikki found out about his background, and does her best to help and protect him. He repays her by committing wholeheartedly to her team and brings with him a wealth of local knowledge and old-style intuitive policing.
Superintendent Greg Woodhall
Greg became superintendent after the retirement of Rick Bainbridge. He is another officer who worked his way up through the ranks, and has a lot of time and respect for the men and women who work with him. He has known Nikki since she was a probationer, and he also knows that she and her team sometimes operate outside the box, but more often than not, he chooses to support her. Greg does not suffer fools gladly, and where Nikki is concerned, he appreciates both her dedication to the force and her high arrest rate.
Professor Rory Wilkinson
Rory is the area’s Home Office pathologist, and after being closely involved with Nikki Galena in some terrifying cases, he has become her friend. He lives with his partner, David, and is happy to share the fact that he is gay with anyone who will listen. He has a wicked, dark sense of humour, but is fiercely intelligent and treats all the souls that end up in his care, with the utmost respect and sensitivity.
WPC Yvonne Collins
Yvonne has spent almost two decades as a uniformed officer on the streets of Greenborough. Although a highly decorated police woman, she loves being a ‘beat bobby’ and knows more about the town and the surrounding Fens than anyone else on the force. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law, but relies on her good instincts that come from experience. She lives alone with her old dog, Holmes.
PC Niall Farrow
Niall is Yvonne’s crew-mate. He is young and enthusiastic but has all the right values. He is something of ‘Boy’s Own’ hero; loves his equipment belt full of gizmos, and is happy to get stuck in when needed. In becoming a police officer he fulfilled his childhood dream, and he loves working with the street-wise Yvonne. He is very fond of Tamsin, Joseph’s daughter.
Author’s note on the locations
I am fiercely proud of my adopted home of Bomber County and have always had an interest in the WWII airfields. Part of Lincolnshire’s heritage is its involvement with the RAF in the last war and I very much wanted to incorporate one of these fascinating places into a Nikki Galena novel. And so I do hope the reader will forgive me for taking literary liberties with the topography of the area. I am aware that there are very few underground structures here due to being reclaimed land, but I have ‘moved’ RAF Flaxton Mere closer to the marsh for the sake of the story. JE
Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock up: mess up, make a mistake
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
DS: detective
sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
JCB: a mechanical excavator