‘No!’ A shout, hardly recognizable as my own. I lunge against him. The gun goes off, but the shot is wild. I can see Consuela ahead of us, unharmed, as we fall to the ground. He twists beneath me. His face stares up at me, misshapen by a grimace. He is crying. Why? Because I have stopped him? Or because he could not stop himself?
‘Damn you!’ he shrieks.
‘Spencer, for God’s—’
A roar, engulfing my own. A searing jolt of pain. Then a sudden draining of strength. And with it, light and warmth. I am falling, toppling as if weightless. The snow rises to meet me. My shoulder strikes the pavement. I roll onto my back. There are scuffles and cries to my right. But they seem far away, as far as the flawless, limitless blue above my head.
‘Staddon?’ Windrush’s face staring down at me. He is worried. I can see it in his eyes. ‘Everything’s all right now. The police have him handcuffed.’
‘Consuela?’ I try to form the name and speak it, but there is no sound. Then, miraculously, there is no need. She is crouching beside me, her face close to mine.
‘Querido Geoffrey.’ That word she has not used for thirteen years. I have heard it again now. She is crying. Why? And there is blood on her hands. Whose is it? ‘You have saved me,’ she murmurs. ‘Dear sweet love, you have saved me.’
‘Thank God I came.’ Still there is no sound. Nothing. I cannot speak. And now, as I try to touch her, I realize that motion too is denied me. ‘I nearly didn’t, you know.’ She cannot hear me. She cannot receive this last secret.
‘Querido Geoffrey.’ She stoops to kiss me. I feel her lips against mine, then her cheek pressed to my brow.
‘Why is it growing dark?’ Nobody hears. Nobody answers. ‘It’s too early for dusk. Isn’t it?’ Not just the light is fading. The faces, the tears, the sorrowful expressions. All departing. Too soon. This cannot be what I think. There is no pain. And yet. The sky is closing in. The faces have gone. Even Consuela’s.
THE END
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
INTO THE BLUE
When a young woman disappears and Harry Barnett is accused of her murder he has no option but to try and discover what led her to vanish into the blue.
‘A cracker, twisting, turning and exploding with real skill’
DAILY MIRROR
TAKE NO FAREWELL
‘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.
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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TAKE NO FAREWELL
A CORGI BOOK: 9780552164528
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN: 9781407068428
First published in Great Britain
in 1991 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Corgi edition published 1992
Corgi edition reissued 2011
Copyright © Robert Goddard 1991
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 purely coincidental.
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