She pouted a tiny smile before speaking: “If you’ve finished pretending to work, I’ll take you for an early lunch. Team debrief starts at one.”
“Lunch?” Adam croaked, checking his watch, “Lunch! What else would I be doing at eleven-thirty?”
“Well, if you don’t want to come…” She turned to leave.
“Did I say that?” He jumped up from his desk, yanked his jacket from the chair and knocked a pile of papers to the floor.
He dropped to his knee and fumbled around on the floor, creasing and screwing up sheets. ‘Get a grip Fox,’ he told himself and cringed at the chuckle that came from the doorway. God, he was pathetic—he risked a quick look to see if she thought so too.
To his great relief, she was smiling, eyes crinkling with humour and kindness that allowed him to relax a little.
“Hot, isn’t it?” he mumbled, tugging at his waistband.
Today’s suit, a favourite in his days at BSL, was feeling uncomfortably snug and he felt self-conscious about the squeeze of flesh that had developed around his middle. Solomon’s gym hadn’t seen much of him lately. At Mango HQ he’d found like-minded people, a support system, in short: a much better environment. There was no angst to burn. Still, he really ought to keep in shape, just in case there might be another reason to look his best.
Perhaps he and Jerry could go to the gym together to spur each other on, Jerry motivating him for a change. Adam grinned at the memory of propelling Jerry’s unwilling body around the equipment. If he wasn’t careful, it would be him with the jelly arse and bingo wings. Perhaps he’d risk confessing his spare tyre at the Dog and Duck later, for a laugh. Now that would really kill Jerry.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
MY VERY FIRST NOTE OF THANKS GOES TO YOU, THE READER. Thank you so much for spending your valuable time and money on my book. I can’t quite believe that this figment of my imagination has finally become a reality. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed it and if you can spare a few more seconds please, please do leave a review on Amazon. For a new author like me reviews make all the difference to whether another reader will take a chance on the unknown. Thank you so much.
This book’s been a long time in the making and there are lots of people who’ve helped me along the way.
My thanks go to my friends and family who’ve read one or other of the many drafts and given me their priceless feedback. In particular I would like to mention Alexia Winslett for all the hours she spent shuffling mountains of loose paper and the resulting insightful comment. Also, Max Halliwell for his eager consumption of the story, instalment by instalment - your support and kindness helped me to keep going. Thanks also to Sophie White for endless hours spent discussing the ins and outs of the plot. Always a pleasure - the wine helped I’m sure. Cheers!
Much time was spent on research and in this area I would like to thank Amanda Neill for her paramedic prowess – thanks for the offer of a ride in an ambulance and my DI turned dog groomer Richard Bell for sharing his insider knowledge. Thanks for taking the time out to help.
On the professional front I’d like to thank Doug Johnstone for his thorough assessment of the penultimate draft. Your suggestions and observations were transformative. Thanks also to Julia Gibb for her copy editing skills and John Bowen, fellow TBCer and voluntary mentor, for all your support and cover advice and TBC itself for its support and endlessly amusing exploits in the booky world.
I have been banging on about this for years now so thanks to everyone in a ten mile radius for putting up with me and I’m sorry but, you’re going to have to go through it all again for the next one. Unlucky. On that note, if you would like to find out about future books please do sign up on my website for news at www.sharnhutton.com.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-SEVEN
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
FIFTY-FIVE
FIFTY-SIX
FIFTY-SEVEN
FIFTY-EIGHT
FIFTY-NINE
SIXTY
SIXTY-ONE
SIXTY-TWO
SIXTY-THREE
SIXTY-FOUR
SIXTY-FIVE
SIXTY-SIX
SIXTY-SEVEN
SIXTY-EIGHT
SIXTY-NINE
SEVENTY
SEVENTY-ONE
SEVENTY-TWO
SEVENTY-FOUR
SEVENTY-FIVE
SEVENTY-SIX
SEVENTY-SEVEN
SEVENTY-EIGHT
SEVENTY-NINE
EIGHTY
EIGHTY-ONE
EIGHTY-TWO
EIGHTY-THREE
EIGHTY-FOUR
EIGHTY-FIVE
EIGHTY-SIX
EIGHTY-SEVEN
EIGHTY-EIGHT
EIGHTY-NINE
NINETY
NINETY-ONE
NINETY-TWO
NINETY-THREE
NINETY-FOUR
NINETY-FIVE
NINETY-SIX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS