Hunter’s Secret by Val Penny
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is called to the scene of a murder. DCs Tim Myerscough and Bear Zewedu found a corpse, but when Hunter arrives it has disappeared, and all is not as it seems.
Hunter recalls the disappearance of a dead body thirty years earlier. The Major Incident Team is called in but sees no connection – it is too long ago. Hunter is determined to investigate the past and the present with the benefit of modern DNA testing.
Tim has other problems in his life. His father, Sir Peter Myerscough, is released from jail. He, too, remembers the earlier murder. There is no love lost between Hunter and Sir Peter. Will Hunter accept help from his nemesis to catch a killer?
Hunter’s own secret is exciting and crucial to his future. Will it change his life? And can he keep Edinburgh safe?
Hunter’s Secret – Excerpt 1
Both boys stood on the pedals of their bikes and, with their heads down, rode as fast as they could along the pathway. Hunter led his brother. Their breath froze and hung on the air as they pedalled faster and faster. Hunter was dismayed as Fraser overtook him in the charge towards home along the route which goes through the heart of Edinburgh.
“Hey! Eat my dust!” Fraser shouted over his shoulder. He laughed.
They passed the neglected Warriston Cemetery, with its fallen, overgrown gravestones, and raced near the Leith-Canonmills bike path. It is a former railway line with old platforms, stone railway bridges, and tunnels. Hunter thought it looked cool, then he noticed that Fraser was not looking where he was going. With his head down to streamline his body Hunter was sure there was no way Fraser could see well in the falling gloom. All of a sudden, his brother’s bike shuddered to a halt and he saw him lurch forward and topple over the handlebars. There was no time for Hunter to stop. He followed on his brother’s heels and hit the hard, wet ground immediately after Fraser.
“Shit! What the hell was that?” Fraser said rubbing his arm
“Why did you brake? Just to be a jerk? You’re such a liability.”
“Naw, don’t be an arse. My bike flicked over that old branch. And the ground is all wet. It’s soaking. I just didn’t see the branch and now my arm’s bloody sore. Do you think I’ve broken it?”
“Naw, don’t be a baby. Your arm is fine. Shit!”
“You think it’s not broken? How can you know? You haven’t even looked at it.”
“I think that’s not a branch, Fraser. Look!” Hunter shone the light from his bike onto the offending item. It’s a fucking leg! And look at all that blood. His head too. He’s taken a real beating. Oh fuck, no! You’re sitting in it! You’re covered in his blood.”
“Bloody hell! Oh God! There’s a knife.”
“Do you think he’s dead?”
“I’m not bloody touching him. You do it.”
Hunter screwed up his face. “Aaw, come on, you’ve already got his blood on you. I don’t want to touch him.”
“You’ve got his blood on you too.”
“Not as much as you.”
“You better check him, Christian.”
“Hunter.”
“Hunter, whatever your name is. You know you’ll feel guilty if you don’t check whether he’s still alive and you know very well that I won’t.”
Val Penny is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and two cats. She has a Law degree from Edinburgh University and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However, she has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels.
Her crime novels, 'Hunter's Chase' Hunter's Revenge, Hunter's Force and Hunter’s Blood form the bestselling series The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries. They are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, published by Crooked Cat Books. The fifth novel in the series, Hunter's Secret, is published by darkstroke. Her first non-fiction book, Let’s Get Published is available now.
Twitter @valeriepenny
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