Hunter’s Blood by Val Penny
Three elderly women he knows have died in mysterious circumstances. Hunter appears to be the only link.
A little girl goes missing on a cold winter’s night. When his team discovers cocaine hidden at the farm where she was living, the search becomes even more urgent.
Why did the women die? And what did the child witness?
Hunter must find the answers to these questions to ensure his family and his city are safe.
“For
goodness sake, can we just gather ourselves together and get this
bloody show on the road? It’s like herding cats trying to get you
four organised!” Tim Myerscough said. The tall, blond detective
constable helped his friend, DC Bear Zewedu, fit the back packs for
both his friend and his girlfriend, Mel, into the back of his large
BMW.
“Do
you both really need all this stuff? We're only going for the
weekend,” Tim asked.
“Good
job you've got a big beast of a car, Timmy boy,” Bear smiled.
His
dark eyes and short, curly, black hair contrasted strongly with Tim's
colouring.
“It’s
cool this afternoon, isn’t it?” Bear said.
“Cool
enough for both of us to wear Aran
sweaters,” Tim smiled. “Great minds think alike.”
The
men had been close friends since their days at Merchiston Castle
School, one of the most prestigious schools in Edinburgh. Tim closed
the rear door of the car and drew down his Oakley sunglasses to
protect his bright blue eyes from the low autumn sun.
“Really,
Tim? Shades?” Bear joked. “That sky looks like a sheet of grey
steel to me. Okay, smeared here and there by those few dirty rags of
cloud fluttering over the city, but hardly weather for sunglasses.
It's November, man!”
“Even
on a November day, I take care of my eyes, big man.” Tim smiled. He
always protected his eyes. “And how much luggage does anybody need
for a weekend break? We're only going across to Simon Land's farm in
North Lanarkshire.”
“You
won't need those shades for long, Tim, it gets dark so early now that
the clocks have changed,” Bear said.
“Never
mind about my bloody shades. Get in the car and let's get going,”
Tim shook his head and grinned at his friend. “You girls okay in
the back?”
“We're
fine!” Mel said, slamming the door much harder than was necessary
and, ignoring Tim's pained expression, began chatting with Ailsa and
Gillian.
“Trust
you to change the subject,” Bear said to Tim as he clambered into
the front passenger seat.
“Well,
you know, we’re only going to be a few miles from home. Even
Gillian felt the need to bring the most enormous full suitcase and
her guitar with its cover. Why does she need all that stuff? Did she
think we were on Britain's
Got Talent?”
“She
may
have a lot of stuff but she’s not deaf, Tim,” Gillian said.
“Ailsa mentioned that Simon played the fiddle and we might have a
sing-a-long – so of course I brought my guitar.”
Tim
shook his head and looked across at Bear. When had he become so big?
He must be lifting weights at the gym again because his shoulders
were broader than Tim remembered. Bear didn't used to take up this
much space, surely?
“You
been eating more cake, big man?” Tim asked.
“That's
rich coming from you! Your chest must easily be fifty inches,” Bear
said.
“Forty-eight,”
said Gillian from the back seat.
“And
with you two still keeping up the rugby training, I think your thighs
are almost the size of my waist,” Mel laughed from beside Gillian.
“How did the two of you ever fold yourselves into Sophie's Fiat 500
to get to rugby practice?”
“Carefully,”
said Bear.
And
that was the nub of the problem – not that Tim would admit it –
but the lovely Lady Sophie Dalmore would be at the bonfire party this
weekend, too. The lying, cheating, murdering beauty that was Sophie
Dalmore. Tim knew his ex would be attending the party with her new
boyfriend, Lord Lachlan 'Lucky' Buchanan.
“Good
Lord! Did you see that van?” Bear shouted suddenly from the front
passenger seat.
“Of
course. But not for long. It was going at some bloody lick. When I’m
driving it means I’m watching the road, big man,” Tim Myerscough,
replied sourly.
“No
need to be like that.”
“What
the hell? If it hits anything, it’ll take them right out,” Mel
exclaimed.
“I'd
like to drive that car up their bloody backside. So damn dangerous,”
Gillian said.
“God,
look! It's swerved violently. Shit! Oh fuck! It's rolled over and
over. There! On the other side of the road. See, Tim?” Bear
pointed.
“Thank
God it's the other side of the road! They could've wiped us out.”
“Stop
sniping, you two. I hope everybody in the van was wearing seatbelts,”
Ailsa, said. “The people inside will be lucky to get out alive.
They'll be all cuts and bruises, even if they were. Look what a mess
they've made of the bushes and trees too.”
“That
van was going at a fair lick,” Mel commented. “But I don't think
the trees are the biggest problem: we’d better phone emergency
services.”
“Should
we stop? After all, we have a doctor on board,” Bear smiled back
towards Ailsa.
“And
cause another crash by making a crazy move or an emergency stop? I
don’t think so, Bear,” Tim said.
“I
don’t have any equipment. An ambulance will be better able to give
any help that’s needed,” Ailsa said.
“I've
got my phone here. I'll call the emergency services. They'll be
quick, I’m sure, and, as Ailsa says, better equipped to help than
we are,” Gillian said.
“Good
idea, pet,” Tim said. “I think they’ll need police as well as
an ambulance.”
Gillian
nodded, taking out her mobile phone.
Tim
smiled back at her through the rear-view mirror and watched as she
dialed 999.
“And
as this is meant to be one of my few weekends off, could you and Bear
just stop bickering for a few hours?” Ailsa said, trying to change
the subject.
“We’re
not bickering,” Tim grumbled.
“You
could have fooled me, bro. I’m really looking forward to Simon’s
bonfire party weekend. Just don’t spoil it, Tim.”
“Okay,
but I’m sure he only invited us because you're back in town,” Tim
commented from the driver’s seat of his comfortable car. “I
always thought he had the hots for you.”
“Ha
ha, very funny,” Ailsa said.
“And
I could do without Lady Sophie bloody Dalmore being there,” Tim
grumbled.
“Oh,
that's
why you're in such a bad mood!” Bear said.
“I
am not in a bad mood. I just prefer to avoid that woman.”
“Really?
You could have fooled me, Timmy boy,” Bear grinned. “Don't worry,
you have Gillian to protect you from the nasty lady, You will, won't
you Gillian?”
Gillian
pointed to her phone as she informed the call handler of her details
and the place they had seen the van leave the road. When she finished
the call, she replied. “Always! I'll take care of you and keep
Sophie at bay. You'll be safe with me, Tim,” she said.
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