Deadly Secrets by Ann Girdharry
How
long can you get away with murder?
In
an idyllic Sussex town, Mr Quinn whispers a secret on his death bed.
Hours later the person who cared for Quinn is killed.
Mr
Quinn’s secret sets off events unlike anything Detective Grant and
Psychologist Ruby Silver have ever seen.
A
series of deaths follow as a killer tries to cover their twenty-year
trail of murder by drowning.
Grant,
Silver and the team must track a killer who has been getting away
with murder for years. But when treachery, corruption and secrets
from the past are used against Sergeant Tom Delaney, the killer turns
their attention to one of Grant’s own…
Detective
David Grant and Psychologist Ruby Silver are back in this unmissable
new crime thriller. It can be read as the sequel to Deadly
Motives or as a
brilliant stand-alone. It's the perfect read for fans of
authors like Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza and Helen H. Durrant.
Grant had seen
all sorts of murders and this was a nasty one. A nurse living in a
rented place which she kept pretty and fresh with butterfly paintings
on the wall and flower pots on the windowsill? Michelle Dixon didn’t
seem the type to attract this sort of trouble.
The neighbour who
discovered the victim hadn’t come across as a closet psychopath
either. It was time to find out what he had to say.
The first witness
was inside an ambulance wrapped in a blanket because he had already
removed his clothes for evidence. Under the blanket he was dressed in
a paper suit.
Grant sat down
beside him. The witness could not wash until samples had been taken
from his skin and hands and hair. Unfortunately, this meant he was
still smeared with the victim’s blood.
‘I’m
Detective Chief Inspector Grant and I need to ask some important
questions. The more information you can give, the more it will help
me. How about we start with you telling me your name.’
Nothing much came
out when the man opened his mouth. When he tried again, Grant leaned
closer to hear.
‘Sean Fraser.’
‘Sean, can you
tell me what happened here tonight.’
Grant listened
patiently as Sean told him how he lived in the flat above. He’d
heard the smoke alarm and it kept ringing so he’d come downstairs
to check what was going on and found Michelle’s front door open. He
didn’t remember calling the ambulance, nor trying desperately to
stem the blood flow and save Michelle’s life, which is what the
first responders had reported.
‘And what were
you doing when you heard the alarm?’
‘I was on the
phone to my girlfriend.’
Being on the
phone wasn’t an alibi. They would definitely be checking that out
and checking out Sean and his background, and his girlfriend’s.
‘How well did
you know Ms Dixon?’
‘Not very. I
moved in a few months ago and we say hello when we pass in the
entrance. She’s a nurse and I work shifts too so I often saw her at
odd hours. I work at the cinema complex.’
Grant showed Sean
the photograph. ‘Was this a picture of Michelle Dixon as a girl?’
‘I think so. I
saw it in the kitchen. She helped me move in some of my stuff and we
had a coffee afterwards.’
‘Did you like
her?’
‘Yes, I mean
no, not in that way, I mean not in a weird way, she was just nice. I
didn’t kill her, if that’s what you mean!’
‘Have you been
inside her apartment many times?’
‘A couple. A
parcel was delivered to me and it was for her so I brought it down.
Only normal stuff.’
Sean made a grab
for Grant’s arm. ‘She was still alive. When I got there she
wasn’t completely… you know…’
That was news.
‘She tried to
speak. I could hardly make it out and I’m not sure I heard her
right.’
Grant put his
gloved hand over Sean’s. ‘Tell me.’
‘Her lips
barely moved but I think she said something like “pois-”? It’s
been driving me mad trying to figure it out. I think she might have
been trying to say poison.’
‘Anything
else?’ Grant asked gently.
‘I tried to
save her, I really did.’ Sean wiped at snot and tears.
‘I know you
did. Her injuries were too severe.’
Grant patted the
man’s hand and left him in the care of the paramedics.
The woman had
been stabbed and bled to death. Why on earth would her dying word be
poison?
Ann
Girdharry is a British, crime thriller author.
She's a trained psychotherapist and worked as a manager in the not-for-profit sector for many years.
Ann is an avid reader and her favourites are crime and suspense. She regularly talks about her favourite reads to her newsletter subscribers. She enjoys travelling and apart from the UK she’s lived in the USA (where her first daughter was born), Norway (where her second daughter was born) and she currently lives in France.
She was an ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD Finalist 2017.
She's a trained psychotherapist and worked as a manager in the not-for-profit sector for many years.
Ann is an avid reader and her favourites are crime and suspense. She regularly talks about her favourite reads to her newsletter subscribers. She enjoys travelling and apart from the UK she’s lived in the USA (where her first daughter was born), Norway (where her second daughter was born) and she currently lives in France.
She was an ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD Finalist 2017.
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