They sat opposite each other, holding hands.
Two untouched macchiatos lay on the table between them.
“There’s one thing I’d still like to know, Brody.”
“Oh yes? I thought I’d told you everything.”
And he had. Everything.
“Why do you call yourself Fingal?”
Ah, that.
He’d forgotten that.
“What’s my name?” he asked her.
“Brody.” And to his inquiring look she added, “Brody Taylor.”
He took a massive deep breath.
“That’s not actually my name.” He shrugged apologetically.
She punched him playfully in the arm but then became serious. “Go on.”
“My . . .” He faltered. “Jesus, this is hard. I’ve never told anyone this. Well, no one except Leroy.”
“Brody, you know the rules.”
The rules they had laid down for their relationship to function involved telling the complete truth, at all times. It was the only way she would accept him. She’d eventually got past the lies and deceit from their first few days together during the case, ultimately accepting that Brody’s feelings towards her were genuine. His actions in saving her and Fiona’s lives had gone a long way to Jenny giving him enough leeway to explain himself.
“Okay, okay. It’s my surname that’s Brody. My real surname.”
She looked confused. “So what’s your first name?”
“Finn.”
“And that’s where Fingal comes from? Finn?”
“Yes.”
“Finn Brody,” she said, trying it out for size. She offered her hand for him to shake. He took it.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Finn Brody.”
* * *
THE END
AFTERWORD
Thanks for joining Brody and Jenny in this Deep Web Thriller. Enjoyed the story? Here’s what you can do next.
If you loved the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review where you bought the book (and/or on Goodreads). Your help in spreading the word is gratefully appreciated - it really helps aspiring indie authors like me. You can also sign up to be notified of my next book, as well as pre-release specials and giveaways at www.ianhsutherland.com.
In case you missed it, Brody appears in a prequel novella to Invasion of Privacy called Social Engineer. More information is available at www.ianhsutherland.com/social-engineer.
Thank you for reading this book. I’ve been actively procrastinating about it for many, many years. But I finally knuckled down in 2012, giving up television (well, except for my three guilty pleasures: Match of the Day, Australian Masterchef and 24!!) and got on with the job of writing it, which turned out to be a true privilege and a pleasure. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing, editing and publishing it. I plan for this to be a long running series featuring Brody/Fingal and each novel will expose more about the Deep Web, which is, sadly, very real.
Ian Sutherland, London, August 2014.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It’s been a long journey to complete and publish my first novel and many people along the way have greatly helped me, not always knowingly! First I’d like to thank some of my earliest beta readers on Wattpad.com, who gave their constructive and positive feedback long before the book was finished. You gave me the confidence that what I was writing was worth reading. In particular, deancmoore, EurekaEureka, evidents, Fakedeadgirlfriend, lkrice, Next_JK_Rowling, ricktaylor18, sauthca, Quor000 and WilsonGill who all stuck with me right the way through. For those of you who bought the book because of the cover — most people do despite the saying — I thank the talented Peter O’Connor of bespokebookcovers.com. Then there’s the enthusiasm and professionalism of my editor, Bryony Sutherland (no relation!), who took a manuscript I, naively, thought needed little help, and found a thousand ways to improve it. This is a much better novel because of her. And lastly, my wife, Cheryl, and my daughters Laura and Raquel, who have lived my writer’s dream day-to-day, always politely reminding me to get on with it. Well here we are at last!
ABOUT IAN SUTHERLAND
Ian Sutherland is a crime thriller author, living in London with his wife and two daughters. Leveraging his career in the IT industry, Ian's stories shine light on the threats we face from cybercrime as it becomes all too prevalent in our day-to-day lives. Invasion of Privacy is his first full-length novel and was professionally self-published in August 2014, along with it’s prequel, a novella entitled Social Engineer.
Learn more about Ian at www.ianhsutherland.com
Join his mailing list at www.ianhsutherland.com/stay-in-touch
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Invasion of Privacy: A Deep Web Thriller #1 (Deep Web Thriller Series) Page 53