by David Hewson
‘I saved that girl! Marly didn’t even know until I called her. Tell them . . .’
Bakker reached for her plastic cuffs.
‘You tell them, mate. We won’t.’
‘There’s blood enough already,’ Vos said, holding out his hand. ‘Where’s Chandra?’
Toine Brouwer looked at the crooked corpse by his feet. He turned the gun on Vos, then Bakker, mouthed one word for each: bang.
Then pulled the trigger, fired into thin air. Ducks and geese flew up from the rushes, squawking, terrified. He watched their anxious wings flap into the pale blue September sky, lobbed the weapon out over the river, turned his back, held his hands behind him, waiting.
‘Deal with it,’ Vos said and before the words were out she was clasping the cuffs round Toine Brouwer’s wrists.
From the river bank came a shout.
They were young. Inexperienced. Wary. Scared. Two young men in uniform who’d blundered into the bushes by the gravel track that ran beside the Amstel. Standing there wide-eyed, waiting to be told what to do when Vos pushed through.
A shape lay at the bottom of a rough gulley half filled with water.
‘Medics?’ Vos said. ‘The ambulance?’
On the way, one muttered. Things didn’t happen in an instant. Mistakes weren’t remedied in a heartbeat. Blunders went unnoticed until all you could do was mourn too late their making.
You’re a clumsy man, Vos.
You miss things.
There was a shroud in the mud. A bed sheet by the looks of it, soiled and bloody, swaddled round something that didn’t move.
Laura Bakker came to stand by him, hand to her mouth, eyes glistening. Behind was the sound of argument as the other uniforms crammed Toine Brouwer’s big frame into their car.
Vos scrambled down the greasy bank, tripping, stumbling into the pit. Cold sludge came up to his ankles then his knees as he struggled towards the sad bundle.
‘Get the damned ambulance!’ Vos yelled, not taking his eyes away.
A clumsy man.
It wasn’t that. Sometimes you didn’t see enough. Sometimes the burden was so heavy it was easier to give up and look the other way. Not that it made the thing you were supposed to look at invisible. All it did was wait.
Head to toe the dirty fabric covered her. At one end there was blood leaking through the cotton.
Gingerly, with shaking fingers, he began to unroll the sheet.
Jillian Chandra was naked underneath, dirt on her brown skin, mucky gag around her mouth.
He reached for her wrist. Breath held tight, trying to hear the commotion growing behind him, he waited.
Cold flesh met his fingers as they reached for the soft hollow of her throat, felt for something there, the seconds ticking away in his head.
Vos eased the gag free. After what felt like an age the gentlest beat came back.
‘Jillian . . .’
The first time he’d ever called her by that name.
Maybe that made a difference. Her olive eyes opened and she looked at him, half-doped, half-stupid, baffled, scared. Just the slightest flash of anger too and he was glad to see it.
‘We’re here. You’re safe. It’ll be fine.’
A klaxon sounded somewhere. The medics turning up at last.
She started coughing then sobbing, a deep, hurt sound, someone waking from a foul and unimaginable dream.
He tugged the cotton sheet round her. Then saw it. The thing that made the stain.
Three words scrawled on her shoulder, black ink, red blood and shredded skin. The tattoo, a last gift from an angry father determined to leave his mark upon the world.
Sleep Baby Sleep.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Vos lied again.
The House of Dolls
by
DAVID HEWSON
Where dark secrets lurk behind every door . . .
Anneliese Vos, sixteen-year-old daughter of Amsterdam detective Pieter Vos, disappeared three years ago in mysterious circumstances. Her distraught father’s desperate search reveals nothing and results in his departure from the police force.
Pieter now lives in a broken-down houseboat in the colourful Amsterdam neighbourhood of the Jordaan. One day, while Vos is wasting time at the Rijksmuseum staring at a doll’s house that seems to be connected in some way to the case, Laura Bakker, a misfit trainee detective from the provinces, visits him. She’s come to tell him that Katja Prins, daughter of an important local politician, has gone missing in circumstances similar to Anneliese’s.
In the company of the intriguing and awkward Bakker, Vos finds himself drawn back into the life of a detective. A life which he thought he had left behind. Hoping against hope that somewhere will lie a clue to the fate of Anneliese, the daughter he blames himself for losing . . .
The Wrong Girl
by
DAVID HEWSON
She knew they would come for her. How long can she wait?
The arrival of Sinterklaas is an annual event which marks a high point in Amsterdam’s calendar. The city is full of children trying to get a glimpse of their hero, and the police are out in force to manage the crowded streets and waterways.
Detective Pieter Vos is on duty with his young assistant, Laura Bakker, when the alarm is raised. A young girl wearing a pink jacket seems to have been kidnapped, but the ransom is not as expected, and it seems there could be a case of mistaken identity.
In the city of vice, tension runs high with opposing gangs protecting their individual patches and the security forces and the police frequently clashing over responsibility. When the perpetrator’s horrifying demands become clear, the investigation is stepped up. What the police uncover is an operation so sinister, with such far-reaching implications internationally, that they have to work around the clock to find the true heart of evil – before it’s too late.
Little Sister
by
DAVID HEWSON
Their family was killed. The price must be paid.
The Timmers sisters, Kim and Mia, were just eleven years old when they were accused of murdering the lead singer of a world-famous pop band in the Dutch fishing village of Volendam. They believed he was responsible for the death of their family, including their sister known as Little Jo.
Ten years have passed and it is now time for their release from Marken, the local psychiatric institution.
Pieter Vos, a detective with the Amsterdam police, is given cause to re-open the case when the girls disappear along with the nurse responsible for escorting them to a halfway house. The investigation uncovers a shocking cover-up which leaves one of Vos’s closest colleagues under scrutiny.
Praise for The Killing
‘Turns television gold into literary gold’
Daily Telegraph
‘A very fine novel, which is more of a re-imagining of the original story than a carbon copy – and with the bonus of a brand new twist to the ending’
Daily Mail
‘David Hewson’s literary translation . . . allows the characters more room to breathe . . . Hewson’s greatest achievement is that it’s compelling reading’
Observer
‘Not just a novelization. Hewson is a highly regarded crime writer in his own right; he spent a lot of time with the creators of the original to ensure that he did not offend its spirit and mood, and he has provided his own, different solution to the central murder mystery’
The Times
‘A fast-paced crime novel that’s five-star from start to finish’
Irish Examiner
‘The book is an excellent read in which the author manages to dig deeper into the characters without having to rewrite their original television characterization. For those who haven’t seen the series, this is a very cleverly constructed and beautifully written crime drama; for those who already know the ending, a new twist awaits’
Irish Times
Praise for the Amsterdam Detective series
‘Dark and atmospheric . . . br
eathless pacing’
Linwood Barclay
‘David Hewson wrote a series featuring the Roman cop Nic Costa, then much-praised novelizations of the TV series The Killing, set in Copenhagen. He’s now had equal success in capturing the atmosphere and criminal culture of Amsterdam’
The Times
‘Brimming with action and drama’
Playlist
‘It is rare to find an author whose works seem entirely original. Hewson’s do
’ Literary Review
‘Hewson provides a cast of fascinating suspects and some haunting imagery and motifs as Vos wades through the murk and mud to a thrilling and unexpected denouement. Crime writing from a master of the genre’
Lancashire Evening Post
‘When Hewson hits his stride it feels like you’re being treated to a masterclass in crime writing. If you have a penchant for Euro-crime procedurals, [this] is an essential new series’
Crime Fiction Lover
‘The issues covered are up to the minute and the ending is realistic. Highly recommended’
The Book Bag
SLEEP BABY SLEEP
Former Sunday Times journalist David Hewson is well known for his crime-thriller fiction set in European cities. He is the author of the highly acclaimed The Killing novels set in Denmark and the Detective Nic Costa series set in Italy. The Killing trilogy is based on the BAFTA award-winning Danish TV series created by Søren Sveistrup and produced by DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
Hewson’s ability to capture the sense of place and atmosphere in his fiction comes from spending considerable research time in the cities in which the books are set: Copenhagen, Rome, Venice and now Amsterdam. Sleep Baby Sleep is the fourth title to feature Detective Pieter Vos, following The House of Dolls, The Wrong Girl and Little Sister.
Also by David Hewson
The Killing trilogy
The Killing
The Killing II
The Killing III
Nic Costa series
A Season for the Dead
The Villa of Mysteries
The Sacred Cut
The Lizard’s Bite
The Seventh Sacrament
The Garden of Evil
Dante’s Numbers
The Blue Demon
The Fallen Angel
Carnival for the Dead
Amsterdam Detective series
The House of Dolls
The Wrong Girl
Little Sister
Other titles
The Promised Land
The Cemetery of Secrets
(previously published as Lucifer’s Shadow)
Death in Seville
(previously published as Semana Santa)
First published 2017 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2017 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-9342-2
Copyright © David Hewson 2017
Jacket images © Shutterstock
The right of David Hewson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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