‘Good,’ said Bradshaw. ‘And she isn’t the only one.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Samuel Keogh,’ said Bradshaw. ‘He isn’t dying. Far from it, in fact. He’s now in a stable condition and will undoubtedly be fit enough to face trial.’
‘That’s a cast-iron life sentence.’
‘It is,’ agreed Bradshaw. ‘Now they just have to work out what to do with his daughter.’
‘That’s going to take a while.’
‘I think it will,’ said Bradshaw, then admitted, ‘That’s not the only reason I called.’
‘I should have known. Okay, what’s up?’
‘Remember the evil stepdad?’
‘The one you reckon killed his stepdaughter? Have you finally got him?’
‘No.’
‘What, then?’
‘He’s dead.’
‘Really? Guilty conscience, eh?’
‘Not exactly,’ said Bradshaw. ‘It wasn’t suicide.’
Now Tom’s interest was genuinely piqued. ‘And I am guessing it wasn’t an unfortunate accident either.’
‘Not unless he fell on to a carving knife,’ said Bradshaw. ‘Fourteen times. I am led to believe it was a frenzied attack.’
‘Any idea who did it?’
‘Not yet,’ admitted the detective. ‘It could be someone who is as convinced about his guilt as we were. Then again, it might be the same person who is responsible for his step-daughter’s mysterious disappearance. We just don’t know.’
‘Police baffled,’ said Tom, quoting an imaginary headline.
‘Aren’t we always?’ admitted Bradshaw dryly.
Tom thought for a moment. ‘And they’ve given you the job of finding out what happened?’
‘Who else do they call when they’re bloody desperate? Actually, the whole team is on it. I’m back working for DI Tennant.’
‘Well, good for you, mate.’
‘We are still a bit undermanned, though, what with so many detectives suspended. There are just too many people out there killing each other these days. So we were wondering if you might like to lend a hand? If you’re not too busy, that is?’
Tom smiled. ‘We’ll have to have a think about that.’
‘Okay, but do me a favour.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t think about it for too long.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll get my people to call your people.’
A Note from the Author
It is often said that life is stranger than fiction and I regularly read accounts of true crimes and think, if I wrote that, no one would believe it. I might have dismissed the idea of a secret bunker hidden under a large house as a bit far-fetched for fiction if I hadn’t come across a real example. Two brothers were being shown around a farmhouse in St Andrews, with a view to buying it, when they asked what was behind a large door. The estate agent opened it and took them down a set of steps into an enormous decommissioned Cold War bunker that came with the property. When they recovered from the shock, the brothers bought the place and preserved the bunker as a museum, known as ‘Scotland’s Secret Bunker’, and it is now open to the public.
Being a crime writer, I immediately began to imagine the worst and wondered what would happen if a person with more sinister intentions was able to purchase a bunker like this one and what purpose they might put it to. Imprisonment of any description would be awful enough for most of us, before you add in the underground element. The accompanying claustrophobia and dawning realization that no one could possibly know where you are makes this the stuff of nightmares. That was the genesis of the idea behind The Chosen Ones. I hope you didn’t find it too disturbing. Sleep well and sweet dreams.
‒ Howard Linskey, June 2018
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Penguin Random House for publishing The Chosen Ones. A special thank you goes to my brilliant editor, Joel Richardson, for all his hard work, great ideas and unflagging support while I finished this book. Thanks also to Maxine Hitchcock for her faith in me and to Jenny Platt, Beth Cockeram, Bea McIntyre and Sarah Day for their hard work on my behalf.
My superb literary agent, Phil Patterson at Marjacq, has helped me to write eight books now, and his support has been invaluable. Thanks also to Sandra Sawicka at Marjacq for overseeing the foreign-language versions of my books.
The following people have all given me their help and support throughout my writing career and I am extremely grateful to them all: Adam Pope, Andy Davis, Nikki Selden, Gareth Chennells, Andrew Local, Stuart Britton, David Shapiro, Peter Day, Tony Frobisher, Eva Dolan, Katie Charlton, Gemma Sealey, Emad Akhtar, Keshini Naidoo and Ion Mills.
My lovely, long-suffering wife, Alison, has to live with both me and these books. She witnesses the times when putting words down on the page feels like pulling teeth. Her reminder that ‘you have done this before so you can do it again’ always helps to get me over the bumpy bits and on to the finishing line. When I met Alison I told her I wanted to be an author one day and she didn’t laugh at me, but that isn’t the only reason I married her. Her love and faith keep me going.
My wonderful daughter, Erin, deserves huge thanks for making every one of my days brighter and better. The best part of being a writer is being able to stop when you come home, Erin, so we can spend time together. Love you always.
Alice Teale is missing.
In a town full of secrets,
hers was the biggest.
Ian Bradshaw, Tom Carney and Helen Norton return in the next gripping thriller from Howard Linskey, coming in 2019.
Enjoyed The Chosen Ones?
Discover the rest of the series:
No Name Lane
There’s a serial killer on the loose in north-east England. Four bodies have already been discovered. A fifth girl, Michelle Summers, has just disappeared.
When a body is discovered, everyone fears the worst. But this isn’t Michelle – this corpse has been dead for over fifty years.
Behind Dead Eyes
Tom Carney receives a letter from a convicted murderer who insists he is innocent. His argument is persuasive – but psychopaths are often said to be charming.
Across the city, Ian Bradshaw has a murder case on his hands. But he can’t catch the killer if he can’t ID the victim, and this woman’s identity has been extinguished in the most shocking manner imaginable.
The Search
Susan Verity was only ten when she went missing.
The police searched for years without finding her.
Convicted serial killer Adrian Wicklow was always the prime suspect. After decades behind bars, Adrian finally says he’ll tell the truth …
THE BEGINNING
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PENGUIN BOOKS
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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published 2018
Copyright © Howard Linskey, 2018
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Images © Anthony Hatley / Alamy
ISBN: 978-1-405-93315-5
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