by Jon Richter
‘I almost feel sorry for Blake. The others were older – he should have had his whole life in front of him.’
‘He’s a cowardly poisoner in my book, Chris – I can’t say I share your sympathy. I’m just glad he’s off my island.’
‘And what about Penman? Have you heard from your best pal at all?’
‘God, no. The real irony is that after all the publicity, All Action Wrestling has become this huge attraction. He’s probably making a fortune now. They’re touring all over the UK, even America. I did look it up on the internet, actually – Wilshere is their champion these days, although now they’re calling it the Vic Valiant Memorial Title.’
‘That’s nice. And Wilshere was a nice lad. I hope he makes it big.’
‘Yeah, me too.’
‘Speaking of nice kids… how’s Holly?’
‘She’s fine, thank you. All she does at the moment is draw rabbits all day. They look more like dinosaurs, but still.’
‘And what about your mum?’
‘She’s good too, cheers. She actually asks about you, you know. You must have made an impression.’
‘Nice to know someone remembers me, anyway.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I suppose… I thought you might call.’
‘Well, did you call?’
‘Yep, just now.’
‘And are you glad you did?’
‘… Yes.’
‘Well then, stop fucking moaning. Now are you going to come and visit me or not?’
‘I was getting to that. In his book, Schultz says that the one person he truly loved was his first wife, even though he knew he was gay before they even married.’
‘Are you trying to tell me you’re gay?’
‘No, you plonker. I’m telling you that if you haven’t got your own life in order it isn’t a good idea to get involved with someone else.’
‘You’d better sort your life out before you next call me then.’
‘I probably should.’
They both smiled, and hung up.
Loose Ends
‘The Boss’ Bill Wheeler, who had been sleeping rough for two nights, handed himself in the day after Blake and the Necromancer were apprehended. He was subsequently convicted of drug dealing offences.
Mark Booth, aka Kevin Samson, returned to America, where he was contacted by the SWA, who initially wanted to better understand the events surrounding Vic Valiant’s death. Their discussions led ultimately to Booth receiving a trial for a new contract with the company.
Stacey Wainwright, aka April Summers, never performed again with AAW. She and her daughter moved back to Bristol, where she now works as a fitness instructor.
Ciara Roberts is now in a happy relationship and still wrestling with AAW, but will soon be taking time out to have her first child.
Mick Morgan and James Watson carried on wrestling with AAW, and are now also touring the UK with a successful wrestling and stand-up comedy routine.
Colin Vorhees still wrestles with AAW after losing his maiden UFC fight inside twelve seconds.
Thomas Horan was knocked unconscious moments before Ethan Blake’s entrance on the night of his arrest. He has no idea who operated the sound system to play the entrance music of Blake, the Necromancer, or Valiant. He recovered from his injuries, and continues to operate as AAW’s lighting and sound engineer.
Hamish Leithauser recovered from his coma and resumed his job at the hospital. Despite being a rational man, he now never works with his back to the storage room doors.
Saint Drogo continues his vigil over the inhabitants of Salvation Island.
Excerpt VII: Peace
I decided to add one final chapter. We’re having a tournament, starting this Friday, right here on Salvation. The winner gets a title shot. Penman wants me to win the thing, and then take the strap. I know it’s a nothing promotion, a meaningless championship. But I suppose it’s a tiny bit of redemption. A fitting end to my story.
But I’m going to turn him down. I’m going to tell him I’ll wrestle in the tournament, and I’ll make the title match my last big fight, and I’ll do the job for the kid Blake, who’s got a good gimmick if nothing else.
Then I’m going to retire.
I’m going to break things off with Mr X, and stop leeching off my friend, and get my own place.
I’m going to get a normal job, somewhere here in England, as a bouncer in a bar or something, somewhere on the coast where I can see the sea every day.
I’m going to save up enough money to get back to the States, to be closer to my family.
But before then I’m going to call Tanya and ask to speak to my kids, and see if they all fancy a trip out here to see their old dad Victor, and to go visit the Queen.
Vic Valiant, Salvation Island
If you loved this gripping crime novel from HQ Digital then why not take a look at these equally thrilling stories from our other authors…
Copyright
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2017
Copyright © Jon Richter 2017
Jon Richter asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © December 2016 ISBN: 9780008219833