‘Maybe I do. Maybe I just don’t want to see you do this to Rick,’ said Davey. ‘It has to stop here. You’re twisted. You’ve let crazy ambition and greed blind you to everything that’s good…’
‘It’s all lies,’ said Betsy. ‘You have to believe me, Rick. He’ll stop at nothing to have you for his own. It’s not love, it’s a travesty!’
‘What do you know of love?’ Davey said quietly. ‘You’ve stamped all over it.’
‘You love me, don’t you, Rick?’ she said, stepping closer. ‘You still love me. I can see that in your eyes. Don’t listen to him. He’s the one behind all this. You can’t trust him.’
Mason shook his head slowly. His mind was in turmoil. He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her close again, to forget all this ever happened. And for one brief moment he was powerless to resist her, as he had always been powerless before her, and lifted his hand to hold hers.
Swiftly, Betsy bent down to the floor and scooped up the gun Sykes had dropped. She pressed the end of the barrel hard against Mason’s stomach and pulled the trigger. He staggered backwards, falling over. And as he fell he saw, as if in slow-motion, Betsy raising the gun to fire at Davey.
A scarlet rose bloomed at her throat, and her mouth, framed by her bright-red lips, spouted silent words. She let the gun tumble from her hand, putting her fingers to the wound, staring at the wisps of smoke spiralling from Davey’s gun. Then her eyes glazed over and she dropped down into a heap.
Mason felt an intense, fiery pain engulf him. He stared at the high, fathomless ceiling. A face hovered into view.
‘Rick!’ said Davey, his voice wavering. ‘Rick, stay with me!’
But already the pain was subsiding, replaced instead by creeping, comforting warmth. He turned his head to one side. Betsy’s sightless eyes were fixed on him.
‘Betsy…’ he whispered.
Something shimmered in the darkness behind her. A lone figure came briefly into focus, seen as if through a summer heat haze.
It wore a military uniform, decorated with gold braid and silver buttons; its face appeared to be the white porcelain mask of Antinous. No sooner had Mason fixed it in his sights than it vanished. He became afraid.
Davey’s voice was fading. The light dimming. His face was nothing more than a pale blob floating in a starless night sky.
Then Rick Mason’s world fell silent.
* * * *
There will be a sequel to this novel, The Devil Rises
You cannot escape…
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing ‘SILENT’.
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Daniel M. Mitchell
By D. M. Mitchell
Novels:
Max
Silent
Mouse
Blackdown
After the Fall
The Soul Fixer
Flinder’s Field
Latimer’s Demon
The Domino Boys
The King of Terrors
Armageddon Heights
Archangel Hawthorne
The House of the Wicked
The Woman from the Blue Lias
Pressure Cooker
The First D. M. Mitchell Thriller Omnibus
The Second D. M. Mitchell Thriller Omnibus
The D.M. Mitchell Supernatural Double Bill
Short Stories:
Rabbits
Mulligan’s Map
The Pen of Manderby Pincher
Visit the official D. M. Mitchell website at www.dm-mitchell.com for more information on books and author biographies
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SILENT (a psychological thriller, combining mystery, crime and suspense) Page 23