Book Read Free

Death Comes First

Page 34

by Hilary Bonner


  ‘And you share your life with a woman, don’t you? Aren’t you gay?’

  ‘Ah ha!’

  Clarke leaned close to him.

  ‘Only on Mondays, Wednesdays . . . oh, and weekends,’ she said.

  ‘Right.’

  ‘And today is Thursday.’

  ‘So it is,’ said Vogel.

  He didn’t know what else to say.

  Nobby Clarke’s grin widened.

  ‘I’m joking, you bloody fool!’ she said. ‘You didn’t think I was that drunk, did you?’

  Vogel had a feeling he should be insulted. Mostly he was relieved.

  ‘Of course not, boss,’ he said.

  Acknowledgements

  Grateful thanks to:

  Former Avon and Somerset Constabulary Detective Inspector Stephen Bishop, Incident Room Manager of the Bristol-based Brunel Major Crime Investigation Team; former Avon and Somerset Constabulary Detective Sergeant Frank Waghorn; and Pip Hall, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

  Plus, of course, Wayne, Anne and all the team at Pan Mac, Tony, and Amanda. As ever.

  Death

  Comes

  First

  Hilary Bonner is a full-time author and former chairman of The Crime Writers’ Association. Her published work includes eleven previous novels, five non-fiction books: two ghosted autobiographies, one biography, two companions to TV programmes, and a number of short stories. She is a former Fleet Street journalist, Show Business Editor of three national newspapers and Assistant Editor of one. She now lives primarily in the West of England where she was born and brought up and where most of her novels are set.

  BY HILARY BONNER

  Fiction

  The Cruelty of Morning

  A Fancy to Kill For

  A Passion So Deadly

  For Death Comes Softly

  A Deep Deceit

  A Kind of Wild Justice

  A Moment of Madness

  When the Dead Cry Out

  No Reason to Die

  The Cruellest Game

  Friends to Die For

  Death Comes First

  Non-Fiction

  René and Me (with Gorden Kaye)

  Benny: The True Story (with Dennis Kirkland)

  It’s Not a Rehearsal (with Amanda Barrie)

  Journeyman (with Clive Gunnell)

  Heartbeat: The Real Life Story

  First published 2015 by Pan Books

  This electronic edition published 2015 by Pan Books

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan

  20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-1-4472-7211-3

  Copyright © Hilary Bonner 2015

  The right of Hilary Bonner to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third party websites referred to in or on this book.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.

 

 

 


‹ Prev