Fatal Mistake
Page 35
Sophie crawled in circles across the damp sand. He picked her up and placed her on his lap. She was so beautiful, so precious, he thought, kissing the top of her head as he had done countless times before.
After all that had happened, he actually felt good, younger and healthier than he had for years; forty-eight was not old by today’s standards. Yet sometimes he felt he’d lived a thousand lives. In a way, he had. But that was all behind him. He no longer had to look over his shoulder. Living without fear was amazing, liberating – relaxing. He was safe. The man he was now was anonymous . . . and the man he had once been was dead.
Even if an old associate or colleague, someone from his past life, did happen to cross his path, he would be unrecognisable. He hardly recognised himself. He now walked on the beach each day and had acquired a suntan. He lived a healthier lifestyle, had dropped twenty kilos. Gone was his long black ponytail and bushy beard. Board shorts, T-shirts and thongs had replaced his old jeans, black boots and leathers. Even the ink was fading from his skin. For someone who had stood out from the crowd all his life, blending in was a new experience. One he was learning to enjoy.
Lexie crossed his mind often. He had heard the Amitt Vincent trial was over and was happy for her. That had been hanging over her head for a long time. It was good to know justice was served on this occasion. The man deserved nothing less than life imprisonment. Hopefully, Lexie now felt safe and was able to lay some of the terrors of her past to rest. With the inner strength, resilience and tenacity of a warrior, he knew Lexie would be fine no matter what life threw at her. She was a good cop, an excellent undercover operative and had done a great job on bringing down the drug syndicate – the Hellfire Gang, as the media had labelled them.
Sophie wriggled off his lap and began crawling towards a flock of seagulls congregated along the shore. He watched her progress and wondered if he would always miss his former life.
Probably.
Still, he had the memories. He had seen things most people would not believe. He had lived a double life only few could imagine. He had suffered, both personally and professionally. But he had lived, really lived – and he had made a difference, if only in the slightest way. And he would do it all again in a heartbeat. He thought of Clive.
In the distance, the horizon melted into the ocean. The spectacular sight made him pensive. This existence was not what he had envisaged, or expected. However, events had led him here. And although the man who was once Rex Donaldson could not know what was around the corner, what possibilities tomorrow might bring, right now, this was enough.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Okay, it’s thank you time again . . . I will try to keep this short and sweet.
I may spend much of my time in a comfortable and contented type of solitary confinement, typing away in my office with only my characters for company (yes, I know that sounds a bit crazy . . .) but that is just the beginning of the writing process. It takes many more people than just myself to make a story into a book, therefore my heartfelt thanks goes to:
Selwa Anthony, my literary agent and friend who made this novel a reality. Also Linda Anthony and of course Drew Keys for his fantastic editing advice.
The team at Simon & Schuster Australia, what a lovely, friendly bunch of people you are. Special thanks goes to Managing Director, Dan Ruffino; Managing Editor, Roberta Ivers; Editor Michelle Swainson; and copyeditor Kylie Mason, whose editorial input helped create the best version of Fatal Mistake, as well as Director of Marketing and Publicity, Anabel Pandiella, and Anna O’Grady (my book touring buddies); Kirsty Noffke, and the rest of the PR and Marketing team.
Jo Munroe, Ebooks and Digital Accounts Manager; Sales Director, Elissa Baillie; Deputy Sales Director, Liz Bray; and those wonderful people in the Sales team who ensure the books get on the shelves: Vicky Mayer, Melinda Beaumont, Georgina Rhodes, Kay Drury, Liz Murphy, Nicola Lambert, Sharon Bryant and Anna Stelter.
To Lou Johnson, and Larissa Edwards, who took a chance on me from the start, and Carol Warwick, for taking great care of me and for all of her hard work promoting Sinister Intent and Deadly Obsession. I’m forever grateful.
To my family, long-time friends, writer friends, lovely neighbours, my diverse group of ex-workmates (you know who you are) and to the readers who give continual encouragement and support – I especially appreciate those who have taken the time to get in touch via email or Facebook to let me know they enjoyed my books. That kind of feedback makes an author’s day, so thank you, thank you, thank you . . .
The Breathless in the Bush writers group and the ‘Sassy’s crowd’.
Friend and academy-mate Belinda Neil for her Homicide and Negotiator advice.
To Mum: as always, I hope I’ve done you proud. I miss you.
To Dad: just thanks for everything.
My daughters: Liah and Tara. I keep thanking you in the hope that you will one day read my books. You really may learn something you know . . . Just skip the love scenes . . .
My husband Stuart, for his invaluable police advice and continual love and support.
All mistakes are mine. The story and characters are fictional.
Karen M. Davis
2017
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen M. Davis is a former New South Wales police officer. During her twenty-year career, she worked as a uniformed officer, a detective and an undercover operative. Leaving the force, Karen was encouraged by her mother – author of twelve novels, the late Lynne Wilding – to draw inspiration from her real life experiences and put pen to paper. Karen lives in Sydney with her husband, Stuart, a serving member of the police force, and her two teenage daughters, Liah and Tara.
Fatal Mistake is her third novel. Her first, Sinister Intent, was published in 2013, and her second, Deadly Obsession, was published in 2014. All three novels are set in Sydney and feature Detective Lexie Rogers.
You can contact Karen at kmdavis1@live.com.au, and find her on Facebook: Karen M Davis (Author) or at karenmdavis.com
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FATAL MISTAKE
First published in Australia in 2017 by
Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited
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Cammeray, NSW 2062
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© Karen M. Davis 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Creator: Davis, Karen Michelle, author.
Title: Fatal Mistake / Karen M. Davis.
ISBN: 9781925368321 (paperback)
9781925368338 (ebook)
Subjects: Undercover operations – Fiction.
Organized crime – Fiction.
Drugs – Fiction.
Cover design: Lewis Csizmazia
Cover photograph © Valentino Sani/Arcangel
Author photograph © Philip Klaunzer Photography
Cover image: Valentino Sani / Arcangel
Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia
is book with friends