Dave Slater Mystery Novels Box Set Two
Page 91
She laughed and a smile lit up her face. ‘That’ll be having access to a proper bathroom, and hot water, and soap.’
They ate in silence for a few seconds, then she spoke again. ‘What are you doing today?’
‘Nothing special,’ he said. ‘I said I’d meet Norm for lunch, but that’s all. What about you, do you have any plans?’
‘There is something I’d like to do, if it’s alright with you.’
‘Go on.’ He nodded encouragingly at her.
‘I was talking to Jane,’ she said. ‘She says I should talk to you. She thinks you need to hear what’s been happening to me and how I came to end up like this.’
‘And are you ready to talk?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’ve had enough of being pushed around and persecuted, but I don’t know what I can do to fight back. I know I can trust you, so I think talking to you would be a good way to start.’
It was gone three by the time Slater made it to the pub. Norman was not looking best pleased.
‘What time do you call this?’ he complained. ‘I’m starving.’
‘Yeah, I’m sorry about that,’ said Slater.
‘You’re probably going to be even more sorry at some point,’ said Norman. ‘And me too. Naomi called me earlier. Apparently DCI Goodnews is not best pleased that a humble DC has taken the plaudits for solving a triple murder case and made her look stupid in the process. She’s also not impressed the case was solved with the assistance of what she calls “two black sheep numpties”.’
‘She’ll get over it,’ said Slater, unconcerned.
‘I wouldn’t bank on that,’ said Norman.
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,’ said Slater, excitedly. ‘I’ve got much more important things to tell you.’
‘Why, what’s happened?’
Slater fished a letter from his pocket and handed it to Norman. ‘Here, this came for me this morning. Read it.’
‘But it says “private and confidential”.’
Slater tutted. ‘Just read it. It’s important to you as well as to me.’
Norman looked puzzled but opened the envelope, slipped the letter from inside and began to read it, his mouth falling further open as he read down the page.
‘Is this for real?’ he asked. ‘He had all this money and he left it to you? But what about his wife? She isn’t going to to contest this, is she?’
‘It was her idea,’ said Slater. ‘She gets the bar, which is a gold mine, remember, and I get the money. In the long run she’s probably better off this way.’
‘There’s enough here to–’
‘Clear my mortgage, invest in our business, and still have plenty over,’ finished Slater. ‘Now I’ve got money to live on if it takes us a while to get going.’
Norman laughed an I-can’t-quite-believe-this laugh. ‘Wow! We’d better order champagne. Oh, and there’s another thing. I think I might just have found us some offices.’
‘Where’s that?’
‘They have some old stables out the back of the pub here, and they’re looking to do them up and rent them out. It would suit us down to the ground. We can take a look after lunch and you’ll see what I mean.’
‘It’s all systems go then,’ said Slater. ‘And there’s something else. You need to listen to Jenny Radstock’s story. I’m pretty sure you’ll feel the same way I did when she told me all about it this morning.’
Norman beamed. ‘I think S & N Security and Investigations is almost ready for business, don’t you?’ he said, holding out a hand.
Slater held out his own and they shook, grinning at each other.
Norman looked around. ‘Now, where’s my lunch?’
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About This Series
This was never intended to be a series. The first book, Death Of A Temptress, was always intended to be a one-off, but after Dave and Norm had somehow managed to solve their first case, it occurred to me that maybe they were worth a second book.
Through a mixture of luck, persistence, intuition, experience, and a fair degree of bumbling, it seemed they had found a working relationship that suited them both, and in the process, using the same qualities (especially the bumbling), I had found a style!
After adding a variety of colleagues, (some effective, some wayward), villains in various guises, and plots that are sometimes unbelievable (this is fiction, after all!) I have a series that has taken on a life of it’s own.
Although I try to make every book in the series a complete story, there are threads that run through the series which follow the ups and downs in the private lives of the two main characters.
This was never intended to be a heavy, dark series, and was always meant to be a mixture of mystery and fun. Because of this it manages to straddle genres such as Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, British Detective, and sometimes even strays on to Cozy Mystery territory!
I just hope it’s as much fun for you to read as it is for me to write.
P.F. Ford
Books In This Series
Dave Slater Mystery Novels
Death Of A Temptress
Just A Coincidence
Florence
The Wrong Man
The Red Telephone Box
The Secret Of Wild Boar Woods
A Skeleton In The Closet
The Kidney Donor
What’s In A Name?
A Puzzle Of Old Bones
A Fatal Deception
Wrongly Convicted
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About the Author
P.F. Ford is the author of the Alfie Bowman Novella series, and the Dave Slater Mystery Series.
A late starter to writing after a life of failures, P.F. (Peter) Ford spent most of his life being told he should forget his dreams, and that he would never make anything of himself without a “proper” job.
But then a few years ago, having been unhappy for over 50 years of his life, Peter decided he had no intention of carrying on that way. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed by a partner (now wife) who believed dreamers should be encouraged and not denied.
Now, happily settled in Wales, Peter is blissfully happy sharing his life with wife Mary and their four rescue dogs, and living his dream writing fiction (and still without a “proper” job).
Follow P.F. Ford here:
www.pfford.co.uk
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