A Promise to the Dead: A gripping crime thriller with a brilliant twist

by Victoria Jenkins

  Her brain took mere moments to make the connection. ‘Sam?’ she said, taking a step back. Chloe had broken the news of Jake’s death to him, and she had been expecting him to come to the station at some point.

  She could have made excuses, but the truth of it was exactly as he had claimed. She felt bile rise in her throat. ‘God, Sam, I’m so sorry.’ She glanced at the couple still watching, realising this conversation needed to be kept from the view of the public. ‘Come through with me,’ she said, gesturing to the doors. ‘We can talk somewhere a bit more private.’

  ‘Better for you,’ he said, jabbing a finger towards her. ‘You don’t want people knowing what an evil bitch you are, do you?’

  ‘Right,’ the desk sergeant said, raising both hands and stepping between Sam and Alex. ‘If you don’t leave now, I’m going to have you arrested.’

  ‘What for?’ Sam spat. ‘Telling the fucking truth?’ He glared past the officer, redirecting his anger at Alex. ‘You had it in for him from day one. The number of times he told me you’d put him down or made him look stupid in front of everyone, like you enjoyed making a fool of him. What was it? Because he was gay?’

  ‘That’s not true at all. I didn’t even know.’

  ‘Bullshit. People like you, you’re all the same.’

  ‘I didn’t know,’ she repeated, feeling the need to defend herself. There were many things she was guilty of, but she wasn’t homophobic. ‘The issues I had with Jake were work-related, nothing more. None of us knew about you, Sam.’

  The words came out too quickly and all wrong. She watched the reaction spread across Sam’s face: he was clearly crushed by the fact that Jake appeared to have kept him hidden.

  ‘I just mean that …’ She stopped, realising that any attempt to change the implication of her words was now futile.

  ‘It doesn’t matter now, does it?’ Sam said bitterly. ‘He’s dead and it’s your fucking fault. I hope you can sleep at night, all the blood that’s on your hands.’

  Alex watched as the young man’s anger dissipated, melting into a grief that seemed to take a grip on his entire body. He shook as he began to sob, lowering himself on to the nearest chair. The elderly couple looked away, embarrassed at the sight of his tears.

  Alex sat down beside him. She wanted to offer him something, but she knew there was nothing she could say that would make his pain subside. He hated her. In so many ways, she loathed herself. She would have given anything to undo what had happened, but she knew the futility of wishes and the inevitable disappointment they led to.

  ‘I am so, so sorry, Sam.’

  The young man gave a sharp intake of breath and turned to her, his composure regained. ‘You couldn’t even face me. You’re a fucking coward. It should be you that’s dead.’ He got up and hurried out of the building, angry tears still staining his face.

  Countless responses had been on the tip of Alex’s tongue, but none had been appropriate. She’d wanted to defend herself, yet she knew that what he had said was true. She had been a coward. She had wanted to go and see him, but the longer she had put it off, the harder it had become. She didn’t need anyone to remind her of what she was, and no one could make her feel any worse than she already did.

  ‘Are you okay?’ the desk sergeant asked.

  ‘I’m fine.’

  Ignoring the looks of the elderly couple, Alex hurried back into the corridor and headed up to her office. She closed the door behind her and went to the window, pressing her hands on the windowsill and taking a series of deep breaths. Sam was right, she thought. Perhaps not about everything, but Jake’s death was her fault. If she had made the links to Wyatt sooner, he would never have been able to go after the man by himself.

  As she stood looking out on to the car park below, there was a knock at the door. She ignored it, but a moment later Chloe let herself in anyway. She was carrying a mug of coffee, which she put on the desk beside Alex’s computer.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  She had obviously been told what had happened downstairs.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Alex said, keeping her back to the room.

  ‘He’s angry and upset. He doesn’t mean it.’

  ‘Oh, I think he does.’

  She felt Chloe just behind her, but she kept her focus on the world outside the window, wondering whether she might miss this view once she was gone. It was mundane and everyday, yet there was something comforting in its familiarity. She’d lived the majority of her working life here. Saying goodbye to it was going to be a second divorce, messy and final, regrettable, but necessary.

  She kept her head tilted to the side, hiding her face from Chloe. Her vulnerability was something she didn’t want to broadcast, even now that she was leaving.

  ‘Everything Sam said is right. I did run Jake down. There were times when I just found him so difficult to work with. I didn’t think he pulled his weight. But he made a connection to Wyatt before any of us did. So he wasn’t so useless after all, was he?’

  ‘He still lied, though. If he hadn’t, things might have been very different. I’m not saying he deserved what happened to him, but it doesn’t change what he did – you have to remember that. You weren’t wrong to suspend him – what other choice did you have? Jake chose to go lone wolf, Alex. What happened to him was tragic, but it wasn’t your fault.’

  Alex turned to her. ‘I should have got there sooner. To the truth, I mean.’

  ‘Well if you’re to blame then so am I. So is Dan. None of us worked it out until Jake had already made the decision to go after Wyatt.’ She gestured to the coffee on the desk. ‘Don’t let it go cold.’

  Alex gave her a grateful smile and went to her chair.

  ‘So when will you be leaving us?’

  ‘A month’s time.’

  Chloe nodded, her disappointment obvious. She would be fine, thought Alex; it was only the uncertainty of the unknown that was making her nervous. It was a feeling that Alex was more than able to relate to.

  ‘We’ll still see each other,’ she said. ‘I’m going to need a babysitter, aren’t I?’

  Two months later

  ‘All the things I’ve faced in my years with the police,’ Alex said, ‘and nothing has ever made me as nervous as today. Stupid, isn’t it?’

  She glanced through the glass-panelled door at the little girl who was sitting at the table, an array of toys and books spread out in front of her. The four-year-old had thick dark hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail, and on her feet she was wearing a pair of fluffy slippers decorated with colourful unicorn horns protruding from the toes.

  ‘Sounds natural enough to me. It’s a big day for you both.’ Kelly put a reassuring hand on Alex’s arm. ‘You’ll be fine. You’ll have to excuse the slippers, by the way – she won’t be parted from them.’

  With a smile, Alex looked back at the little girl, who had now picked up a box of crayons and emptied them all on to the table. ‘What if she doesn’t like me?’

  ‘She’ll like you. Stop panicking.’

  Kelly pushed the door open and led Alex inside. The girl reacted at the sound of the door – a slight flinch of the shoulders that gave away the realisation that she was no longer alone – though she didn’t turn to look at either of the women.

  ‘Hi, Molly. What are you doing there?’ Kelly crouched beside the girl and studied the colouring book in front of her. It was opened at a drawing of a ladybird, already half filled in with pillar-box red by another child who had once waited in this same room, in this same seat, with the same uncertainty. ‘You’re doing a great job. I’ve brought someone to meet you. Would you like to say hello?’

  The girl looked at her nervously, peeping up between the gaps in her heavy fringe. There was an untold sadness in her dark eyes, something cautious and cynical beyond her fragile years. When she finally looked at Alex after what seemed an age, she sucked her lips in as though trying to stop herself from crying. Kelly stood and moved to one side, letting Alex take her pla
ce beside Molly, the two of them at eye level now.

  Alex waited a moment, letting the child assess her in her own time. She had seen photographs of this girl and had known what to expect, but now she was here in the flesh, it was almost as though she wasn’t real, as though the child would evaporate in front of her at any moment, leaving her alone again and taking with her a future that had until now still seemed a mere possibility.

  ‘Hi,’ she said, reaching to the carpet and handing Molly one of the books that had fallen from the table. She gave the girl a smile, her heart skipping with anticipation when it was reciprocated after only a moment’s hesitation. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Molly. My name’s Alex.’

  Did you love the twists and turns in the latest case for Detectives King and Lane? Make sure to sign up to Victoria’s mailing list to be the first to hear about her new releases!

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  Books by Victoria Jenkins

  Detectives King and Lane series

  The Girls in the Water

  The First One to Die

  Nobody’s Child

  A Promise to the Dead

  A Letter from Victoria

  Dear Reader,

  I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read A Promise to the Dead. If you enjoyed it, and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  Sign up here!

  Alex and Chloe’s story comes to an end here (for the time being, at least), and though I am sad to say goodbye to them, I am excited for what the future holds and where my writing will take me next. And I hope that readers who haven’t yet read my other King and Lane novels will look forward to discovering them! The King and Lane series has been more popular than I could ever have hoped for, and I am so grateful to all the readers who have supported the books.

  I hope you loved A Promise to the Dead; if you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.

  I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter or Goodreads.

  Thanks,

  Victoria Jenkins

  The Girls in the Water

  Detectives King and Lane Book 1

  Get it here!

  * * *

  When she woke, she found herself in darkness. She couldn’t move. She was going to die and she had no idea why…

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  When the body of Lola Evans is found in a local park on a cold winter’s morning, Detective Alex King and her new recruit Chloe Lane are called in to lead the hunt for the killer.

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  Days later, a second girl goes missing. It seems the two shared a troubled history, and were members of the same support group. What secrets were they keeping? And who is the monster preying on these vulnerable girls? As the detectives start to piece together the clues, it becomes clear that the murderer's reach goes even further – back into the painful past of Chloe Lane herself. Chloe realises that she too is in danger – as she uncovers secrets about her own brother’s death which someone will kill to keep hidden.

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  Alex and Chloe are soon caught in a race against time to reach the next victim before it’s too late... and they must face terrifying truths from their own lives to have a chance of catching the killer.

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  Chilling and totally compelling with an utterly surprising twist, The Girls in the Water is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Sarah Hilary, and Patricia Gibney.

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  Get it here!

  The First One to Die

  Detectives King and Lane Book 2

  Get it here!

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  Strangers can hurt you. Friends can kill you.

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  Keira North falls to her death at a party.

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  What initially seems like it could be an accident is soon revealed to be something far more sinister as Detectives Alex King and Chloe Lane are called in to investigate the secrets and lies that link a group of four friends.

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  The detectives soon find that all of Keira’s three closest friends have secrets that someone would kill to keep.

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  As Alex and Chloe are fighting their own demons and struggling to stay on top of the case, Keira’s killer is circling the group of friends, who one by one find that their lives are in danger…

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  The First One to Die is a heart-stopping and shocking detective thriller that will have you gripped until the very last page. Perfect for fans of Patricia Gibney, Angela Marsons, and Sarah Hilary.

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  Available now!

  Nobody’s Child

  Detectives King and Lane Book 3

  Get it here!

  * * *

  ‘Let’s play a game,’ said the voice.

  * * *

  She realised she had never felt scared before, not properly; not like this.

  * * *

  Why were they doing this to her?

  * * *

  Detective Alex King is called to a terrifying scene: a man has been murdered, in an abandoned derelict building, and a fire has been started. The victim had no home, no hope and very little to live for. He was someone who desperately needed help… but what he found instead was murder.

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  It soon becomes clear that this death was just the first of many… and that someone is targeting society’s most vulnerable. The people who most need rescuing, who have nothing left to lose, are suddenly at risk from a ruthless killer who leaves fire as his calling card.

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  As Alex fights the clock to solve the case before someone else dies, she suddenly finds her own safety under threat. Is this a figure from her past hell-bent on revenge, or could the murderer be even closer than she thinks?

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  Nobody’s Child is an unputdownable detective thriller that will keep you up all night. Readers of Robert Bryndza, Karin Slaughter and Angela Marsons will love this.

  Acknowledgements

  As always, a massive thank you to Jenny, my editor, to Anne, my agent, and to all the brilliant people at Bookouture who have helped put these stories into readers’ hands. I feel incredibly lucky that our paths crossed. Thank you to Noelle Holten for all your support and to Kim Nash for being lovely.

  Thank you to my family – this has been a horrible year for us, but we have somehow made it through. Thanks to Mia for keeping us smiling and for teaching me – albeit against my will – how to survive without sleep, and to my husband for understanding how much this means to me. Thank you to my in-laws, particularly to Gaynor – I wouldn’t have got this one done without you.

  And finally, to my dad – I have missed you every minute since you left us, and I will miss you for every minute more until I join you. Until then, I hope I make you proud. This book is for you.

  Published by Bookouture in 2019

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  An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London EC4Y 0DZ

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  www.bookouture.com

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  Copyright © Victoria Jenkins, 2019

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  Victoria Jenkins has asserted her right to be identified

  as the author of this work.

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical
, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

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  eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-686-3

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.