“Time to call it a day,” she told the team. “Well done, everyone.”
“You look done in,” Elwyn said “Fancy a drink? The team are meeting in the pub.”
“Thanks, but no. I’ve got some sort of drama kicking off at home, so I’d better get going.”
He stared at her. “You’re not happy, are you? What is it?”
“Everything fits into place except the bit about Jed.” She saw Elwyn’s look of scepticism. “Yes, he’s a crook, and I know he’s done all sorts in his time. I’m under no illusions about what he’s capable of, but he’s never stooped this low. People trafficking, Elwyn! That just isn’t Jed. He can’t possibly be the ring’s head man.”
Elwyn still looked doubtful. “Kenton reckons he’s done his research. He’s got evidence, he says. He has an excellent clear-up rate and is tipped for high office. I wouldn’t go out of my way to cross him, Rachel. You don’t want Kenton as an enemy.”
“He’s got whatever lies Leonora Blake told him. Everyone else is dead.”
“The name Mac on Danulescu’s phone, the one Ruby saw. What about that?” Elwyn said.
“That means nothing, and you know it. The entire Greater Manchester underworld knows him as Mac. He’s made enough enemies in his time. This could be payback.”
“Let it drop, Rachel. It’ll do you no good.”
The notion that McAteer had somehow been set up persisted. But she was wasting her time trying to convince Elwyn. For now, she’d take his advice, but Rachel promised herself that sometime in the future, she would look at the evidence again, even if it meant cultivating Kenton’s friendship.
Epilogue
It was over. Anthea Moore had been charged with the murder of her sister Agnes and Jess Darwin. Rachel was on her way home to tackle the domestic crisis that had been unfolding all day while she was busy on the case. All she knew was what she could glean from her daughters’ cryptic texts. Mia and Megan had had another blazing row after school. Mia was still refusing to tell Megan who she’d been talking to in the park, so now Alan was involved.
“It was a man, Mum. How many times have we told her? After what happened to her that time, you’d think she’d be more careful.”
“Fair comment, but Mia is an outgoing girl. Perhaps this man’s the parent of a schoolmate of hers,” Rachel suggested without much hope.
“He wasn’t anyone dangerous,” Mia insisted, “and you know him, Mum.”
“Then tell us, idiot,” Megan said, pushing her onto the sofa.
“I do?” Rachel said. And then it dawned on her. “Uncle Jed?”
Mia nodded.
“There you are then.” Rachel spoke matter-of-factly, but the nerves were at it again. “He saved her life, so he’s hardly likely to do her harm, is he?”
“So why didn’t the stupid kid just tell us? Oh, I give up!” Megan stormed off to her room.
“I take it I’m not needed anymore?” Alan said.
Rachel smiled at him. “I’ll sort them from here.”
“Thanks. Me and Belinda are going out for a meal and I’ve got to get ready.”
Get ready. He was behaving like a schoolgirl with a crush. Not that Rachel was bothered. She was perfectly happy to have him out of the way.
Finally, she and Mia were alone. “Jed gave you something, Megan said.”
Mia held up the locket. “He said it was his mother’s. I did say I couldn’t take it, but he wasn’t having any.”
Rachel smiled. “It’s beautiful. Keep it safe, and don’t let your sister borrow it.”
“I’m not in trouble then?” Mia asked.
“No. Jed isn’t a secret, not really. He was involved in a case of mine, that’s all. And he did save your life. We’re very grateful to him for that.”
“You knew him years ago when you were young. He told me.” Mia looked almost accusing.
But Rachel wasn’t up to explanations. “Did he say where he was going?”
“Just away. And for a while. He wanted me to tell you something. Doesn’t make much sense to me, but then the stuff you adults say never does.”
“Go on then, what was it?”
“He said to tell you that he’s been set up and by a high-ranking policeman.”
Mia’s attention was already on her mobile, looking at the image of Ella, her best friend, and she went off to her room to chat.
Set up? Was that true? Rachel wanted to believe it was so. All her instincts told her that Jed wasn’t a trafficker. But if she was right, who had set him up and why?
Whatever the truth, it would have to wait. Rachel was exhausted and there was no evidence to support such an outlandish theory. Mark Kenton might be CID’s latest superstar, but this time he hadn’t got the result he wanted. In the end, Jed McAteer had outwitted him. Rachel smiled to herself.
THE END
AVAILABLE NOW BY HELEN H. DURRANT
RACHEL KING
Book 1: NEXT VICTIM
Book 2: TWO VICTIMS
THE DCI GRECO BOOKS
Book 1: DARK MURDER
Book 2: DARK HOUSES
Book 3: DARK TRADE
THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERY SERIES
Book 1: DEAD WRONG
Book 2: DEAD SILENT
Book 3: DEAD LIST
Book 4: DEAD LOST
Book 5: DEAD & BURIED
Book 6: DEAD NASTY
Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS
Book 8: DEAD BAD
Book 9: DEAD GUILTY
MATT BRINDLE
Book 1: HIS THIRD VICTIM
Book 2: THE OTHER VICTIM
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THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERIES (book 3 features DI GRECO)
BOOK 1 DEAD WRONG:
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First a shooting, then a grisly discovery on the common . . .
Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to track down a killer before the whole area erupts in violence. Their boss thinks it’s all down to drug lord Ray Fallon, but Calladine’s instincts say something far nastier is happening on the Hobfield housing estate.
Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies and before the press publicize the gruesome crimes? Detectives Calladine and Bayliss are led on a trail which gets dangerously close to home. In a thrilling finale they race against time to rescue someone very close to Calladine’s heart.
BOOK 2: DEAD SILENT
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A body is found in a car crash, but the victim was already dead . . .
BOOK 3: DEAD LIST
This book is the first to feature D.I Greco
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An unlikely serial killer with a bucket list of victims . . .
BOOK 4: DEAD LOST
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An abandoned cotton mill holds horrific secrets
Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss face one of their toughest challenges yet. A group of homeless people have set up camp in the grounds of a disused cotton mill belonging to local businessman Damien Chase.
BOOK 5: DEAD & BURIED
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Annie Naden and her husband buy a remote country cottage at auction. It’s the home of their own that they always wanted, but as they begin renovations, Annie discovers a satchel in a dusty old hidden cupboard. Inside are the usual schoolbooks, now over 40 years old, and a girl’s diary. Among the record of day-to-day crushes and pop concerts, is a secret whose terrible consequences are still resonating to this day
THE DI GRECO MYSTERIES
DI GRECO BOOK 1: DARK MURDER
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A woman is found dead by a canal . . . why have her eyes have been viciously poked out?
Detective Stephen Greco has just started a new job at Oldston CID and now he faces a series of murders with seemingly no connection but the brutal disfigurement of the victims. Greco’s team is falling apart under the pressure and he doesn't know who he can trust. Then they discover a link to a local drug dealer, but maybe it’s not all that it seems.
Can Greco get control of his chaotic team and stop the murders?
DI GRECO BOOK 2: DARK HOUSES
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A young woman is found brutally murdered in an empty house
Detective Stephen Greco and his team must piece together her life as quickly as possible. Within twenty-four hours there is another killing using the same method. The detectives realise that the victims are random but the locations are not. The killer is more concerned with finding the right house – somewhere he won’t be disturbed.
Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: violent behaviour, aggression
A level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Allotment: a plot of land rented from the council, used to grow vegetables or flowers
Barm: bread roll
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Betting shop: a place where you can place bets on horses and other sports
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Bob: money
Bookies: a place where you can place bets on horses and other sports
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Common or garden: ordinary
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Crown Jewels: the Queen’s jewels and crown worn on state occasions (can also be an expression for anything valuable)
DCI: Detective Chief Inspector
Deck: one of the floors of a tower block
DI: Detective Inspector
DS: Detective Sergeant
Do a bunk: disappear
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Early dart: to leave work early
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Fag: cigarette
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Get rid: dispose of
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Hairslide: barrette
Hard nut: tough person
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Inne: isn’t he
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Kark: die
Kneecapping: punish by shooting in the kneecap
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lecky: electricity
Lift: elevator
Lippy: lipstick — can also mean loquacious
Lorry: a truck
Mare: derogatory term for woman, or can mean having a bad day (nightmare)
Missus: wife
MIT: Major Investigation Team
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
Naff: lame, not good
Narky: bad-tempered
Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain
NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)
No-mark: loser
Nowt: nothing
NQT: Newly qualified teacher
Nutter: insane person
Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
Owt: anything
Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance
PC: police constable
Pear-shaped: go wrong
Petrol: gasoline
Piss off: as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.
Pissing down: raining
Pleb: ordinary person (often insulting)
Portakabin: portable building used as temporary office etc.
Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property
Premier League: top English soccer division
Prom: a classical music concert where some of the audience stands
Punter: someone who gambles in a betting shop
Pushchair: stroller
Querent: person for whom the tarot card reading is done
Rag: newspaper
Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window
Randy: horny
Right state: messy
Ring: telephone (verb)
Roadworks: repairs done to roads
Scally: scallywag
Scroat: low life
Semi: Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only
Shedload: a large amount
Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way
Sixth form college: school for high school students in final two years.
SIO: senior investigating officer
Skip: a large open container used for building waste
Slapper: slag
SOCO: scenes of crime officer, police officer who gathers forensic evidence
Sod: an annoying person
Sort: to do or make
Solicitor: lawyer
Stunner: beautiful woman
Super: superintendent (police rank)
Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart
Tabloid: newspaper
Tea: dinner (Northern
English)
Tenner: ten-pound note
Till: cash register
Tipsy: a bit drunk
Toerag: a bad person
Ton: a hundred pounds
Torch: flashlight
Tutor: university teacher
Tower block: tall building/ high rise containing apartments (usually social housing)
Undertaker: mortician
Upmarket: affluent or fancy
Wash: the washing machine
Water board: company supplying water to an area
Wheelie bin: a large refuse bin on wheels
White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck
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Two Victims Page 21