Preacher Boy
Page 22
‘Who’s that pair of weirdoes?’ asked Jack, peering at the photo in Harrison’s hand.
‘My mother,’ he replied.
‘Sorry.’ Jack looked embarrassed. ‘What’s with the noose, is everything okay?’
‘She died some time ago. It’s okay.’
‘That your dad?’
‘No. Her murderer. I haven’t quite caught up with him yet, but I will.’
‘Murderer? Has he been convicted, or under investigation?’ asked Jack.
‘No, it’s fine, I’m going to deal with him my own way.’
Jack didn’t know what else to say, but he needn’t have worried because Harrison had already had enough of the small talk and started to walk off. He frowned after him, turned round to his computer and jotted a note onto his pad. If it was an unsolved murder, then he couldn’t let that just rest. He’d look into it himself.
DCI Barker came out of her office and walked up to Jack’s desk.
‘So who’s for the pub?’ she addressed the room and saw Harrison just about to exit. ‘Harrison! You’re not sneaking off, are you?’
Harrison stopped and turned back to her.
‘I don’t drink.’
‘Have an orange juice!’
‘Sorry, it’s youth Taekwondo night, they’ll be expecting me.’
Jack raised an eyebrow quizzically at Barker.
‘Blackbelt, I told you he was handy. Teaches at some club for teenagers, reckons the discipline helps them. Jack, you’ll come?’
‘Sorry, Ma’am, I need to get back home, check on Marie, you know I would normally.’
‘Right pair of party animals you two are. Fine looks like it’s just me and this rabble then.’
She watched Harrison wander out the room, looking at a photograph in his hand.
Close behind him went Jack Salter, staring at his phone.
DCI Barker turned and walked up to the incident board. Someone had drawn devil’s horns on the photograph of Cameron Platt. She gave it one final look over, lingering on the face of Darren Phillips, and then headed back to her office for her bag.
A word from Gwyn
Firstly, a huge thank you for choosing to read Preacher Boy. I hope you’ve enjoyed being introduced to Harrison Lane and his colleagues. This series has been several years in the making and it’s been an exciting but nerve-wracking experience to bring Harrison to the world. I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review on the Amazon book page. Reviews mean a lot to me and all authors, they not only tell us that people are reading and appreciating our work, but it helps to guide other readers.
If you’d like to read a FREE short story about Harrison and DCI Barker’s first case together, then you can sign up for my Readers Club for free. I’ll not bombard you with emails, but I’ll keep you updated with release news, competitions, offers and more. Visit: GwynGB.com/readersclub
Plus if you’d like to read more, you might like to try The Horsemen, the second in the series. Thank you again, I really do appreciate your support.
Best wishes, Gwyn
The Horsemen
Book 2 in the Harrison Lane mystery series
Behind the glamorous world of horse racing hides a dark secret…
A Herd of wild horses stand guard over a body on the Cambridgeshire Fens.
A mysterious secret association within the world of horse racing.
Only one man can untangle the truth…
Psychologist, Dr Harrison Lane, Head of the Ritualistic Behavioural Crime unit is called to the Cambridgeshire Fens where a promising young horse racing jockey’s body has been found in mysterious circumstances. Is black magic behind the murder? Harrison starts to investigate, but there’s someone else on his mind…
Back in London, Forensic investigator Tanya Jones is being stalked, but she has no idea who or why they’re watching her. Harrison is worried for her safety because he knows exactly what kind of man is lurking in the shadows…
Acknowledgments
Every book relies on a team of people and so I’d also like to say a few thank you’s to those who have helped bring Harrison to you. For the cover work, thank you to Adrijus from Rocking Book Covers. For his advice on policing, which helped to inject some reality into my fictional world, thanks go to Graham Bartlett at Police Advisor. A huge thank you to my editor, Emma Mitchell at Creating Perfection who came to the rescue after my first editor fell seriously ill with Covid. Sending best wishes to Angela Brown for a full recovery.
Then, there are those in my life who support me in my writing passion: Fellow Blonde Plotters, Deborah Carr and Kelly Clayton, who have been waiting to meet Harrison after hearing so much about him. Plus my husband and boys who have brought me cups of tea and tried not to get jealous of the time I am spending with Dr Harrison Lane; and last, but not least, my constant fur girl writing companion, Molly, who had to wait patiently (or not so patiently) some days for her walkies.
Faithful, but nagging, writing companion, Molly
About Gwyn GB
Gwyn GB is a writer living in Jersey, Channel Islands. Born in the UK, she moved there with her Jersey-born husband, children, dog and geriatric goldfish.
Gwyn has spent most of her career as a journalist, but has always written fiction in her spare time and is now a full time author.
You can connect with Gwyn online:
Website: https://www.gwyngb.com
Also By Gwyn
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