by Elise Noble
But now… Now, a neighbour was dead. Everyone felt sorry for the man who’d jumped from the roof. For a tortured soul who’d been in such despair that he saw no other way out. The police only took a day to rule it death by suicide, but Hevrin wasn’t so sure it had been an accident. Why? Because first, a man claiming to be from the council had shown up, asking questions. Eunice said he was a debt collector, but Hevrin wasn’t so sure about that either. Debt collectors didn’t buy people groceries.
And then while everyone else was staring at the body, she’d seen him helping the brown-haired girl into a car. The brown-haired girl with blood running down her neck and bruises covering her face.
That smell…
Hevrin didn’t need a badge and a uniform to know that Ryland Willis had been bad news.
“It’s Mahmoud from UPS.”
“What?”
“I’ve got a delivery for you. A parcel.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“Hevrin Moradi? 503 Bellsfield House North?”
“That’s me, but…” Was this a trick? The door may have had a chain, but the wood itself was flimsy, and there was no peephole. Security wasn’t a priority for the landlord, despite the estate having the highest crime rate in the area. “It’s not mine. I can’t open the door.”
“Well, I’m not taking it down all those stairs again, Miss. I’ll just leave it here.”
Footsteps receded along the hallway. What should she do? A whole five minutes passed, and from habit, Hevrin slipped the knife out of her waistband and opened the blade with a quiet snick.
This was England. It was supposed to be safe.
Her heart thumped as she opened the door, but the man had gone. Only a box remained, a big box, and when she tried to move it inside, it was too heavy for her to lift. No wonder Mahmoud hadn’t wanted to take it away with him. He must have used superpowers to get it there in the first place.
In the end, Hevrin shoved the package through the door, then checked she was safely locked inside before she examined the box more closely. What was it? Her details were typed onto a white label stuck to the top, but there was no return address.
She used the knife to slit the tape, standing back, half expecting a bogeyman to jump out, but there was nothing. Nothing except a bunch of Tesco bags.
Groceries?
Instant noodles, plain yogurt, jars of baby food, a loaf of bread, apples, pasta, laundry powder… And at the bottom of the box, an envelope. She opened it, hoping to solve the mystery, but what fell out was cash. A pile of twenty-pound notes that floated to the floor like giant confetti. Hevrin’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen so much money in her life. Five thousand pounds.
And a note.
Groceries will come each week for six months. I hope the money makes your life a little easier.
Was this a joke? There was no signature, and no explanation as to why someone should send this package to her of all people. What if they asked for the money back? Or worse, expected something in return? Hevrin didn’t want to touch the stuff, but she was hungry. So hungry. By the time she paid the bills, she could barely afford to eat, and breastfeeding Indy left her drained. Maybe if she ate the food and then replaced it…?
It was only as Hevrin stacked the items onto the kitchen counter that she put the pieces together. It was the second time she’d done this recently, tidied away a gift from a stranger, and the items were the same. Different brands, but it was as if somebody had used an old receipt as a shopping list.
She thought back to the handsome man who’d bailed her out in the Co-op. The man who’d been looking for a monster. The man she suspected may have had a hand in Ryland Willis’s death.
One day, she’d find him and thank him. For both actions.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
My next book will be Red After Dark, the thirteenth novel in the Blackwood Security series…
Red After Dark
A missing girl from the past. A monster from the present…
When Bethany Stafford-Lyons accepted a position as personal assistant at Sirius Consulting, she didn’t expect to become embroiled in the murky world of American politics within a week of starting the job, but with money tight, she has little choice but to follow her new boss Alaric McLain overseas.
Together with Emmy Black, Alaric’s ex-girlfriend, they find themselves back on the trail of a stolen painting, but that’s not the only mystery they have to solve. Fourteen years ago, teenage homecoming queen Piper Simms disappeared, and finding her might be the only way to stop a criminal from stealing a seat in the US senate.
Catching a killer is all in a day’s work for Emmy Black, but her world is rocked by a betrayal from somebody very close to her. Can she fight back? Or will a ghost from the past destroy her future?
For more details: www.elise-noble.com/dark
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END OF BOOK STUFF
Ah, I have to admit, it was lovely to write a Blackwood book set in England again. I’m sure by now, most people have realised I write in British (proper) English, although there are still a few folks out there who think I just can’t spell. Those reviews are the absolute best, lol. Having British characters also means I don’t need to “translate” so many bits into American at the end, and also Brits have a far superior selection of expletives.
As parts two and three of Alaric’s story will also feature a smorgasbord of British characters, I thought it might be useful to include a brief explanation of my second-favourite swear word (I’m sure you can guess what number one is) for my US friends:
A man’s bollocks - His balls
The (dog’s) bollocks - Fantastic
Bollocks - Darn and blast
Utter bollocks - Nonsense
Bollocking - A telling off
Stark bollock naked - Nude
Bollocks to it - I shall ignore that
Bollock all - Nothing
Bollocksed/bolloxed - Messed up, beyond repair
Related: Bellend - an idiot
Oh, and if you’re gonna shop someone, you’re reporting them to the police, not taking them on a nice trip to Oxford Street.
I hope this helps, and perhaps one day, you guys on the other side of the pond will learn to curse properly ;)
In Emerald, not only did I get to swear in technicolour, but thanks to Beth being a dressage diva, I also got to write another book with horses. Polo was named after my old horse, who I had to sell in my teens after I got ill. I lost track of him after that :( He was a bit of a sod—he sometimes bit people, although mostly people I didn’t like so I couldn’t get too mad, and he also used to stop at fences and let me go over them first. And he loooooved mud. But he taught me a lot, and I still miss him. Even today, I wonder where he ended up.
Now I have Trev, who’ll be with me for life, even thought he’s besties with the vet and eats me out of house and home
. As I write this, he’s in pony prison again because he went on a rampage through some rhododendrons on the way to the field and managed to kick his own leg. Pinkey, the lady who looks after Chaucer for Beth, is named after the lady who cares for Trev when I’m at work. Hi, Pinkey!
Well, I’d better carry on with the next instalment… Alaric, Beth, Sky, and Emmy will be off to the US, but will things go smoothly? Of course they bloody won’t. Red After Dark was due to be released at the end of October, but since that’s right before the US election and everyone’ll be busy shouting at each other on the internet, I’m planning to bring it forward by two weeks as long as I can get the dreaded editing finished in time…
Happy reading, and stay safe,
Elise
OTHER BOOKS BY ELISE NOBLE
The Blackwood Security Series
For the Love of Animals (Nate & Carmen - prequel)
Black is my Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is my Heart
Neon (novella)
Out of the Blue
Ultraviolet
Glitter (novella)
Red Alert
White Hot
Sphere (novella)
The Scarlet Affair
Spirit (novella) (2020)
Quicksilver
The Girl with the Emerald Ring (2020)
Red After Dark (2020)
When the Shadows Fall (2020)
The Blackwood Elements Series
Oxygen
Lithium
Carbon
Rhodium
Platinum
Lead
Copper
Bronze
Nickel
Hydrogen (TBA)
The Blackwood UK Series
Joker in the Pack
Cherry on Top (novella)
Roses are Dead
Shallow Graves
Indigo Rain
Pass the Parcel (TBA)
Blackwood Casefiles
Stolen Hearts
Blackstone House
Hard Lines (2021)
Hard Tide (TBA)
The Electi Series
Cursed
Spooked
Possessed
Demented
Judged (2021)
The Trouble Series
Trouble in Paradise
Nothing but Trouble
24 Hours of Trouble
Standalone
Life
Coco du Ciel (TBA)
Twisted (short stories)
A Very Happy Christmas (novella)
Books with clean versions available (no swearing and no on-the-page sex)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is my Heart
Audiobooks
Black is my Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush