Lunch With The Deadly Dozen: A BRAND NEW totally brilliant cozy crime novel by Peter Berry

Author:Peter Berry [Berry, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books - crime, thrillers & mysteries
Published: 2024-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

It was just after eleven when Lexington finally decided to make his announcement, standing in front of his balcony doors, the lights of South West London twinkling expectantly behind him.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he began. ‘First of all, may I say that it’s so wonderful to be able to host you all on this New Year’s Eve and at such terribly short notice. Either my humble abode holds a strange and magnetic draw or you are all so fundamentally and profoundly unpopular that you had nowhere better to go.’ A ripple of laughter passed around the room and Martin exploded a party popper accidentally. ‘As you’ll all know to varying degrees of detail, I have been a member of a quite fantastically secret organisation for almost eighteen years and erstwhile leader of it for five, an enormous privilege which I don’t take lightly. That it remains secret is a testament to all of you, plus a handful of others who cannot be here, and I would like to take the opportunity now to formally thank you all for your trustworthiness and your frankly remarkable skills of concealment.

‘As you know, I shall be eighty-two years young this coming year, July to be precise, and I can feel that I am quite definitely slowing down and that the rate of deceleration is increasing. Yes, the yoga helps but one reaches a point where one simply feels like taking more of a back seat. In addition, my knee isn’t in the finest state, my prostate is being rather a beastly nuisance of late and dear old Chris,’ he glanced toward the former surgeon who raised an eyebrow, ‘advises me that I could well do without all the gallivanting around that this job entails. So I should like to give you all fair warning that I shall retire after the current case, whenever that may be, or on my birthday in July, whichever comes first. Naturally I hope that the case is resolved sooner rather than later but, if it does rattle on, then I shall have already handed over to my replacement who will be notified in good time.’ Thomas noticed that Catherine Daniels was looking at Monica and smiling. Monica’s gaze, meanwhile, was fixed on Lexington.

‘In addition, there will naturally be a vacancy within The Twelve and I have little doubt that the lucky person to fill that space is currently in this room.’ He cast an eye around and settled on a blonde-haired woman who was standing with Martin. Thomas recognised her as a former television newsreader who was also famous for fronting one of the many programmes about antiques which seemed to have proliferated across the schedules of late, none of which particularly interested him. ‘Again, that person will be notified in the fullness of time, after all of the relevant checks have been completed. It just remains for me to thank you again for your company and your support over the last few years and, of course, this evening. Thank you for allowing an old man to annexe your New Year plans.

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