Silent Bones: The brand-new, iconic Karen Pirie thriller from the no.1 bestselling author by Val McDermid

Author:Val McDermid [McDermid, Val]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2025-10-23T00:00:00+00:00

32

Karen arrived at the office next morning with a couple of neatly typed pages, courtesy of Ella Gorrie. Daisy had left a message to say she was back in Stockbridge, still trying to get a spot with a better line of sight than she’d managed the previous evening. Jason tried not to look smug about his parking success. ‘I got lucky, boss.’

He’d managed to find a parking space for the surveillance van on Upper Dean Terrace with a perfect view from the one-way rear window. He’d already set up the camera with its long lens on a tripod. He’d see anyone walking up the hill to number eight. Daisy would be aiming for the opposite side of the street, facing downhill. Come evening, he’d be squatting uncomfortably on a wee stool in the back of the van, but she’d be sitting in a comfortable passenger seat; a driver sitting in a car looked dodgy but anyone sitting waiting for the driver to return aroused no suspicions.

‘I also definitely got lucky.’ She waved the papers at him. ‘My mum’s pal Ella Gorrie is an old-school retired shorthand teacher and she took a pass at Sam Nimmo’s notes.’

‘Amazing. Can I see?’

She handed the top sheet over and Jason frowned in concentration as he read:

Fond/fund raising ball/bell at Fraoch House. HSD & BtK hosted. Packed/picked/poked with money and beautiful people. Plenty pretty girls. Live/love bands/bonds/bends & DJ. +card/cord room for poker & blackjack. Live/love auction/action for special days & events. HSD & BtK reputation for exploiting wealth & fame/foam to pick/pack/peck up women for sex. Drink/drank/drunk. Drugs – coke/cake. CHLOE ??? taken/token from party. Clams/claims assault? Rape/rope? Scared/scarred/scored to go to police or yes team/tame/time. Job on line/loan marketing. Not first/forced/frost time I heard/hard/hoard stories/stars like this. Source DD from yes. CHLOE’s name???

‘Bloody hell,’ he said.

‘And this is Ella’s note,’ Karen said. ‘“Thanks for the challenge, Karen. I’ve done my best, but Teeline has a tendency to miss out vowels. It’s not a problem if it’s your own note and you remember what it’s about, but it can be hard to be certain when it’s come from a stranger. I’ve put in the options as I see them, but it’s pretty clear that the HSD and BtK are being accused of taking advantage of a lassie called Chloe, probably drunk and drugged. It’s hard to see another interpretation. The information came from someone with the initials DD, but they didn’t know Chloe’s surname. I don’t know how you’d find that unless you had a guest list for the party. Good luck with bringing these rats to justice!”’

‘She’s some woman, this Ella. So what do we do now?’

Karen sighed. ‘This is a serious allegation. The big question is what Haig Striven-Douglass or Billy the Kidd – or even the Yes campaign bosses – would do to stop that coming out.’

‘You think they’d go so far as a double murder?’ Jason was clearly dubious.

‘I’d struggle to say so. But let’s not forget the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

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