Student of Death: A Flesch & Stone novel by Iain Rob Wright

Author:Iain Rob Wright [Wright, Iain Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ulcerated Press
Published: 2024-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Sarah felt claustrophobic inside the stuffy office smelling of death. The cottage was a mile from the nearest proper road, and the only other person with her was an anxious lunatic on a quest for atonement.

Is he really reformed? He seems genuinely upset about the doctor’s death.

They had been at the house for forty minutes, but Richard had only just reported the incident to James. Before that, he had remained in the office with Dr Carney, almost as if he was saying goodbye. Or trying to swallow the possibility that the man might have betrayed him.

Sarah had learned during her time in antiterrorism that coincidences were rarely natural, so as soon as Richard had told her about Dr Carney knowing his true identity, alarm bells had started to ring. But she hadn’t expected to find the man dead. Had he been an accomplice who had outlived his usefulness, or was he another victim?

I guess it’s my job to find out now.

Richard had warned her to be careful not to disturb the crime scene, so she stepped carefully as she explored the house, Taser in hand. The cottage was too quiet, too isolated, and she wasn’t as confident in her abilities to defend herself as she had once been. What if the killer was still in the house? What if there was a repeat of what had happened to her in that Durham alleyway?

I wasn’t ready for him then, but I am now. She ran her finger over the Taser’s hard plastic trigger. He won’t get the jump on me twice.

She navigated her way into the cottage’s kitchen and took a look around. The shaker cabinets, painted a tranquil green, appeared thick and heavy. The worktop was a rustic oak, or some wood of a similar shade. It wasn’t an old kitchen, but neither was it new. Some of the floor tiles had small chips or cracks, and the stainless steel fridge had a couple of small dents. There was a chill in the air due to an open window above the ceramic sink.

Richard had gone upstairs. Sarah heard him shuffling, floorboards creaking above her head. His reading of the crime scene had impressed her, and though she still found it obscene that he was free after so many unforgivable acts, she could at least understand why James had put him to work as an investigator.

But it still feels like a deal with the Devil. There’s always a price.

The kitchen was neat and orderly, which was why the open file on the counter stood out to her immediately. She moved towards it cautiously, fearing it might suddenly catch fire like one of those notes in an old spy show. Fortunately, it was just an ordinary loose-leaf file with several hole-punched pages held together with a string tie. A black-and-white image of a teenaged Richard adorned the first page, along with details of his arrest.

In 2006, a victim – Sadie Amberson – had escaped and made it to safety after being kidnapped by the Flesch family and held against her will at a Chester-le-Street property, Flexley Yard Farm.

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