Die Alone (Bone Field 3) by Simon Kernick

Author:Simon Kernick [Kernick, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473535220
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2019-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

27

The village where Tina lived was picture-postcard, with a single main street containing a corner shop that was still run by a local couple, a twelfth-century church, and a decent pub, which she still popped into occasionally, even though no alcohol had passed her lips for more than a decade now. It was always quiet too, and this evening was no exception. The street was empty, although she could hear laughter coming from the pub beer garden as she drove past with her window open.

She scanned the street carefully as she parked in her spot outside the cottage, just in case the police were keeping an eye on the place. She might have dumped the hijab disguise but she was still carrying Ray’s fake IDs, which were taped under the front passenger seat of the Focus, and if she was caught with them she’d have some serious questions to answer.

She left them where they were and got out of the car with a bag carrying the milk and sugar for Mrs West. It felt strange knowing that Ray was inside the cottage, only feet away from her, and yet here she was doing everything possible to avoid him. Him leaving was for the best, she kept telling herself. And the sooner he went the easier it would be for them both.

She knocked on Mrs West’s door, and when there was no answer, she looked in the front window. The living room and kitchen were empty and the French windows to the garden were open. She was probably out back somewhere, although there was a distinct chill in the air now, and if she wasn’t feeling too good, the garden wouldn’t be the best place for her.

Mrs West had only once been ill in the nine years they’d lived next door to each other, and even then she’d tried to make as little fuss as possible and Tina had had to insist on doing things for her, so the timing of this latest call, with everything else that was going on, had rung a small alarm bell.

Tina tried the handle. The door was open. Feeling just a little bit wary she stepped slowly inside, shutting the door gently behind her but leaving it on the latch.

‘Hello, Mrs West,’ she called out. ‘I’ve got your stuff.’

There was a pause, then a weak voice called out: ‘I’m up here, love.’

Tina relaxed a little, putting the milk in the fridge and the sugar on the side.

‘Do you need anything?’ she called out as she climbed the stairs. ‘A cup of tea or anything like that?’

She opened Mrs West’s bedroom door, and the moment she walked in she realized she’d made a big mistake.

Mrs West was sitting up on her bed, fully clothed, while standing off to one side near the window was the woman Tina had shot at the previous night. She was wearing a black balaclava but Tina knew who it was by the long black hair poking out of the bottom. She

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.