'Have you got a death wish?'
Richie and Carter both asked the question. At exactly the same time. Sam bent down and picked up Starkey's gun. He opened up the barrel.
'No bullets,' he said, holding up the gun for them to see. 'It only holds six and he fired them all. I took a chance he wouldn't have any spare on him.'
Carter whistled in astonishment. Richie just smiled.
'Still prepared to take risks,' he said.
Sam grinned back at him.
'Still sticking your nose in where it's not wanted.'
Both men laughed.
'You two know each other?' asked Carter.
'Oh, yes,' replied Sam. 'But what he's doing here is anybody's guess.'
***
Sam and Richie were both leaning on the roof of the Clio, observing the scene in front of them. The road was awash with emergency vehicles and flashing lights. Paramedics and police officers milled about. Sam caught a glimpse of Carl Renshaw receiving treatment in the back of an ambulance. Dave Starkey was being stretchered into another. Sam had been told both would live.
Martyn Taylor had not been so fortunate. Carter had passed on the message Taylor had died on the way to hospital. Sam wouldn't be shedding any tears.
'That's some result you got.'
Sam didn't reply to Richie's compliment.
'You haven't lost it, bud. Any chance of you returning to the force. I'm sure they'd take you back after this little-'
'Not a chance, mate.'
Richie shrugged. It had been worth a try. Sam gave him a meaningful look.
'I don't mean to sound ungrateful, Rich, but what are you doing here?'
Richie tapped lightly on the car roof.
'I owed you, bud.'
'You owed me?' asked Sam.
Richie nodded.
'I let you down,' he said gravely. 'I wrote you off. So, I decided to make it up to you.'
'But how did you know I'd-'
'I know you too well, Sam,' laughed Richie. 'When you started asking me for information I knew you had your teeth into something. I thought I'd come up here and find you. See if I could help. I was on the outskirts of Bursleigh when I rang you with Starkey's address. I guessed you'd head there, so I did the same. Only I wasn't expecting you to nearly crash into me.'
It was Sam's turn to laugh.
'That was you back there? The nutter with road rage?'
'Yeah, that was me,' nodded Richie with a wry smile. 'I was trying to get your attention, but you always were a stubborn so-and-so.'
Neither man said anything for a while. It was an easy silence. Richie broke it first.
'What are you going to do now?'
'I'll give evidence at the trial,' replied Sam. 'Both Carl and Starkey are going down, but I can prevent a murder verdict.'
'What about Martyn Taylor's friends?' asked Richie, looking slightly troubled. 'They won't take too kindly to you speaking up for Starkey. You'll need witness protection, won't you?'
Sam took a while to answer. He stared out at the dark, barren countryside and thought of Elizabeth and Danielle. Of Lucy. The people he was supposed to care for and protect.
He had done nothing of the sort.
His recklessness had put them in danger.
And he didn't trust himself to change.
'I won't need it,' he told Richie, shaking his head. 'I'm moving on.'
He gave one final, lingering thought to Lucy.
He was going to miss her.
THE END
###
The follow-up to A NEW DAWN RISING sees the return of maverick ex-cop Sam Carlisle, now free of his demons and living in the bustling seaside town of Newgate, on the East Anglian coast.
Eighty-seven year old Geoffrey Compton is found dead in his own home, the result of an apparent suicide. However, his son Benjamin believes there was more to his father's death and hires Sam to investigate. Tackling his first mystery as a private eye, Sam discovers a number of Geoffrey's old acquaintances have also passed away recently in suspicious circumstances, leading him to believe someone is exacting revenge on these people, snuffing out their lives in the most calculating manner. To prevent more fatalities, Sam must trawl the past and find the cause of this twisted retribution, putting him on collision course with the elusive figure responsible.
As well as investigating Geoffrey Compton's death, Sam also finds himself trying to protect a friend from her vengeful ex. Sam is stretched to the limit in Death In July, juggling two separate cases full of intrigue and danger.
DEATH IN JULY is available now on
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