The sixth book in my series, The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries, is published today. I very much hope you will enjoy it. I am particularly pleased with this book because the story actually commences in the short story Cats and Dogs that was published in the charity anthology of short stories Dark Scotland. Although the novel can easily be read without even being aware of the short story, those readers who have read both may enjoy this conceit.
The Blurb
A bloody scene brings Hunter and Meera’s romantic plans to an abrupt end.
A young woman was attacked in a hotel lift. She has life changing injuries, but she is alive. Hunter notes that her wounds are like those inflicted on two women who previously died.
Can Meera keep the injured woman alive long enough for her to identify her assailant? Is the same person responsible for all three crimes? When Hunter is identified as a suspect in the crime, can he establish his innocence and lead his team to solve the crime and keep Edinburgh safe?
The Extract
Hector is interviewed by Oskar and Neil
Hector had never been in a police interview room before. He was horrified by how musty it was. It made him gag. The tables and chairs were metal, and bolted to the floor. There was a recording device on the table, and that was bolted on to it. High on the wall was a camera. He stared at it. Could somebody see him now, he wondered.
A policewoman stood by the door. Hector looked at her and thought, in other circumstances, he might have had a shot. She was quite pretty. He moved around on his seat to see the wall behind him. The only window was there, but it was too high up to see out of it and it had bars in front of it, as well as the cobwebs. He had never seen any that thick. They seemed to form a net curtain over the window. This place smelled bad too. He gagged again and sat with his head in his hands until Andrew Barley came back into the room.
Oskar and Neil walked back in shortly afterwards and thanked Hector for his attendance.
“I just want to get things sorted,” Hector said. “Ask me anything you want. I’ll tell you the truth.”
Oskar thought he was planning to ask what he wanted and that it would be a refreshing change to get honest replies, but he didn’t say so. He asked Hector about the weed in the bathroom cupboard.
“I don’t know if it’s John’s or Katy’s, but I know it’s not mine. I don’t do drugs.”
“John seemed to think it might have been left there by a friend of yours. Could that be right?” Neil asked.
“Unlikely. I rarely bring anybody back there. John and Katy make such exhibitions of themselves. You never know what you’ll witness. I wish he’d get his own place.”
“What about the substance we found in the sugar container in the kitchen? It looks more like cocaine than sugar. Is that yours?” Oskar asked.
“Bloody hell, not again. I’ve told him I don’t want that stuff in the house. You have extremely blue eyes, inspector. It’s rare to see such a distinctive colour.”
“Indeed. Now, John has admitted that the small amount of cocaine found in his desk at the office was his, but he was a little vague about how the ten thousand pounds came to be in the desk at reception. Can you help us with that?”
“A client wanted to pay a deposit in cash, but I said we couldn’t take that much without knowing where it came from. He left it with us while he went to get a certificate from his accountant.”
“Interesting. That’s not what John said. And an accountant’s certificate wouldn’t be enough for your professional money laundering requirements, would it?” Oskar asked.
Val Penny
