Anything For a Quiet Life (31 page)

“Glad she won the seat. Maybe she’ll be able to keep Florence Fitchett quiet. I’m afraid your practice has suffered.”

“It hasn’t suffered,” said Jonas. “It no longer exists. I’ve decided to retire. Sabrina has joined R. and L. Sykes and they were delighted to have her. The firms have been amalgamated. Sykes and Pickett the new outfit is to be called, so that at least my name will be remembered.”

“You’ve had a pretty good run,” said the Admiral thoughtfully.

Jonas nodded, but it was not what he wanted to talk about. It was the first time since the disaster that he had got the Admiral to himself.

He said, “When it all happened, just exactly where were you?”

“On my roof, as I often am in the early morning. Using my telescope. I was too far away to help, but I was perfectly placed to see what happened. Incidentally, I’ve put up Sam’s name for a Royal Humane Society medal.”

“Well deserved,” said Jonas absently. “What I really wanted to ask you was whether, just after that third wave came – the final one that swept everything out to sea – did you hear anything?”

The Admiral looked at him curiously.

“What sort of thing?”

“Well – it sounded like a bell. Sam and Delamere heard it too.”

“You must have been thinking of that old story. That if another disaster threatened Shackleton the bells of the church under the sea would ring again.”

“Something of the sort.”

“I didn’t hear anything. But the wind was in your direction, not mine. You do realise that even if you did hear it, there might have been a perfectly natural explanation. The old church is still somewhere there, under the waves. Its bells may still be hanging. A heavy piece of wood, brought down by the force of the flood, might have struck against the bell—”

“Yes,” said Jonas. “I suppose it could have been that.”

But he didn’t believe it.

Published by House of Stratus

After The Fine Weather When Laura Hart travels to Austria to visit her brother, vice-consul of Lienz in the Tyrol, she briefly meets an American who warns her of the mounting political tension. Neo-Nazis are stirring trouble in the province, and xenophobia is rife between the Austrians who control the area and the Italian locals. Then Laura experiences the troubles first-hand, a shocking incident that suggests Hofrat Humbold, leader of the Lienz government is using some heavy-handed tactics. Somewhat unsurprisingly, he is unwilling to let one little English girl destroy his plans for the largest Nazi move since the war, and Laura makes a dangerous enemy.

Anything For A Quiet Life Jonas Pickett, lawyer and commissioner of oaths is nearing retirement, but still has lots of energy. However, he leaves the pressure of a London practice behind to set up a new modest office in a quiet seaside resort. He soon finds that he is overwhelmed with clients and some of them involve him in very odd and sometimes dangerous cases. This collection of inter-linked stories tells how these are brought to a conclusion; ranging from an incredible courtroom drama involving a gipsy queen to terrorist thugs who make their demands at gunpoint.

Be Shot For Sixpence A gripping spy thriller with a deserved reputation. Philip sees an announcement in The Times from an old school friend who has instructed the newspaper to publish only if they don’t hear from him. This sets a trail running through Europe, with much of the action taking place on the Austro-Hungarian border. The Kremlin, defectors, agitators and the People’s Court set the background to a very realistic story that could well have happened …

The Black Seraphim James Scotland, a young pathologist, decides on a quiet holiday in Melchester, but amid the cathedral town’s quiet medieval atmosphere, he finds a hornet’s nest of church politics, town and country rivalries, and murder. He is called upon to investigate and finds that some very curious alliances between the church, state and business exist. With modern forensic pathology he unravels the unvarnished truth about Melchester, but not before a spot of unexpected romance intervenes.

Blood & Judgement When the wife of a recently escaped prisoner is found murdered and partially buried near a reservoir, Patrick Petrella, a Metropolitan Police Inspector, is called in. Suspicion falls on the escaped convict, but what could have been his motive? Petrella meets resistance from top detectives at the Yard who would prefer to keep the inspector out of the limelight, but he is determined to solve the mystery with or without their approval.

The Body Of A Girl Detective Chief Inspector Mercer is called to the scene when a skeleton of a girl is found on Westlaugh Island in the upper reaches of the River Thames. What appears to be a straightforward and routine investigation, however, leads to unexpected events and a string of unlikely characters, including a lawyer and a one armed garage proprietor. Nothing seems to fit together and it seems the sleepy town holds many secrets. The finale involves two nights of dramatic violence and it isn’t until this stage is reached that the twisted truth finally emerges.