Blood of the Innocents (38 page)

‘And Colleen Skeet’s happy with that?’

‘She’s satisfied that we caught Ricky’s killer, but I doubt Colleen will ever be happy again.’

‘No. I’m sorry about your mother, too, Tom.’

‘Yes, sir. Welcome back.’

 

Chris Collett

 

In Birmingham a local journalist is found dead in his home. A puncture wound in his arm a testimony to his death by lethal injection, the cryptic note by his side: ‘no more’, seems at first to suggest suicide but Detective Inspector Tom Mariner has learned to take nothing at face value. There is something a little too staged about events, especially as just that evening Mariner had witnessed Edward Barham pick up a prostitute in a bar he was frequenting. As the police investigate the house further they discovers there is another witness to events at 34 Clarendon Avenue. Barham’s younger brother, Jamie, is found in a cupboard under the stairs. It seems likely that Jamie Barham had witnessed his brother’s killing but his severe autism has left him without the means to communicate what he has seen . . .

 

Mariner is determined to build enough of a relationship with Jamie to get to the truth. And the fact that this means spending time with Anna Barham, Jamie’s new - and reluctant - guardian, is no great hardship. But is Edward’s death related to his recent investigations into a local crimelord. Or is there something else, something that only Jamie can tell them - if he so chooses . . .

 

Praise for
The Worm in the Bud
:

 

‘This first novel comes from a writer with twenty years experience of working with adults with learning disabilities and her depiction of Jamie and his effect on those who care for him rings true . . . While lonely Mariner is immediately engaging and his sexual vulnerability and lack of confidence adds both humour and poignancy. Collett sustains the intrigue - we want to know who done what and why - and is a writer with promise.’ Cath Staincliffe, author and series creator of TV’s
Blue Murder

 

 

 

DI Tom Mariner’s life is beginning to look settled, with talk of a move to the country and even kids. But then an unexpected reunion with an old friend thrusts him into the unofficial investigation of a violent double murder to which he is inextricably linked. Tom enters a world of corruption where the boundaries of justice are blurred, making it impossible to distinguish between friend and foe.