Chapter 4

The next day, we presented ourselves at the university for our short course. We were directed to an office where the lecturer sat us at a table with three laptops on it.

Chapter 2

We talked about it for a few days. Dad was worried about my safety, but we both agreed that it could be an exciting and rewarding job. Mum was more worried about my safety but came around to the idea, once I pointed out that there had been no news reports about members of the unit being killed or injured.

Chapter 13

We had dinner with Connie and Isabella in a small restaurant where they were known and talked about the likely campaign. They had a lot of experience and had already mapped out the likely destinations of our travels, following the European, and then the world-wide advertising.

What surprised us was when Connie looked around and lowered her voice.

Chapter 11

Mum and John were with us until Saturday, turning the visit into a couple of days exploring the city, a place that was bringing Mum out of her small-town life, now ready to embrace a new future with the man she loved.

Chapter 9

Manny arrived with his camera and a flash with a power pack on his belt. He waited, with a big grin, while Carol and Sally brought me back to my basic self, with the brows and lashes removed as well. I posed for him with a copy of todays’ paper held in my hands to confirm the date.

Chapter 7

For a while, as I snuggled in my old bed, I thought of the absurdity of going out on a double date with my mother. That was followed by the other absurdity of me giving her one of my skirts. I had a little chuckle as I went to sleep, in my own bed and in my family home.

Chapter 5

I was looking out of the window as Sally and Jerry were talking. This was a whole new world for me. Every view was new and different. They continued and I listened with half an ear.

“There’s a lot of new things to learn. It’s pretty exciting.”

“I’m told that it gets more like work, the longer you do it.”

“As I said, Jerry. We’ve both worked in retail. We’re not afraid of work. All I hope is that others treat us well.”

Chapter 3

It didn’t take long to get to St. Pauls and the walk to the address we had been given didn’t take long either, considering that when we came up from the tube station the building was only on the opposite corner.

We walked across the road and along until we arrived at the main doors. It was still only around ten, but we went in and looked at the board inside to find the agency. We didn’t have enough time to find a café, so went up to the first floor and went into the reception. A very smart girl was at the desk.

“Can I help you?”

Chapter 1

I stood in the little kiosk and looked out towards the other shops, wondering how my life had narrowed down to such a bleak outlook. It was a Tuesday morning, and I had just opened up. I hadn’t seen a single shopper yet. It was half past nine on a cold November day, so I hadn’t really expected anything else.

Chapter 9

When we went to school on the Sunday, we took both cars. Now that I was independent, I wanted to visit my own parents when I could. Our room was now totally redecorated, with neutral walls and a red, white, and blue cornice at the ceiling join.

Chapter 7

Friday was our round three matches in the singles. We were now getting into playing seeds and high-ranked players. I knew that we had done as well as most would have expected, even if they wanted us to do better, As first-timers, getting to the third round was considered good. We were, however, determined not to go down without a fight.

Chapter 5

As Geraldine and I made our way to sign in, she wanted to know how I was advertising the tennis gear with a life-size picture.

“It was something that happened during summer. I was working with my aunt at her hotel in Brighton, which is the overnight home for executives for the shops in the big centre across the road. They wanted someone to model for them and I got some money, this outfit and two racquets out of it. It was a bit of fun at the time.”

Chapter 4

I had the Saturday morning before Mum would arrive. I tidied up the room, made sure I had everything in my case and what I was leaving was properly hung and folded. It was a cold day, and I was warmly dressed in jeans and a sweater. I had begun wearing slacks and jeans in the evening as the weather chilled.

Chapter 2

My name is Alice Mary McConnell and I’m a teenage girl, wondering what my future holds for me. I don’t wish for things any longer. After a week of getting used to seeing the new me in mirrors, and learning to move around in a nightie, I was almost ready to face the world.

Chapter 6

When John and Hannah walked into the gym there was a huge cheer. Mary came over to them and took control.

“Come with me to Marilyns’ office and sit quietly. I’ll get you cups of tea. It takes time to settle down after being in a firefight.”

They sat and looked out at the others going about their business. John sighed.

“Do you feel it or is it just me. We’re the two most juniors in the team, but we’re being treated as if we’re something special.”

Chapter 4

The Colonel left them. Jim Dutton looked at Marilyn.

“How on earth do you know that man! He has obvious links to the secret services.”

“He came to meetings with that double murder and cold case a little while ago. There were aspects of it that had national importance, although that was never brought out in the papers. Keith Russell, in Leeds, has a contact number for him. He wasn’t involved, that time, just an interested observer.”

“He’s certainly needed now; with the way this is going.”

Chapter 2

Marilyn went and stood on Coppergate and tried to visualise the scene. There was something wrong if the carnage was just a byproduct of a targeted hit. The Ram must have been waiting nearby, with a spotter in the Walk. If there was forward planning, the killers had to know, in advance, that the target would be there at that time, which meant a meeting had been set up.

Chapter 6

Marilyn walked with her to the stairs. She held out her hand.

“See you later, Brightman. I’m heading back to my office to plug a new name into our searches. We’ve been trying to get the names of the robbers that Anderson was with out of the records for a week. They all went into juvenile and the records sealed. We’re looking at another avenue, but I believe that we now have the one we really wanted.”

She went up to the team office and stood by the ‘Rascal Wall’.

Chapter 4

There was something that Marilyn could do while she was at her computer. It would be doubling up Ians’ work, but she called up Ancestor and entered Geoff Hunter and his known year of birth. She tracked through the family tree, finding that he had five brothers. One, who would be the right age as the man that Rose had seen, was called Henry Hunter.

Chapter 2

They walked into the office to see most of the team already studying computer screens. Marilyn went into her own office and spent two hours working on administrative paperwork, to clear her mind. At around ten, she had a call on her mobile.

“DI Houseman.”