CHAPTER 17
I made sure I got our bosses to let me go to court for that one. I wasn’t needed as a witness, but the sight of a paramedic, in working rig, with a shiner, might help gee up the Bench.

Affray, assault, ABH times three, assault on an emergency worker, oh, and possession of a Class B drug, amphetamine to be precise; guilty, to all. He at least had the good grace to mouth ‘Sorry’ at me from the dock. Unfortunately for him, he was already on licence for burglary, so off he went to Cardiff for an en-suite holiday at someone else’s expense, and I got two hundred pounds in compensation.

CHAPTER 16
I looked round the room, remembering Elf’s words.

‘Marlene won’t allow face coverings, after the Admiral Duncan bombing. No furries, no puppy boys, but everyone else, aye? Safe space’

Safe space.

“What can you offer, Lil?”

“Careful who you say that to, woman. What’s your usual poison?”

Mark Lansing never wanted to stand out. He was perfectly happy disappearing into a football huddle with the rest of the team until one play made him the talk of the town. Thrust into a spotlight he never wanted, every choice can reshape his future, and every decision could transform him in ways he never believed possible. Mark’s destiny will be determined on the field … assuming he can figure out how to dress the part.

A gala drawing gives Samantha a role Samuel never asked for: princess. But helping a frightened child may force him to see the experience differently.

Part 3 A Penny for them

We had the next three days to film the rest of the Friday story. On Tuesday morning, very early, we were filmed coming out of a door onto the street. The door had ‘Head Office’ on a sign over it. We all then went next door into an actual beauty salon which had the sign ‘Heavenly Bodies – Look like an Angel’.

Back in the industrial building I was shown a set I had not seen before. It was a mock-up of a salon, complete with hair-washing station, make-up station and a proper salon bed with adjustable height.

CHAPTER 15
I had indeed been squeaky new when I had met Hira, just settling in at the Cardiff hub as I was. I had realised early on in my training that while I was competent at driving the big box of an ambulance, I didn’t have the spatial awareness of someone like Tom, who seemed almost to wear the vehicle like a second skin. My forte was that of an advanced nurse practitioner, with extra trauma skills, so I concentrated on those aspects. It meant a lot of mixing and matching crews for a long time, but eventually Tom and I gelled.

The Ghost of Tomorrow

Chapter 2: Home Truths

That night I had a vivid dream. You know, one of those dreams where
you think you’re awake until you wake up? In this dream, I woke up, and
grabbed the clothes that Mum had laid out in my bedroom to get dressed
into and went into the bathroom. Just a normal school morning. Only when
I took off my pyjamas, two things finally dawned on me. Okay, well
three. No four.

The trio left Damien’s father and friends behind. After receiving some more directions from Stephanie, the Taxi took them to a quiet mews not far from Red Lion Square in Central London. They waited in the street while the cab did a ‘U-turn’ and disappeared into the traffic in search of a new fare.

As Samantha grows closer to the children and volunteers at Willow House, Samuel begins to find unexpected meaning in the role—just as the secret edges dangerously close to home.

Part 2. In for a Penny

Over the next few days, I took it easy and tidied up my apartment and did my laundry. The day of my first shoot I was out front when the car arrived. The driver was one of the cameramen from the previous session and he was bright and cheerful as he drove me to the industrial park and the studio.

I didn’t really know what to expect after the lit bed in the apartment so, when we went in, I was surprised. There were several sets; three of them bedrooms with big beds and one was an office with desks and all the right equipment.

The Ghost of Tomorrow

Chapter 1: Aftermath

It’s the first Monday in February 1983, and I’m looking in the mirror
of the dresser that Dad dug up at a garage sale last year, after Mariska
kept complaining about me hogging hers. I’m in my light green checked
summer uniform dress, and I’m fiddling with my hair. Finding a style
that keeps my curls under control, out of my face, and won’t
make me look like a weirdo has had me fretting all week. Never mind that

A continuation of ‘Vanishing Point’

CHAPTER 1
It had been a long drive back to Booker, through the familiar stop-go around the M25 until we lost most of the traffic on the M40. Mary had looked at me as I sat next to her, the sundress riding up over my thighs, and tutted.

“Put my coat over those legs. It’ll take a while for the heater to warm us up. And… I need to think, but I need to concentrate. Can’t do both”

Chapter 9: Boundary of the Divine

The tension arrived before the sirens.

CHAPTER 12
That really sealed the evening for us, but it left Amina silent in the cab home, which was unusual for her. She did the usual pottering about once we were home, putting away a few bits of crockery, then just led the way upstairs. It wasn’t until we were both settled under the duvet that she started to talk once more.

“I am so, so glad I’m not like those girls, love”

Wychwood - Overstrand’s Offer

One

After Overstrand and Sandy had finished lunch, Overstrand asked Mhairi to come to the library, where he told her that Sandy would be staying at Wychwood to convalesce and finish the diary. As Mhairi listened to Overstrand, Sandy was surprised to see her purse her lips and a flash of what looked like annoyance cross her face.

“Very good, Sir Robert, I will inform the other staff,” she replied when he finished.

After she left, Sandy whispered to Overstrand, “I’m not sure she likes me.” 

An invitation to the Patron Reception leaves Samantha needing a guest—and Samuel facing the question of who, beyond the girls, can be trusted with the truth.

Chapter 31 - Dénouement

I stepped to where Millie was huddled over Arthur, to check for any sign of life. “She… he is still breathing” I was able to report. The former was pressing a wad of material against her lover’s side. The pad was slowly darkening.

Gloria, tears coursing down her cheeks, fetched bandages and together with Millie, they bound the wounds more tightly, while I looked on helplessly. Guy found the phone and called for an ambulance and then the police. He covered the dead bodies each with a throw from the sofas.