Ann Cleeves - A Lesson in Dying

‘Thank you for your help,’ he said. ‘I should be telling you off for interfering, but I would never have found her without your help.’

‘Will we see you again?’ Patty asked. She spoke quietly. She did not want Jim to hear.

‘Of course. You’ll be needed as witnesses at the trial. I’ll be in touch.’ And he waved his hand and drove away.

It was not late. She could hear the signature tune for News at Ten from her neighbours’ television. Somewhere in the street a woman was taking a dog for its evening walk. The bairns were in bed and Jim would be wanting tea and a sandwich for his supper.

‘It’s as if nothing ever happened,’ she said. ‘Everything’s just the same.’

Jack thought of Kitty, the sense of vigour and clarity she had given him, the pleasure of his trip south, the excitement of achievement. He would not be content now to be a councillor and school caretaker whose only challenge was a weekly trip to the library, tedious council meetings and a pint at the club.

‘No,’ he said. ‘Nothing will be the same again.’

After Ramsay had dropped Hannah at the mill he sat for a moment in the car. The fog had lifted and he could see the damp trees over the road. There was an immense relief that the case was over without further violence. He had been lucky. It had been a mistake to take Kitty Medburn into custody and the repercussions from that would rumble on, he supposed. But it was a mistake any of his colleagues might have made and the decision had been supported by his superiors. It would soon be forgotten by everyone but him. He would always remember it. Now, when he should be elated with success he felt empty and a little sad. He had come to think of the people who had spent the evening in Patty’s home as his friends. He would miss them.

Ann Cleeves is the author behind ITV’s VERA and BBC One’s SHETLAND. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over one million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black , the first book in her Shetland series. In 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside.