Ann Cleeves - The Glass Room

Perhaps Joanna realized that Vera wasn’t going to give up. Or perhaps she wanted to discuss the idea, put it into words. ‘I want a baby,’ she said. ‘Before it’s too late. I can’t be pregnant on the medication. And I thought I should have some financial security before bringing a child into the world. So I asked Paul for money. That’s what it’s all about.’

‘Does Jack know?’

‘No point telling Jack until I’ve made up my mind,’ Joanna said. ‘He’ll be so excited he won’t be able to contain himself. He’ll talk about nothing else.’

‘What’s the next move?’

‘I’ve made an appointment with the doctor to talk through the options. Very sensible. You should be proud of me, Vee.’

Vera stood up and yawned. She needed a few hours’ sleep before she went back to the station. Joanna followed her to the door.

‘What about you?’ Joanna asked as they stood together, looking out down the valley. ‘Did you never want a child?’

‘Eh, pet, what sort of mother would I have made?’

Vera stomped off towards her house. Both of them knew that wasn’t any sort of answer to the question.

Thanks to everyone who helped in the writing of this book, especially Julie, Helen, Naomi and Catherine at Macmillan and Sara Menguc and her team worldwide.

I’m grateful to Paul Rutman who sparked the idea, and to Brenda, David, Wunmi and Elaine who have helped bring Vera to a wider readership.

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 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.

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