Vicky Newham - Turn a Blind Eye

Psychologist VICKY NEWHAMgrew up in West Sussex and taught in East London for many years, before moving to Whitstable in Kent. She studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Kingston University. Turn a Blind Eye is her debut novel. She is currently working on the next book in the series.

Copyright

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

Copyright © Vicky Newham 2018

Vicky Newham asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008240684

Version: 2018-09-17

PRAISE FOR TURN A BLIND EYE

‘A remarkable portrayal of a crime investigation in modern, multi-cultural Britain’

Paul Finch, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ashes to Ashes

‘A clever, gripping debut with a courageous DI at its heart’

BA Paris, author of Behind Closed Doors

‘Maya is wonderfully complex and human’

James Oswald, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Inspector Mclean series

‘A sensational debut; a current, timely police procedural featuring a DI like none you’ve ever seen. I loved this book!’

Karen Dionne, author of Home

‘Perfectly recreates the melting pot cultural atmosphere of East London; punchy and twisty. A terrific start to an important new series’

Vaseem Khan, author of the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series

‘Assured and beautifully crafted, with a tempting array of clues to keep crime lovers glued to the pages’

Amanda Jennings, author of In Her Wake

‘DI Maya Rahman is the heroine I’ve waited a lifetime for’

Alex Caan, author of the Riley and Harris series

‘A fresh and enthralling read which smacks of authenticity. A different take on the usual, tired detective story, too. I loved it’

Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me

‘Slick, fresh and current’

Mel Sherratt, author of The Girls Next Door

‘Stands out from the crowd. Filled with cryptic clues, this will keep you entertained throughout’

Caroline Mitchell, author of Silent Victim

For my father, who believed in kindness.

‘You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.’

—WILLIAM WILBERFORCE (1791)

Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

Epigraph

Wednesday, 3 January 2018 – Steve

Wednesday – Maya

Wednesday – Maya

Wednesday

Mile End High School, 1989 – Maya

Wednesday – Dan

Wednesday – Steve

Wednesday – Maya

Wednesday – Steve

Wednesday – Maya

Wednesday – Steve

Wednesday – Dan

Wednesday – Steve

Brick Lane, 1990 – Maya

Wednesday – Maya

Wednesday – Dan

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Steve

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Dan

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Steve

Mile End High School, 1995 – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Limehouse Police Station, 2005 – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Dan

Thursday

Thursday – Maya

Thursday – Dan

Thursday – Maya

Mile End High School, 1991 – Maya

Friday – Maya

Friday – Steve

Friday – Steve

Friday – Maya

Friday – Maya

Friday – Steve

Friday – Maya

Friday – Maya

Friday – Steve

Friday – Maya

Friday – Steve

Saturday – Maya

Saturday – Dan

Saturday – Maya

Saturday – Maya

Sunday – Maya

Monday – Steve

Monday – Steve

Monday – Maya

Monday – Steve

Monday – Maya

Monday – Maya

Monday – Maya

Monday – Maya

Tuesday

Tuesday – Steve

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Steve

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday

Tuesday – Steve

Tuesday – Maya

Tuesday – Maya

Wednesday – Maya

Acknowledgements

Extract - Out of the Ashes

Q&A with Vicky Newham

About the Publisher

Wednesday, 3 January 2018 – Steve

Steve sat back in the plastic chair, squashed between two colleagues. Today was the start of the spring term at Mile End High School and he’d managed to turn up for the first day of his new job with a hangover.

‘Good morning, everyone. Welcome back.’ Linda Gibson, the petite head teacher, stood at the rostrum and surveyed the hall with an infectious grin. Her blue eyes danced with energy. ‘First of all, apologies for the lack of heating. I believe the engineers are fixing the boiler as I speak.’ She raised crossed fingers. ‘They’ve promised to perform miracles so we can all get warm and have lunch.’

Laughter ricocheted round the hall where the hundred-strong staff sat in coats and scarves, the room colder than the chilled aisles at the supermarket.

‘I hope you all had a lovely holiday,’ she continued. ‘I’m delighted to share good news: Amir Hussain, the year ten boy who was stabbed on Christmas Eve, is out of intensive care and doing well. In the sixth form, offers of university places have begun to trickle in.’ She paused. ‘Two final updates. Kevin Hall sadly had a stroke on Boxing Day, and Talcott Lawrence will step in as chair of governors until the end of term. Lastly, OFSTED notification could arrive any day.’

Nervous chatter skittered round the room.

‘There’s no cause for concern.’ Linda quickly raised her hand to reassure. ‘The inspectors will quickly see what a brilliant school we are.’ She gestured to the awards that hung proudly on the walls of the school hall.

Linda’s words floated over Steve’s head. All he’d been able to think about since arriving at the school that morning was when he’d be able to get to a shop for some Nurofen – but, despite his befuddled mental state, optimism began to tickle at him for the first time in months. After his last school in sleepy Sussex, he’d longed to escape mud and meadows and return to the vibrancy of East London, where he’d grown up. Hearing Linda speak, he felt sure he’d made the right decision – even though his head was swimming with information and everyone’s names were a blur. What an idiot he’d been to start drinking last night. After the long flight home from New York, the plan had been to have an early night. Why the hell hadn’t he stuck to it? To add to his regrets this morning, he’d read through his drunken texts to Lucy while he waited for the bus and cringed. What a twat. Hadn’t he promised himself he wouldn’t plead?