Pauline Rowson - In for the Kill

Maybe they could stay with me for a while, but where, I thought, walking slowly back to my burning houseboat. The fire fighters were doing a good job, but I didn’t think there would be much left.

The commotion had attracted my neighbour.

Scarlett was standing in the roadside opposite, staring anxiously at the burning spectacle. I hoped the police had told her there was no one inside. Maybe she wouldn’t care if I was after what I had done to her mother. But the relief on her face as she swung round and saw me lifted my heart and filled me with hope. After all the deceptions I wondered if I could trust again, but with Scarlett I knew that what you saw was what you got.

‘Well you might have told me that you were OK,’ she cried, exasperated. She was as dishevelled as always, wearing her long green raincoat over a T-shirt and shorts with her big boots on her feet, but her hair was brown and all one colour. I wondered if that augured well.

‘I’m sorry about Ruby. I tried to save her.’

Sadness touched her face. ‘I know, and nearly got yourself killed in the process. The lifeboat men told me. It wasn’t your fault, Alex. She’s at peace now.’

Relief overwhelmed me. She didn’t blame me.

She stretched out a hand and I clasped it tightly.

We stood for a moment in silence staring at the smouldering ruin of my houseboat. The fire fighters were dampening it down now. The wind had eased back and it had stopped raining. Slowly the day was coming alive. Scarlett shivered and I drew my arm around her.

‘You’ll want somewhere to stay,’ she said.

‘Are you offering?’

‘Only if you don’t mind a bit of mess and can make a mean cup of tea.’

I smiled. ‘Try me.’

‘No time like the present.’

We crossed the road but before we stepped onto her houseboat she turned to face me.

‘Is it over now, Alex?’ she said, quietly.

I looked across at what was left of my houseboat then back into her sad brown eyes. I thought of everything that had happened to me and what was still to come: Gus’s trial and Vanessa’s anguish. But the burden of proving my innocence had lifted from my shoulders, and the hard knot of anger and revenge inside me had vanished.

‘Yes, Scarlett,’ I replied, steadily. ‘It’s over.’

* * *

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

TIDE OF

DEATH

A MARINE MYSTERY FEATURING

DI ANDY HORTON

AND BARNEY CANTELLI

It is DI Andy Horton’s second day back in Portsmouth CID after being suspended for eight months. Whilst out running in the early morning he trips over the naked battered body of a man on the beach. PC Evans has been stabbed the night before, the DCI is up before a promotion board and Sergeant Cantelli is having trouble with his fifteen-year-old daughter. But Horton’s mind is on other things not least of which is trying to prove his innocence after being accused of rape.

Beset by personal problems and aided by Cantelli, Horton sets out to find a killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. As he gets closer to the truth, he risks not only his career but also his life…

‘Be prepared to be taken aback!’

ISBN 0955098203 Paperback £6.99

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

IN COLD

DAYLIGHT

A GRIPPING

MARINE MYSTERY

Fire fighter Jack Bartholomew dies whilst trying to put out a fire in a derelict building. Was it an accident or arson? Marine artist Adam Greene doesn’t know, only that he has lost his closest friend. He attends the funeral ready to mourn his friend only to find that another funeral intrudes upon his thoughts and one he’s tried hard to forget for the last fifteen years. But before he has time to digest this, or discover the identity of the stranger stalking him, Jack’s house is ransacked.

Unaware of the risks he is running, Adam soon finds himself caught up in a mysterious and dangerous web of deceit. By exposing a secret that has lain dormant for years Adam is forced to face his own dark secrets and, as the facts reveal themselves, the prospects for his survival look bleak. But Adam knows there is no turning back; he has to get to the truth no matter what the cost, even if it means his life.

‘Plenty of twists and turns. A thoroughly enjoyable read.’

ISBN 0955098211 Paperback £6.99

Coming soon:

Deadly Harbour

– An Andy Horton Marine Mystery

www.rowmark.co.uk

IN FOR THE KILL

First published in 2007 by Fathom Fathom is an imprint of Rowmark Publishing Limited 65 Rogers Mead

Hayling Island

Hampshire

England

PO11 0PL

ISBN: 978-0-9550982-2-2

Copyright © Pauline Rowson 2007

The right of Pauline Rowson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P 9HE.

Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

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

Printed in Great Britain by Cox and Wyman Fathom is an imprint of Rowmark Limited PAULINE ROWSON

Pauline Rowson was raised in Portsmouth and is a frequent visitor to the Isle of Wight, the setting for this marine mystery thriller. In addition to being a crime writer she is the author of several marketing, self-help and motivational books. She lives in Hampshire and can never be far from the sea for any length of time without suffering withdrawal symptoms. This is her third marine mystery and she plans many more…

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Crime Fiction - Marine Mysteries

Tide of Death

In Cold Daylight

Non-fiction

Communicating With More Confidence

Being Positive and Staying Positive

Marketing

Successful Selling

Telemarketing, Cold Calling & Appointment Making

Building a Positive Media Profile

Fundraising for Your School

Publishing and Promoting Your Book

Praise for Tide of Death featuring DI Andy Horton and his sidekick Barney Cantelli

‘Rowson manages to mix criminal and maritime worlds into a fast paced thriller, from police stations to Bavaria yachts the reader is fixed.’ Julian Gowing, Opal Marine.

‘With the Harley Davidson riding Horton living on a yacht and the various harbours and marinas around Portsmouth playing a major part in the action this is ideal reading - just check out that yacht in the next berth.’ Sail-World.com

‘If you are looking for a gripping read, to while away the time between sailing, try murder mystery Tide of Death .’ Yachts and Yachting Magazine

‘Rowson’s marine mystery series can do for the Solent what Inspector Morse did for Oxford.’ Daily Echo

‘Hoist the sails for DI Andy Horton and his sidekick Barney Cantelli. A series with a fair wind behind it and destined to go far.’ Amy Myers