DI Sally Parker Thrillers Box Set, page 1
part #1 of DI Sally Parker Series
DI SALLY PARKER SERIES BOX SET
BOOKS
1-3
WRONG PLACE
NO HIDING PLACE
COLD CASE
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author M A Comley
Published by Jeamel Publishing limited
Copyright © 2019 M A Comley
Digital Edition, License Notes
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
OTHER BOOKS BY M A COMLEY
Blind Justice (Novella)
Cruel Justice (Book #1)
Mortal Justice (Novella)
Impeding Justice (Book #2)
Final Justice (Book #3)
Foul Justice (Book #4)
Guaranteed Justice (Book #5)
Ultimate Justice (Book #6)
Virtual Justice (Book #7)
Hostile Justice (Book #8)
Tortured Justice (Book #9)
Rough Justice (Book #10)
Dubious Justice (Book #11)
Calculated Justice (Book #12)
Twisted Justice (Book #13)
Justice at Christmas (Short Story)
Prime Justice (Book #14)
Heroic Justice (Book #15)
Shameful Justice (Book #16)
Immoral Justice (Book #17)
Toxic Justice (Book #18)
Overdue Justice (Book #19)
Unfair Justice (a 10,000 word short story)
Irrational Justice (a 10,000 word short story)
Seeking Justice (a 15,000 word novella)
Caring For Justice (a 24,000 word novella coming July 2019)
Clever Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
Tragic Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
Sinful Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
Forever Watching You (DI Miranda Carr thriller)
Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #1)
No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #2)
Cold Case (DI Sally Parker thriller#3)
Deadly Encounter (DI Sally Parker thriller #4)
Lost Innocence (DI Sally Parker thriller #5)
Goodbye, My Precious Child (DI Sally Parker #6) coming soon
Web of Deceit (DI Sally Parker Novella with Tara Lyons)
The Missing Children (DI Kayli Bright #1)
Killer On The Run (DI Kayli Bright #2)
Hidden Agenda (DI Kayli Bright #3)
Murderous Betrayal (Kayli Bright #4)
Dying Breath (Kayli Bright #5)
The Hostage Takers (DI Kayli Bright Novella)
No Right to Kill (DI Sara Ramsey #1)
Killer Blow (DI Sara Ramsey #2)
The Dead Can’t Speak (DI Sara Ramsey #3)
Deluded (DI Sara Ramsey #4)
The Murder Pact (DI Sara Ramsey #5) Coming August 2019
The Caller (co-written with Tara Lyons)
Evil In Disguise – a novel based on True events
Deadly Act (Hero series novella)
Torn Apart (Hero series #1)
End Result (Hero series #2)
In Plain Sight (Hero Series #3)
Double Jeopardy (Hero Series #4)
Sole Intention (Intention series #1)
Grave Intention (Intention series #2)
Devious Intention (Intention #3)
Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins short story)
It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne Simpkins short story)
A Time To Heal (A Sweet Romance)
A Time For Change (A Sweet Romance)
High Spirits
The Temptation series (Romantic Suspense/New Adult Novellas)
Past Temptation
Lost Temptation
Tempting Christa (A billionaire romantic suspense co-authored by Tracie Delaney #1)
Avenging Christa (A billionaire romantic suspense co-authored by Tracie Delaney #2)
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE AUTHOR:
https://twitter.com/Melcom1
Blog
http://melcomley.blogspot.com
http://smarturl.it/sps7jh
Newsletter
http://smarturl.it/8jtcvv
BookBub
www.bookbub.com/authors/m-a-comley
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you as always to my rock, Jean, I’d be lost without you in my life.
Special thanks as always go to @studioenp for their superb cover design expertise.
My heartfelt thanks go to my wonderful editor Emmy Ellis, my proofreaders Joseph, Barbara and Jacqueline for spotting all the lingering nits.
WRONG PLACE
Prologue
He watched her serve and flirt with the other customers. Periodically, she flashed him a toothy smile, showing off her flawless white teeth, which glistened under the lights directed at the bar. He returned her smile and added a wink for good measure. He knew women like her wanted to feel special. The pretty woman, who had insisted that he call her Brenda, fluttered her eyelashes at him as colour highlighted her slightly plump cheeks.
Another half an hour, and he would need to be on his way. The question was: had he achieved what he’d set out to do? He received his answer when she topped up his drink. She leaned in close and whispered seductively, “I should be clear of this place in forty-five minutes, Scott.”
He raised an eyebrow and grinned. He was always amused to hear the girls call him Scott. “What are you suggesting?”
“You know. Surely, I don’t have to spell it out for you. You seem an intelligent enough man.”
If only you knew! He glanced at his wrist and tapped his watch. “The thing is, I have an early start in the morning. Any chance you can get off sooner?”
Her eyes widened, and she peered over her shoulder at the other staff members, who were milling around or flitting between the bar and the kitchen area. “I’ll see what I can do.” She gave him a wink.
Scott resisted the temptation to punch the air. He placed a hand over Brenda’s as she pushed his pint towards him. “You won’t regret it. You have my word on that. I’ll drink this and wait for you outside in the car park.”
She smiled nervously and withdrew her hand. “Okay. I’ll look forward to that.”
During the next ten minutes, he noticed her clutching first her head, then her stomach. Finally, another barmaid, a motherly looking woman, asked if she was all right.
“Actually, I feel like shit. Not sure I can continue tonight. Do you think Greg would mind if I called it a night? I’ve been tidying up as I go, so there shouldn’t be too much mess to clear up once the final punter goes home.”
“Go on. I’ll cover for you, love. Dan is on nights tonight, anyway, so there’s no need for me to rush home. You should check with Greg first, though.”
Scott had heard enough. He downed the rest of his pint and slipped out of the pub. He moved his car around the corner, out of sight of any cameras, and waited. His palms were greasy with sweat as he anticipated Brenda’s arrival. Five minutes later, she appeared in the doorway of the pub. He thumped his horn once to gain her attention.
Brenda trotted across the pavement to meet him. The engine roared into life as she opened the door and fell into the passenger seat. “Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.
“I know a nice spot down by the river, or we could go back to my hotel if you like?”
“The river sounds more romantic.” She giggled like an excited teenager.
Scott inserted the CD he’d picked out especially for the trip, and the soothing voice of Luther Vandross filled the car. Brenda leaned back against the headrest and began humming to the tune. Everything was going according to plan.
Ten minutes later, they were parked on the edge of the softly flowing river at Acle, a pretty, touristy site that he knew well. He switched off the engine then twisted in his seat to face her. With his gaze fixed on hers, he unclipped both of their seatbelts and slowly ran his hand up her bare thigh. The way she was dressed and her welcoming smile had attracted him the most at the beginning of the evening.
“Hey, slow down, honey.” She flirtatiously slapped his hand away.
He knew what type of games women liked to play before they spread their legs for him. However, for some reason, he was eager to get down to business. His hand swiftly disappeared up her skirt. She sucked in a startled breath. The whites of her eyes lit up the car. He covered her mouth with his and felt her succumb willingly to the desire he was bestowing upon her. Scott recognised a go-ahead when he saw it. He climbed across the gear stick and straddled her, pinning her to the seat. She couldn’t object, as his mouth was busy toying with hers. His tongue crept between her gaping lips, and her guttural moan reverberated against his mouth. He knew there was no turning back—this woman was his.
She tugged at his shirt, and he did the same to her blouse. The lust-filled frenetic pace of young lovers overtook them. Before long, both of them were naked, no mean feat in t he confines of his car.
“You’re beautiful.” He trailed his tongue along her heated flesh. His head spun when she moaned, and her hips gyrated anxiously beneath him.
His hands clasped her throat gently as he took her. Once their rhythm was in sync, his grip tightened, constricting her airway. Brenda tried to push him off, but he was too heavy. She bit the edge of his lip. He cried out, released one of his hands, and slapped her face. Brenda whimpered like a baby in between gasping for breath as his hands tightened around her slim neck again, this time with more intent.
His release came not long after, as did hers, when her life ebbed away beneath his hands.
Scott took a few moments to recover his breath. Then he casually pulled on his clothes, ignoring the lifeless form lying beside him. He started the car and drove a few hundred yards down the road towards what would be the woman’s final place of rest.
CHAPTER ONE
Detective Inspector Sally Parker of the Norfolk Constabulary Police Force drove into work feeling bewildered after the fraught weekend she’d spent moving house. How the bloody hell did I expect to achieve all that in three days? She had worked like a slave on her supposed time off. And she was returning to work knackered, with the sensation that a long week lay ahead of her. To top it all, once she’d filled the new flat with her possessions, deep regret had cast a shadow over her. The flat was simply too damned small. Not for the first time, she cursed the ground her ex walked on. You’ll get what’s coming to you one day, Darryl Parker. I can guarantee you that.
Her threat reminded her to chase up her solicitor with regard to reverting back to her maiden name. The sooner she got rid of everything to do with that man, the better. He’d already robbed her of four valuable years of life.
She pulled into the station car park just as her partner, DS Jack Blackman, was getting out of his car.
He waved and walked towards her. “Damn, I think you should take another week off, looking at the suitcases you’re carrying under those eyes.”
“Ha, bloody, ha! I can always rely on you to make me feel great—not. Did you have a good weekend?”
“Let’s put it this way: I think it was probably a darn sight better than yours, by the looks of things.”
Side by side, they crossed the car park. Sally dug her elbow into Jack’s ribs. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re crap at boosting a woman’s ego?”
“Yeah, Donna, all the time.” He laughed.
“I pity her for having to put up with you.”
“Seriously? I’m a model husband compared to that shit ex of yours. Christ, even I could write a book about the crap he burdened you with during your pointless marriage.”
Sally pushed open the door and keyed in her access code to the station’s inner sanctum. “Thanks! That much I already know, and I don’t need reminding of it in the form of a book, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Sorry. Do you think he’ll leave you alone now you’re in your own place?”
Sally swiftly turned her head and looked at him. “I bloody well hope so.”
He raised his hand above her head, pushed open the door, then motioned for her to go ahead of him. “You know where I am if the shit hits the fan again. I’d love to wipe that smug grin off his face, given the opportunity.”
“Thanks. I appreciate your concern, Jack, but I can handle Darryl.”
“Like the last time he tried something, you mean?”
Sally gulped as the images of her ex-husband pinning her to the floor of her former home flooded her mind. She shook her head, hoping to disperse the vile pictures. She’d been foolish to ever get involved with the lowlife, let alone marry him and waste four years trying to change him into a decent human being. “Give it a rest with the ‘I told you so,’ will you? Between you and my bloody dad, you’re going to end up making my life unbearable.”
“Your old man talks a lot of sense. Shame you didn’t listen to him…”
Her blood boiled. “Go on—say it. Have the courage of your convictions, man.”
He shrugged. “I was just saying that it was a shame you didn’t listen to him, or me, for that matter, if we’re laying our cards on the table, right from the outset. Before you married the effing wastrel.”
Sally bit back the venomous retort teetering on the tip of her tongue and turned towards her office, but she couldn’t resist throwing over her shoulder, “Let he who is without sin…”
Sounding unamused, Jack shouted back, “Very funny.”
Sally licked her finger and stroked an invisible line in the air, much to the amusement of the rest of the team already gathered in the incident room.
“Umm… before you go, boss. There’s been a murder,” Stuart McBain called out in true Taggart style, with his genuine Scottish accent.
Sally fought hard to suppress her smile when she spun around and walked towards him. “Let’s have it, Stu?”
He handed her a sheet of paper with the case details sprawled across it. “Am I supposed to be able to read this? Why don’t you tell us what it says, and my capable partner will be a good assistant and jot down the details in his little notebook?”
Jack tutted in her ear and perched his backside on the desk in front of Stuart’s. He took out his notebook and pen. “Right, fire away, Stu.”
“We got a call from the vicar at Acle Church about thirty minutes ago. He was distraught after finding the naked body of a woman in his graveyard.”
Sally flicked her partner’s arm with her hand. “Shit! We better head over there ASAP. Anything else?”
“Not really, boss. He was too shaken up to offer anything else,” Stuart replied.
“And that’s what was written on that sheet of paper? Are you kidding me?”
Detective Constable McBain cringed. “That and the address. I’ll try and do better next time, boss.”
“You do that. Stop trying to imitate your doctor brother when writing notes. Got that?” Sally tweaked his ear as she passed his desk. “We’ll be back soon, peeps. Heads down, and get on with trying to solve those menial cases we discussed on Friday until we return, okay?”
“Yes, boss,” the other three members of the team shouted in unison. Sally and Jack ran down the stairs and out of the station. “We’ll take my car, Jack.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I’m low on petrol.”
“I take it you weren’t a Boy Scout when you were growing up then?” Sally teased.
Jack tutted again at the droll remark. Sally was thankful that her ex wasn’t the topic of conversation during their journey to the crime scene. Instead, Jack wittered on about his wife’s preferred destination for their summer holiday in July, while Sally focused on the road and anticipated the crime scene awaiting them.
When Sally and Jack arrived, the forensic team was already suited and booted and had almost finished setting up the marquee to protect the body from the elements and the gaze of the general public. Sally shuddered at the thought of any of the kids at the primary school, which was around a hundred feet away, seeing the body on their way to school.
“Hi, Simon. What do we have?” Sally asked as soon as she spotted the attending pathologist, Simon Bracknall.
“A dead body.”
Crap! The world is full of comedians all of a sudden. “Funny! Have you found anything of note so far? It’s too much to hope there’s an ID lying around.”
“As it happens, there is. The victim’s handbag and clothes were left in a pile beside the body.” He leaned in and said quietly, “The vicar thought he was doing the right thing by covering the body—‘shielding it from the kids’ prying eyes,’ he put it. Well, you don’t have to be a genius to know that he’s probably contaminated the crime scene.”
“Or did he do it on purpose? That makes him the main suspect then,” Jack offered.
Sally shook her head. “Don’t be so bloody absurd. How did you ever get to be my partner, thinking dumb shit like that?”
Jack shrugged and grinned. “Lucky, I guess.”
“If I might interrupt, as my time is pretty valuable, Inspector—he appears to be too upset to be involved in this,” Simon said.
“I’ll have a word with him after I’ve seen the victim. Can I go in?”
