A Truth for a Truth

ALSO BY CAROL WYER Detective Kate Young series: An Eye for an Eye A Cut for a Cut A Life for a Life Standalone thrillers: Behind Closed Doors Detective Natalie Ward series: The Birthday Last Lullaby The Dare The Sleepover The Blossom Twins The Secret Admirer Somebody’s Daughter Detective Robyn Carter series: Little Girl Lost Secrets of the Dead The Missing Girls The Silent Children The Chosen Ones Comedies: Life Swap Take a Chance on Me What Happens in France Suddenly Single This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 by Carol Wyer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781662506130 eISBN: 9781662506123 Cover design by Whitefox, Dominic Forbes Cover image: ©Aline Sprauel / Arcangel CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE SEPTEMBER 2022 CHAPTER TWO DAY ONE – TUESDAY MORNING CHAPTER THREE DAY ONE – AFTERNOON CHAPTER FOUR DAY ONE – EARLY EVENING CHAPTER FIVE DAY ONE – EVENING CHAPTER SIX DAY ONE – LATE EVENING CHAPTER SEVEN DAY ONE – NIGHT CHAPTER EIGHT DAY ONE – LATE NIGHT CHAPTER NINE DAY TWO – WEDNESDAY MORNING CHAPTER TEN DAY TWO – AFTERNOON CHAPTER ELEVEN DAY TWO – LATE AFTEROON CHAPTER TWELVE DAY TWO – EVENING CHAPTER THIRTEEN DAY TWO – NIGHT CHAPTER FOURTEEN DAY THREE – THURSDAY MORNING CHAPTER FIFTEEN DAY THREE – AFTERNOON CHAPTER SIXTEEN DAY THREE – LATE AFTERNOON CHAPTER SEVENTEEN DAY THREE – EVENING CHAPTER EIGHTEEN DAY THREE – LATE EVENING CHAPTER NINETEEN DAY FOUR – FRIDAY, EARLY MORNING CHAPTER TWENTY DAY FOUR – MORNING CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE DAY FOUR – AFTERNOON CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO DAY FOUR – LATE AFTERNOON CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE DAY FOUR – NIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR DAY FIVE – SATURDAY MORNING CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE DAY FIVE – AFTERNOON CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX DAY FIVE – MID-AFTERNOON CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN DAY FIVE – LATE AFTERNOON CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT DAY FIVE – EVENING CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE DAY FIVE – LATE EVENING CHAPTER THIRTY DAY SIX – SUNDAY, EARLY MORNING CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE DAY SIX – MORNING CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO DAY SIX – AFTERNOON EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Follow the Author on Amazon CHAPTER ONE SEPTEMBER 2022 The night cloaked Kate’s movements, allowing her to walk unobserved among the shadows – unobserved and undisturbed. She crept alongside the hedgerow, prepared to secrete herself in the undergrowth should a vehicle pass by. Her senses were on full alert, her nerves coiled, her mind calculating. Exactly like a killer’s. The killer she had become. The events of the last hour were crystal clear in Kate’s mind. Every word, gesture and detail of her confrontation with Superintendent John Dickson beside the dark waters of Blithfield Reservoir was now stamped into her memory. The admission that Dickson had been responsible for hiring the hitman who had murdered her husband was a hollow victory, even though it was what she had been seeking for months after discovering evidence of Dickson’s corruption. Kate had hoped he would tell her the truth about the death of her husband, Chris. And, in that respect at least, she had got her wish. She could not, however, have anticipated what would happen after the confession . . . ‘The wheels to bring you down are already in motion. The Gazette is running an exposé. They’re in possession of the footage from the Maddox Club as well as all the information I dug up on you. You’re right, I don’t give in. I’ve been digging since the beginning, building my case against you. Your lies and corruption will be plastered all over the papers. It won’t be long before the nationals take up the story and, as the saying goes, mud sticks. You will face charges and you will be brought to justice. I’m not my father. I can’t be bullied.’ Dickson breathes heavily, shoulders rising and falling, then smiles. ‘Kate. I warned everyone you were taking on too much.’ He tuts. ‘You were brave to come back so soon after Chris’s death. Everyone could see the effect the pressure was having on you – the pills, the talking to yourself and then that mini breakdown on the train when you almost attacked that passenger. And you’ve poured yourself back into work, relentlessly, day after day. There’s been the intense pressure of not one but three heavy investigations all to be handled by a small team. Little wonder you were showing signs again of cracking. You’ve been burning yourself out. It’s clear from your weight loss and your appearance.’ He tuts again. ‘It won’t come as a shock to people when they discover you ended it all here.’ When he finishes, he withdraws a gun from his pocket. Kate has little time to react and throws herself to one side. The bullet whizzes past her to bury itself into the bank. She scrambles to her feet and hurls herself at him, knocking the gun out of his hand. It spins off and she reaches for his arm to wrench it behind him. He kicks out, twists away and hunts for the gun. Kate can’t see the weapon, only Dickson’s snarling face as he pushes her into the ground. She bucks her hips, causing him to tumble, then boots him with both feet, using all the force she can muster. He falls on to his back but quickly recovers and rolls away. She spies the gun, now in his hand and launches again for him, hands fumbling to take it from his grip. She feels cold metal, grabs for the handle. She feels rather than hears the shot. The impact punches her