Better the Devil

BETTER THE DEVIL WES MARKIN CONTENTS About the Author By Wes Markin THE PEARLY GATES THE LONG GAME JAKE PETTMAN AND THE DEVIL DR STEWART HOLDEN HAS A CARD TO PLAY LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL OF A GUN THE DEATH OF DCI MICHAEL YORKE THERE’S ROOM AT THE INN THE ONE WITHOUT THE HEART LABOUR AND TOIL YOU WON’T SEE ME COMING SHIT HAPPENS BEST LAID PLANS REUNIONS GUCCI BOOTS THE SWEETENER THE PEARLY GATES PART II DEFANGED THE SECOND FIREFLY TO THE DANCE THE FIRST FIREFLY TO THE DANCE FREE PASS DEAD SYCAMORE TREE CLEAN SUMMER LIGHTNING THE BLUE ROOM Acknowledgments Free and Exclusive read START THE JAKE PETTMAN SERIES TODAY WITH THE KILLING PIT JOIN DCI EMMA GARDNER AS SHE RELOCATES TO KNARESBOROUGH, HARROGATE IN THE NORTH YORKSHIRE MURDERS … Stay in touch Review ABOUT THE AUTHOR Wes Markin is the bestselling author of the DCI Yorke crime novels set in Salisbury. His latest series, The Yorkshire Murders, stars the compassionate and relentless DCI Emma Gardner. He is also the author of the Jake Pettman thrillers set in New England. Wes lives in Harrogate with his wife and two children, close to the crime scenes in The Yorkshire Murders. You can find out more at: www.wesmarkinauthor.com facebook.com/wesmarkinauthor BY WES MARKIN DCI Yorke Thrillers One Last Prayer The Repenting Serpent The Silence of Severance Rise of the Rays Dance with the Reaper Christmas with the Conduit Better the Devil The Secret Diary of Lacey Ray A Lesson in Crime Jake Pettman Thrillers The Killing Pit Fire in Bone Blue Falls The Rotten Core Rock and a Hard Place The Yorkshire Murders The Viaduct Killings The Lonely Lake Killings The Crying Cave Killings * * * Details of how to claim your FREE DCI Michael Yorke quick read, A lesson in Crime, can be found at the end of this book. This story is a work of fiction. All names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, alive or dead, events or locals is entirely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 Wes Markin First published 2023 ISBN: 798397782470 Edited by: Brian Peone Published by: WFM Publishing Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book should be reproduced in any way without the express permission of the author. For Donna Morfett THE PEARLY GATES The child, Matthew Brace, had been left by Salisbury’s High Street gate. To die? It certainly appeared that way to Detective Chief Inspector Michael Yorke. Matthew, just shy of his seventh birthday, had been placed in a sitting position against the northside of the locked gate, almost directly beneath the Stuart royal coat of arms, which crowned the coursed stone archway. The ashen-faced boy had been placed here at three in the morning, four hours after the gate into the grounds of the iconic Salisbury Cathedral had been locked, as it was at the same time every night. ‘Brazen.’ Yorke looked at Detective Constable Sonia Jones, an ambitious young widow with three children, who’d gone all out to become a detective despite her challenging personal circumstances. Yorke hadn’t thought this highly of someone since Emma Gardner. He kept her close. Under his wing. ‘Brazen and cold.’ Sonia, who was still taping up the scene, nodded at him. Yorke eyed the still stationary ambulance behind him, then returned to his thoughts, trying to establish a clear chain of events: One of Matthew’s kidnappers had parked around the corner on New Street at the precise moment Brenda Loomes, an elderly insomniac, had opened her door to Cindy, a cat which had, in recent months, become too overweight to fit through the flap. ‘He took that old Skoda right up on the pavement,’ she’d told the emergency services. ‘Cindy barely got out of the way … bless her. I’d have given him a piece of my mind if … well, if …’ She hadn’t given the man a piece of her mind, because he’d emerged from his vehicle, hoodie up, carrying a limp child in his arms. And then you swung a left onto High Street, Yorke thought. And bold as brass, you displayed Matthew here. For us. Brazen and cold. Evil too. He looked behind himself at the ambulance. The child had been gently lifted in a minute or so ago. Why are you not tearing a route to Salisbury Hospital? It was starting to bug him. Was everything all right in there? Had the paramedics, God forbid, lost the boy? Too soon … don’t assume anything … You know better than to assume … The boy had appeared out of it, but he’d shown no visible injuries. To Yorke, he’d looked drugged, but that was a good while away from confirmation. Beside him stood another officer, fresh-faced Detective Constable Rob Wood. Rob reminded Yorke of his own adopted son, Ewan. The thought of Ewan in this job? Over my dead body. He watched Rob ready the logbook for the impending arrival of the full team. Yorke recalled meeting Rob’s parents. They’d glowed with pride. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him,’ Yorke had said. At the time, he’d smiled to keep the comment light; he didn’t want to ruin their big day. However, deep down, Yorke had been deadly serious. Everyone needed someone to look after them in a job like this. One day, the Woods’ pride would be gone, replaced with the bitterness over the fact that their beloved son, Rob, had ever taken the job. Yorke, Sonia and Rob … the paramedics and Matthew in the ambulance. That was it. Far too quiet for a crime scene. He checked his watch for the umpteenth time. Where the bloody hell were his people? Yorke wasn’t used to this. When he arrived at crime scenes, they were bustling. And he certainly never got a personal invitation from the criminals involved! Something was wrong. He shouldn’t be first to the party. His mobile rang. Recently promoted