End Game

About the AuthorBorn in Scotland, made in Bradford sums up LIZ MISTRY’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things: curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats (Winky and Scumpy) and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’, whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath. Also by Liz MistryLast RequestUKUSBroken SilenceUKUSDark MemoriesUKUSBlood GamesUKUSDying BreathUKUS End GameLIZ MISTRY HQAn imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd1 London Bridge StreetLondon SE1 9GFwww.harpercollins.co.ukHarperCollinsPublishersMacken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper,Dublin 1 D01 C9W8IrelandFirst published in Great Britain by HQ in 2023Copyright © Liz Mistry 2023Emojis © Shutterstock.comLiz Mistry 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.E-book Edition © April 2023 ISBN: 9780008532512Version: 2023-03-15 Table of ContentsCoverAbout the AuthorAlso by Liz MistryTitle PageCopyrightDedicationEpigraphNote to ReadersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50Chapter 51Chapter 52Chapter 53Chapter 54Chapter 55Chapter 56Chapter 57Chapter 58Chapter 59Chapter 60Chapter 61A Letter from Liz MistryKeep Reading …AcknowledgementsDear Reader …About the Publisher To everyone struggling at the moment who feels their voices are unheard ‘Silence is the most powerful scream’ Anon Note to ReadersThis ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:Change of font size and line heightChange of background and font coloursChange of fontChange justificationText to speech PrologueThen: MarnieIt is the hottest day of the summer yet. That shimmering heat idling just above the grass. Even in my shorts and strappy T-shirt, just looking at it makes me feel sticky and tired. I want to laze under the massive spreading oak tree with my colouring books. Just sit quietly, with my own thoughts. Starting high school after the summer holidays preys on my mind. Such a big step. Such a massive change. I’ll be leaving my friends behind because, despite my arguments, they’ve decided the local comprehensive school isn’t good enough for me. I don’t get it. If it’s good enough for my friends then why isn’t it good enough for me? Do Mum and Dad think I deserve more than Alice or Fiona? That feels wrong to me.Anyway, this was day five of my war against the parents. I’d tried arguing, I’d tried pleading and nothing had worked. Today I was trying silence. The only problem is my annoying little sister Jilly. Why can’t she just find something to do that doesn’t involve annoying me? God she is soooo lame. Sooooo annoying. There she is trundling out the back door, a plastic bag filled with picnic stuff hanging off her wrist and a smile as wide as one of those arches on the viaduct we’d visited the other week. I edge my way round the foot of the tree till I am out of view of the kitchen window and tuck my legs out of sight.‘Marnie. Marnie. I know you’re there. I saw you crawl behind the tree. I’ve brought snacks.’Aw shut up, Jilly. The heat is making me mardy and Jilly always brings out the worst in me. She’s always there. If she isn’t harping on at me about something, she’s following me and my pals around like a stupid collie dog desperate for a pat. I hate her sometimes. Sometimes I really, really hate her.‘I know today’s your “not speaking to anyone day”, but you still got to eat, Marn. I’ve got ice lollies.’The ice lollies are tempting. Little dribbles of sweat are trickling down my front and soaking into my new bra – my first bra. I stick my boobs out and study them – two fried eggs underneath a padded egg cosy. I don’t really need one yet, but Mum had insisted I should wear one before I went to high school – all the girls will be wearing them, Marnie – you don’t want to stand out, do you?Even the memory of her words pisses me off. Who the hell is she to tell me to fit in? If I went to the comp in Baildon with everyone else, there’d be no need to fit in, would there? Why can’t she see that? Alice and Fiona don’t care if I wear a bloody bra or not. I wiggle my shoulders and study my boobs some more. I actually quite like wearing it. Maybe I just don’t want to admit that I’m growing up. Starting my periods was bad enough, but sprouting boobies is a step too far. Although they’re only small, they still jiggle when I run and that makes them rub against my T-shirt when I play football. At least the bra stops that from happening.That’s another thing. There’s no