The Flight

THE FLIGHT HEATHER J. FITT Copyright © 2023 Heather J. Fitt The right of Heather J. Fitt to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2023 by Bloodhound Books. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. www.bloodhoundbooks.com Print ISBN: 978-1-5040-8247-1 CONTENTS Also by Heather J. Fitt Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Acknowledgements You will also enjoy: A note from the publisher Love best-selling fiction? ALSO BY HEATHER J. FITT Open Your Eyes For my wonderful, clever niece Lily – my little Mini-Me. Isn’t it wonderful that despite the thirty years between us, we have writing in common? CHAPTER ONE People often use the term poisons and toxins interchangeably, a bit like they do poisonous and venomous. Any sensible person though, knows something which is poisonous needs to be ingested to be harmful, and venom is injected – usually by the creature that created it. Poisons and toxins themselves are a little more tricky. Poisons are matter which, when consumed, absorbed, or inhaled, will cause harm. Whereas a toxin is a type of poison, which is produced within a living cell or organism. My personal preference is toxins. Specifically those kinds that cannot be traced, or certainly a pathologist would struggle to find unless they knew what to test for. It’s all part of the fun to see if I can pull the wool over their eyes; to see if I can get away with it. What people don’t realise, and would be surprised to discover, is most of these kinds of poisons are readily available in nature, if you only know where to look for them. If you ever read Agatha Christie you would have a fountain of knowledge at your fingertips, not to mention the subsequent companion books that have been written. Where do you think my interest sparked from? The other thing to consider is that although some poisons can be and often are lethal, they can also do CHAPTER TWO MELISSA Three hours before take-off The departure hall at Heathrow was bursting at the seams of the automatic sliding doors. There was the usual mixture of people rushing, frantic they might miss some deadline or other, and people strolling with all the time in the world. The latter always getting in the way of the former. The vast space was filled with the constant buzz of chatter, punctuated intermittently by the voice high in the ceiling announcing flights and telling the passengers which queue they needed to be in. The lights inside were too bright and the temperature too warm after the gloom and chill of the early winter’s morning. People’s clothes carried the cold and a damp smell permeated the air around them. The sheer number of passengers meaning this was an all-pervading assault on the senses. Everyone desperate to get away from the horrible UK winter weather. Melissa pushed a buggy with one hand and a giant suitcase with the other, grateful it had four wheels instead of two. Her son Theo’s bag was shoved into the gap under his seat and a rucksack strapped to her back weighed heavy on her shoulders. Melissa’s old fear returned; could she really do this by herself? Travel halfway across the world with a toddler? Just carrying their luggage was proving to be