The Tees Valley Killings

THE TEES VALLEY KILLINGS An absolutely heart-pounding crime thriller C.J. GRAYSON DI Max Byrd & DI Orion Tanzy Book 1 Originally published as That Night Revised edition 2023 Joffe Books, London www.joffebooks.com First published in Great Britain in 2020 as That Night © C.J. Grayson 2020, 2023 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The spelling used is British English except where fidelity to the author’s rendering of accent or dialect supersedes this. The right of C.J. Grayson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. We love to hear from our readers! Please email any feedback you have to: [email protected] Cover art by Nebojša Zorić ISBN: 978-1-80405-954-8 CONTENTS Love Free Bestselling Fiction? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 Acknowledgements Love Free Bestselling Fiction? The Joffe Books Story Also by C.J. Grayson A Selection of Books You May Enjoy Glossary of English Usage for US Readers Love Free Bestselling Fiction? Join our mailing list and get a FREE Kindle book from a bestselling author every week! Click here to join our mailing list and also get a free box set of short stories! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @joffebooks This novel is for my wife, Becky, and my three boys. Without you, I wouldn’t be writing. 1 Thank you for choosing this book. Join our mailing list and get FREE Kindle books from our bestselling authors every week! CLICK HERE TO GET MORE LOVELY BOOK DEALS Wednesday, early morning Darlington Ian Porter sighed into the phone and closed his eyes. ‘Listen,’ he said, ‘I’m sorry. I should have reacted quicker. I . . .’ ‘What is it?’ his wife, Julia, asked. ‘I should have closed the gate. None of this would have happened.’ ‘It’s done now. Don’t worry about it. We just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’ Ian smiled sadly. ‘How’s he doing?’ ‘He’s . . . he’s okay. The doctor said it’s just a bump to his head, but he’ll be fine.’ Julia fell silent for a second. ‘He’s smiling at me, bless him.’ ‘Good. That’s good.’ ‘I thought he’d be okay, but best to check.’ Ian nodded although his wife couldn’t see him. ‘How’re the other two?’ Julia asked. ‘Fast asleep,’ Ian said. ‘I read them both a story. One of them is snoring upstairs. Where are you now?’ ‘We’re just leaving. It was so busy. The waiting room was packed. One kid had a cut on his neck, he was there before us, and we were there for five hours. It’s not the staff’s fault, it’s just too busy — they need more doctors there.’ Ian agreed. ‘I’m starving,’ Julia said. ‘I didn’t have any tea.’ ‘Go get a McDonald’s on your way back. Just use my card.’ ‘Yeah . . . I’m passing there now. I might.’ Hours ago, their youngest son, Liam, who was almost one year old, had crawled halfway up the stairs and come cartwheeling back down. Their eldest, Adam, had watched it happen, saying he’d smacked his forehead on the wooden floor at the bottom. It was awful. So Julia had rushed off to the hospital to get him checked out. ‘I’ll see you soon, Julia.’ ‘Wait, stay on the phone. I’m going under the bridge soon.’ ‘Which bridge? Whessoe Road?’ ‘Yeah . . . it’s dark. You know I don’t like that bridge even during the day.’ ‘Of course it’s dark. It’s one in the morning.’ Ian laughed. ‘Very funny,’ Julia said. ‘We’re just turning the corner now.’ ‘Okay.’ Ian readjusted his position on the living room sofa. ‘You through it yet?’ ‘No . . . there’s a car going really slow in front of me. It’s just around the corner.’ ‘What car? Who’s driving around at one in the morning?’ ‘Ian . . .’ ‘What?’ Julia didn’t answer. ‘Julia, what is it?’ ‘The car’s stopped in front of me.’ ‘Go around it, then.’ ‘I can’t. It’s too tight on the other side — there’s a car parked opposite.’ Ian sat up on the sofa and felt his heartbeat starting to rise. ‘What’s happening?’ ‘It’s just parked there.’ ‘Okay, okay,’ Ian said, trying to remain calm. ‘Just wait and see what happens. I’ll stay on the phone.’ ‘Come on! All I want is a McDonald’s,’ Julia blurted out. ‘Who’s driving the car?’ ‘I can’t . . . I can’t see. I don’t know — ahh, hold on. A woman is getting out of the passenger seat.’ ‘She’s probably been out, got a lift home.’ Ian’s chest sank and his breathing eased. ‘Yeah. Short skirt. Skimpy top. She’s definitely been out. He’s moving now — the driver. He put his hazards on as a thank-you for waiting.’ ‘Get me a cheeseburger, please . . .’ ‘I thought you were on a diet?’ Julia said, with a smile in her voice. She was aware of his daily struggles with his calorie count. ‘Just get me the burger . . . I’ll start again tomorrow.’ ‘I’m going down the road to the bridge. Stay on the phone.’ ‘Not going anywhere.’ ‘It seems darker than normal,’ Julia said. ‘Some of the streetlights must be