Could It Be Him? (DI Sally Parker Book 13), page 1
COULD IT BE HIM?
DI SALLY PARKER
BOOK THIRTEEN
M A COMLEY
For my rock, my beautiful mother, who is now watching over me. Dementia sucks. Remembering all the good times we shared together.
You took a huge chunk of my heart with you. Love you and will miss you, until we’re reunited once more.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks as always go to @studioenp for their superb cover design expertise.
My heartfelt thanks go to my wonderful editor Emmy and my proofreaders Joseph and Barbara for spotting all the lingering nits.
Thank you also to my amazing ARC Group who help to keep me sane during this process.
To Mary, gone, but never forgotten. I hope you found the peace you were searching for my dear friend. I miss you each and every day.
ALSO BY M A COMLEY
Blind Justice (Novella)
Cruel Justice (Book #1)
Mortal Justice (Novella)
Impeding Justice (Book #2)
Final Justice (Book #3)
Foul Justice (Book #4)
Guaranteed Justice (Book #5)
Ultimate Justice (Book #6)
Virtual Justice (Book #7)
Hostile Justice (Book #8)
Tortured Justice (Book #9)
Rough Justice (Book #10)
Dubious Justice (Book #11)
Calculated Justice (Book #12)
Twisted Justice (Book #13)
Justice at Christmas (Short Story)
Prime Justice (Book #14)
Heroic Justice (Book #15)
Shameful Justice (Book #16)
Immoral Justice (Book #17)
Toxic Justice (Book #18)
Overdue Justice (Book #19)
Unfair Justice (a 10,000 word short story)
Irrational Justice (a 10,000 word short story)
Seeking Justice (a 15,000 word novella)
Caring For Justice (a 24,000 word novella)
Savage Justice ( a 17,000 word novella)
Justice at Christmas #2 (a 15,000 word novella)
Gone in Seconds (Justice Again series #1)
Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again series #2)
Shot of Silence (Justice Again series #3)
Taste of Fury (Justice Again series #4)
Crying Shame (Justice Again series #5)
To Die For (DI Sam Cobbs #1)
To Silence Them (DI Sam Cobbs #2)
To Make Them Pay (DI Sam Cobbs #3)
To Prove Fatal (DI Sam Cobbs #4)
To Condemn Them (DI Sam Cobbs #5)
To Punish Them (DI Sam Cobbs #6)
To Entice Them (DI Sam Cobbs #7)
To Control Them (DI Sam Cobbs #8)
To Endanger Lives (DI Sam Cobbs #9)
To Hold Responsible (DI Sam Cobbs #10)
To Catch a Killer (DI Sam Cobbs #11)
To Believe The Truth (DI Sam Cobbs #12)
Forever Watching You (DI Miranda Carr thriller)
Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #1)
No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker thriller #2)
Cold Case (DI Sally Parker thriller#3)
Deadly Encounter (DI Sally Parker thriller #4)
Lost Innocence (DI Sally Parker thriller #5)
Goodbye My Precious Child (DI Sally Parker #6)
The Missing Wife (DI Sally Parker #7)
Truth or Dare (DI Sally Parker #8)
Where Did She Go? (DI Sally Parker #9)
Sinner (DI Sally Parker #10)
The Good Die Young (DI Sally Parker #11)
Coping Without You (DI Sally Parker #12)
Could It Be Him (DI Sally Parker #13)
Frozen In Time (DI Sally Parker #14)
Web of Deceit (DI Sally Parker Novella with Tara Lyons)
The Missing Children (DI Kayli Bright #1)
Killer On The Run (DI Kayli Bright #2)
Hidden Agenda (DI Kayli Bright #3)
Murderous Betrayal (Kayli Bright #4)
Dying Breath (Kayli Bright #5)
Taken (DI Kayli Bright #6)
The Hostage Takers (DI Kayli Bright Novella)
No Right to Kill (DI Sara Ramsey #1)
Killer Blow (DI Sara Ramsey #2)
The Dead Can’t Speak (DI Sara Ramsey #3)
Deluded (DI Sara Ramsey #4)
The Murder Pact (DI Sara Ramsey #5)
Twisted Revenge (DI Sara Ramsey #6)
The Lies She Told (DI Sara Ramsey #7)
For The Love Of… (DI Sara Ramsey #8)
Run for Your Life (DI Sara Ramsey #9)
Cold Mercy (DI Sara Ramsey #10)
Sign of Evil (DI Sara Ramsey #11)
Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey #12)
Locked Away (DI Sara Ramsey #13)
I Can See You (DI Sara Ramsey #14)
The Kill List (DI Sara Ramsey #15)
Crossing The Line (DI Sara Ramsey #16)
Time to Kill (DI Sara Ramsey #17)
Deadly Passion (DI Sara Ramsey #18)
Son of the Dead (DI Sara Ramsey#19)
Evil Intent (DI Sara Ramsey #20)
The Games People Play (DI Sara Ramsey #21)
Revenge Streak (DI Sara Ramsey #22)
Seeking Retribution (DI Sara Ramsey #23)
Gone… But Where? (DI Sara Ramsey #24)
I Know The Truth (A Psychological thriller)
She’s Gone (A psychological thriller)
Shattered Lives (A psychological thriller)
Evil In Disguise – a novel based on True events
Deadly Act (Hero series novella)
Torn Apart (Hero series #1)
End Result (Hero series #2)
In Plain Sight (Hero Series #3)
Double Jeopardy (Hero Series #4)
Criminal Actions (Hero Series #5)
Regrets Mean Nothing (Hero series #6)
Prowlers (Di Hero Series #7)
Sole Intention (Intention series #1)
Grave Intention (Intention series #2)
Devious Intention (Intention #3)
Cozy mysteries
Murder at the Wedding
Murder at the Hotel
Murder by the Sea
Death on the Coast
Death By Association
Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins short story)
It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne Simpkins short story)
A Time To Heal (A Sweet Romance)
A Time For Change (A Sweet Romance)
High Spirits
The Temptation series (Romantic Suspense/New Adult Novellas)
Past Temptation
Lost Temptation
Clever Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
Tragic Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
Sinful Deception (co-written by Linda S Prather)
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Keep in touch with M A Comley
PROLOGUE
Five years earlier
Feeling out of his depth and with the rhythm of the music pounding in his head, Denis followed his mates, Ray and Vince, through the nightclub. It was heaving. Denis had never been here before; going on the prowl for women wasn’t really his thing. Why would it be when he had a good woman, one of the best, waiting for him at home?
He had been dragged along this evening, kicking and screaming, because Ray was desperate to get a new woman after being dumped by his long-term partner who had kicked him out of the house she owned. Now he was living permanently, or so it would seem, in Vince’s spare room. How long that would last was anybody’s guess.
They joined the long queue at the bar.
Ray was crafty; he worked his way through to the front after spotting a mate behind the bar. “Mark, over here. How are you doing?”
“All right, Ray. Haven’t seen you in here for a while. On the pull, are you? I heard your missus kicked you out last week.”
Ray shrugged. “Her loss, not mine. I was getting bored with her anyway. So yeah, I’m here on the pull. Three whiskies when you’ve got a mo, mate.”
“Coming right up. Normal or the extra-special variety?”
Ray glanced over his shoulder. “Normal will do, thanks.”
The barman delivered the drinks and took Ray’s money and the tip he gave him and wished him luck for the evening.
Ray handed the drinks around. “Shall we get closer to the dance floor?”
“If we have to,” Denis complained, still regretting his decision to tag along this evening. His head no longer felt like it belonged to him, and that was only after a couple of pints and a few whiskies, and the night was still young yet. He groaned internally at the prospect of having to watch Ray treat the women like they were at a cattle market, ripe for the taking.
Ray swooped in on every available woman he reckoned was in her thirties and got knocked back every time until one woman appeared to appreciate his full-on advances and he went back to the bar to top up their drinks.
“Want another, gents?”
Denis slipped a hand over his glass. “I’m fine, you sort yourselves out. She seems nice.”
“Yeah, she’s called Sonia. That’s all I know about her at the moment.
And that was the last Denis and Vince saw of him for the rest of their stay at the club. Vince gave the impression he was as bored as Denis.
“Want to call it a night soon, mate?” Denis asked.
“Yeah, this isn’t really my thing at all. I’ll just nip to the loo. Can you watch my drink for me?”
“Sure.”
Vince headed off to the toilets near the entrance, and Denis stood there, looking like a lemon, holding two glasses in his hands. He moved off to the side of the thoroughfare to the bar and bumped into a bloke.
“Sorry, pal. It’s difficult to know where to stand around here.”
“You spilt my drink, tosser. What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. I apologised. You’ve still got three-quarters of a pint there, you should be good for the rest of the night.”
“It was full. That means you just robbed me of a quarter of a pint and I want to know what you’re going to do about it to put things right.”
“I said nothing.” Denis was resolute and stood his ground.
Vince appeared alongside Denis and whispered in his ear, “Is everything all right here?”
“Yeah, it’s sorted.”
Denis turned and walked away. He could sense the narked fella’s gaze boring into the back of his head but was determined not to look back.
That’s all I need, a confrontation with a goon who is eager for a fight to top off this sorry evening. All I want now is to get home and snuggle up with my wife. Why the heck did I agree to come here this evening?
“Are you all right, Den?”
He smiled and nodded. “Nothing another glass of whisky wouldn’t put right. Want one?”
“Not for me. I haven’t changed my mind; I think I’m going to head off after this one, if that’s okay with you?”
“I was thinking the same. We’ve accomplished our aim tonight, there’s no need for either of us to hang around any longer in a place where we can’t think straight.”
Vince nodded. “If this is what old age feels like…”
They both laughed, and Denis followed Vince through the crowd back to the main entrance. They downed the rest of their drinks and left the nightclub. Vince lived on the opposite side of town to Denis, so he jumped in the first available cab. Rather than spend money he didn’t really have on a taxi, Denis decided the fresh air would help to sober him up and set off on foot.
He noticed his feet weren’t performing the way they usually did and decided to have a rest for a minute or two on a wall outside a terraced house a few hundred feet from the club. He watched the couples spill out of the club and walk past, obviously on a promise, judging by some conversations he’d overheard. Amused by their antics, he began his journey once more and even decided to go through the park, a shortcut he often took when he decided to walk home from the pub around the corner. It was well lit, so he couldn’t see there being a problem taking that route. He wasn’t sure he had the legs to stagger the long way home anyway.
The large gates were up ahead of him. The path was narrow and wound its way through the trees and shrubs. He smiled, remembering the last time he’d come through here arm in arm with Frances; it had been on their anniversary a couple of months ago. She hadn’t wanted to go out for a meal, all she needed was a nice stroll around the park before going home to watch a movie whilst having a cuddle on the sofa. That had been music to his ears to hear her say that, as funds were short at the time.
Deep in thought, he neglected to hear what was going on behind him. That changed when he received a whack to the head. He staggered a few steps, lost his footing and ended up veering off the path into one of the thorny shrubs. Confused, he lay there, hampered not only by the whack he’d received but also by the drinks he’d consumed during the evening. The combination rendered him incapable of righting himself or even protecting himself from further attack.
Too late, he was wrenched from the shrub by two strong arms.
“You fucking weasel. All of this could have been avoided, if only you had topped up my pint.” The man sneered and laughed at the same time, making his mouth twist into an ugly mess of malevolence.
“All right, mate, you’ve had your fun. Time to move on now and let things lie.”
“Says you. You’re not the one whose bloody drink got wasted, are ya? No, I’m going to punish you good and proper. Blokes like you need to be taught a lesson they’re not likely to forget in a hurry.”
Denis gulped, and the man laughed then pushed him ahead of him. He had one hand on his shoulder and the other holding his belt, keeping Denis upright.
“Where are we going?”
“Button it. You’ll find out soon enough. Keep walking. How much have you drunk tonight?”
“Enough.”
“How much?” the goon repeated.
“Five or six. I lost count after the third pint at the pub.”
“Where did your friends go?”
“One is still in the club and the other got a taxi home. There’s no need to help me like this, pal, I can manage the rest of the way home by myself. I’ve done it dozens of times before.”
“Good for you. It’s my pleasure, and you can stop calling me your pal or mate, I’m anything but…”
Denis puffed out his cheeks, not liking where this predicament was leading him. His wayward thoughts weren’t helping him come up with a solution to get himself out of the fix he was in either. “I’ll pay for an extra pint of beer, if that will make you happy, ma…”
“Like I give a shit about my pint now. No, I’ve got better things on my mind right now, and they’re all to do with the punishment I’m going to mete out to you.”
Denis stopped walking, but the man bumped into the back of him and urged him to carry on.
“Don’t stop now, not when things are about to get interesting, mate.”
Just by his tone he was making his intentions clear and putting the shits up Denis.
“Wait, there’s got to be something I can do to make things right between us. What happened at the club was a missstake,” he pleaded, his words now affected by the drink he’d consumed, or was that fear talking?
“Shit happens, right? You should have thought about that back there. I gave you the opportunity to put things right, but you messed up. You need to own your missstake now, Pal.”
“I’ve got money in my wallet, have it. You could probably buy ten pints with what’s in there. That’ll make things right between us, won’t it?”
Take that and I’ll have nothing left until the end of the month, you fucking moron.
“I’d say it’s too late for that. You had your chance and messed it up. I’m not one for giving someone a second chance, not these days. Life’s too short, ain’t it? It makes life interesting. Correction, it makes my life interesting when dickheads like you screw up. I’ll let you into a secret: I enjoy it all the more when people are remorseful for their actions. It doesn’t make me think twice about punishing them, though. Oh no, once you’ve done the dirty on me, no one gets a second chance.”
“What? You can’t go through life holding on to that attitude. Where is that going to lead you, eh?”
The man laughed. “You’ll find out soon enough, don’t worry about that.”
Denis tried to look around him. The rest of the park was empty. If he cried out for help now, he had a feeling that whatever this guy had in store for him could get a lot worse, so he decided to go with the flow for now in the hope that the adrenaline rushing through him would help sober him up.
The bloke kept guiding him round the winding path to the entrance on the other side. There, Denis was hoping a passerby would come to his assistance, but again, the street was empty. A sinking feeling swept over him. They came to a stop beside a Subaru. The man clobbered him again, knocking him out.
When Denis woke up, they were in a field. He felt cold and realised the man had stripped him down to his boxer shorts. “What the fuck is going on here? Hey, you’re not one of them, are you?”
The man tipped back his head and laughed. “No, you’re safe in that respect. You’re not my type.”
Relief swept over Denis, but only for a moment or two. “So, what are you going to do to me then?”
The man leaned in closer and tapped the large machete in the palm of his right hand. “Let me think… Ah yes, this.” He swung the weapon, and it sliced through Denis’ ankle.
The movement happened so swiftly that Denis didn’t get a chance to try and stop it. The pain was excruciating. He screamed and stared at his right foot, lying detached on the grass. The blood gushing out of his wound made his head swim. “What the fuck are you doing?”
