Title: Dig Two Graves
Author: Heather Peck
Genre: Crime thriller
Book Blurb:
A mutilated body, a missing colleague, a bent copper and school children being groomed for organised crime. The common theme is revenge. Then as Greg moves fast to recuse a friend, his riverside home and everything he loves are also targeted.
Excerpt:
A row of emergency vehicles sat outside the beauty salon. DCI Greg Geldard was leaning on his car, shouting into his mobile phone. After a moment, he rang off, smacked both hands on the roof, then wrenched the passenger door open.
‘Forensics are stuck on the A11,’ he snapped. ‘In heaven’s name, how long is this going to take? Every moment that passes makes it harder to catch up with them before something happens to Sarah.’ His short brown hair was on end, his face as red as Chris’s was white. He took a hasty step toward the salon, stopped at the crime scene tape, then marched back to the car, every step clipped and unnaturally loud.
‘Sit down a minute,’ said Chris from the passenger seat. ‘There’s nothing you can do until forensics get here. You know that.’
‘I need to get on! I need to do something!’
‘I know. But, at the moment, you get on best by letting the specialists do their job. You don’t need me to tell you that!’
Greg wavered, then stamped round the car and flung himself into the driver’s seat and sat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. The fascia on the salon beside them read ‘Nails Galore’ but the old name ‘Chips with Everything’ was clearly visible underneath the newer lettering.
‘Did you ever find out whether the old shop was fish and chips, or mobile phones?’ asked Chris, just to break the silence. DCI Greg Geldard looked up.
‘Phones I think,’ he said. Then, ‘At last! Here comes Ned.’
A small van was pulling up behind the two cars with blue flashing lights, the ambulance and a Mercedes with a ‘Doctor on call’ sign propped up on the dashboard. Greg shot out of his car as though fired from a cannon. Behind him, uniformed officers were erecting yet more crime scene tape to reinforce the message that this Norwich suburb was now out of bounds. A few rubberneckers were already collecting at the boundary now enforced by two polite but firm uniformed constables. By the time Chris caught up, Greg was already speaking to Ned, his Crime Scene Manager.
‘As far as I know,’ he said, ‘Chris and I were the first to enter the salon after the perpetrators had left. Everywhere was locked up. I forced an entry and found the proprietor, Madame Trieste, dead and nailed to the kitchen cupboards. Chris and I made it as far as the kitchen door, then left the kitchen and reported in by radio, as it was obvious she was dead. I did notice that car keys looking like Sarah’s were on the kitchen table. We both then conducted a swift search of the remainder of the property, just a quick look really, to see if Sarah was around and to check for any other casualties. There are two rooms upstairs, apparently used for storage, and a number of small treatment rooms downstairs as well as the main salon reception. No sign of anyone else anywhere.’
Ned paused in hitching his paper overalls over his long body. ‘Any indications of how the perps got in or out?’
‘Nothing obvious. I forced the back door with an old spade. It was locked or wedged before I got in. The front door is still locked, and all the windows shut. Either they had keys or took Madame Trieste’s with them. Ned,’ He waited while Ned pulled the hood over his shaved head and reached for his gloves. ‘I imagine you got the message. That it looks as though they took DI Laurence with them. Her car is down the street, and her keys are in the kitchen. There’s no sign of her in the immediate vicinity and her phone is off.’
‘Yes, I heard,’ replied Ned. ‘We’ll have a very careful look round, believe me. If she was there, we’ll find traces.’
‘Yes, I know you will,’ said Greg.
‘One other thing,’ said Ned. ‘There’re rumours back at the office about what triggered this. Some are saying that Sarah asked that mutt from the Met to do a discreet check round the home of our number-one suspect, and he went in with blue lights blazing.’
‘Oh God. That might explain the cryptic message from Sarah on my phone.’ Greg had no difficulty recognising the specific officer from Ned’s description. DC Jeff Fellowes, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, had banged heads with quite a few of his new colleagues for a range of shortcomings, from a pronounced tendency to mansplain to rabidly macho behaviour. Subtlety was not his dominant characteristic and Greg was surprised Sarah had given him any task requiring discretion. It might also explain why Margaret was complaining about calls from the “funny buggers”.
And I still haven’t rung her back, he realised. ‘Damn. Chris, you heard what Ned said. Can you check exactly what happened at the office? Who did Sarah send where and with what instructions? I’ll ring the Chief Super before she has my guts for garters.’
Margaret was brief and to the point.
‘Greg, I know you’ve got your hands full in Norwich and Sarah’s safety is clearly the priority. I’ll hold the funny buggers off for now. What you need to know, if you don’t already, is that phone traffic to a number on GCHQ’s watch list went through the roof yesterday. It seems Sarah has been chatting to our old friend Newton, I believe with your say-so, and he’s now been on to me. He says he warned Sarah that the extra traffic might mean the Lithuanians were looking for the leak in their midst, and she should get her whistle-blowers to a safe space.’
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
5th in the Greg Geldard Norfolk Mysteries, set in the unique rural landscape of the Norfolk Broads and coast, Dig Two Graves is a Firebird Book Award First Prize Winner 2023. The gripping story looks at what revenge does both to the victim and the perpetrator, while dealing with County Lines, knife crime, and an unfortunate inheritance from the Met.
Giveaway –
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Runs November 7 – November 16, 2023.
Winner will be drawn on November 17, 2023.
Author Biography:
Award-winning author Heather Peck has spent most of her working life in agriculture, both as a civil servant and as a hands-on farmer. This resulted in a wide variety of experiences, from managing the UK emergency response to the Chernobyl accident to breeding both sheep and alpacas commercially. She has been involved in international negotiations, pesticide legislation, food quality and animal welfare. After leaving government service she chaired an NHS Trust, then volunteered in Citizens Advice and the Witness Service before Covid changed everything and she combined her NHS and agricultural background by training as a Covid vaccinator. She lives in Norfolk with her partner Gary, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 hens and a rabbit. Heather’s books include a crime series for adults and animal-focussed books for children.
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