Title: Secret Places
Author: Heather Peck
Genre: Crime thriller
Book Blurb:
WOULD YOU KILL TO ESCAPE ABUSE?
Goat farmer, cheese maker and weaver Tristan Smith is working on her North Yorkshire smallholding when a chance visit by archaeologists exposes a skeleton in an abandoned WW2 bunker. But it’s not a wartime casualty.
Tristan becomes involved in the search for the truth as DI Greg Geldard unravels a trail of secrets from North Yorkshire to the Norfolk Broads. Another victim is searching for a new life, but will history repeat itself? Will bad choices lead to the same mistake?
Excerpt:
A flurry of radio messages followed as the police helicopter was tasked to follow the cruiser Edith downriver and the Broads Authority boat tried to catch up.
Fiona attended to the soggy and furious article they had, with some difficulty, pulled from the river. She handed him a blanket and they inspected their catch. It was an exceedingly muddy man of middle age and medium height, almost dancing with rage.
‘Get after that murderous bitch,’ he spluttered. ‘Don’t hang about. Get a move on!’
He plunged towards Andy as though planning to seize the controls. Jim and Greg pushed him back forcibly.
‘Just a moment,’ said Jim. ‘We’re police officers. Take a seat back there and we’ll come and have a word. We have a bit of a situation here.’
‘A situation,’ the man shouted. ‘That’s a laugh. That lunatic tries to kill me, and you have a situation! If you’re police, then bloody well do something. Get after her and arrest her!’
‘We have that in hand, Sir. Sit down and please keep out of our way. We’ll interview you in a moment. Just for the record, who is on the Edith Cavell and who are you?’
‘Philip Sayer. I mean, I’m Philip Sayer, obviously. The woman on the Edith Cavell calls herself Rachel Treadwell, but I think she’s Rachel Wade.’ He looked at the police with triumph in his eyes. ‘So I suggest you get a move on and arrest her. She just tried to kill me.’
Jim looked at Greg and he nodded to Fiona.
‘Keep an eye on him will you please, DC McCrae? He can wait for the moment.’
The white cruiser was now out of sight from river level, and the helicopter informed them that Rachel had followed the Yare southward and appeared to be making for the sea at some speed.
‘Judging from my speed following her and the wake she is throwing up, I estimate she is doing between twelve and fifteen knots.’
‘She’s breaking the speed limit then,’ remarked Andy. ‘There’s a seven-knot speed limit in the harbour, and you’re encouraged to keep below that anyway because of ships manoeuvring.’
‘What’s that in miles per hour?’ asked Fiona.
‘The speed limit is around eight miles per hour. She’s doing nearly eighteen miles per hour, and she’s putting herself and other harbour users at risk. I’m not following her at that pace.’
Geldard exclaimed in frustration, but whatever he was going to say was drowned in a stern intervention from the radio.
‘Harbourmaster to the Edith Cavell, you have made an unauthorised entry to the harbour and are exceeding the speed limit. Please slow down immediately and turn back.’
‘Harbourmaster to the Edith Cavell, you are exceeding the speed limit and are approaching ships that are manoeuvring. SLOW DOWN IMMEDIATELY and turn back or I will be forced to take action.’
The messages were repeated several times.
‘I don’t think she’s got a radio,’ Andy said. ‘And if she has, she’s not listening.’
Andy got on to the radio himself.
‘Broads Authority boat BA 101 to harbourmaster, are you receiving me? Over.’
‘Harbourmaster receiving. Can you cast any light on this lunatic? Over.’
‘Broads Authority to harbourmaster. We are in pursuit of the Edith Cavell, with police officers on board. Request permission to enter the harbour. Over.’
‘Permission granted, but unless she slows down or hits something, and hitting something is currently looking very likely, you are not going to catch her in that boat before she reaches the sea.’
‘Do you have eyes on the Edith Cavell?’
‘No, but she has AIS.’
‘Good God,’ exclaimed Andy. ‘That’s a stroke of luck.’ He turned to Geldard and explained, ‘AIS is the automatic tracking system that operates from a transponder on ships. Most small cruisers don’t have one, but some of the bigger ones do. Obviously, the Edith does, and obviously she’s forgotten to turn it off. Look for the Shipfinder app on my laptop, and we can track her.’
It didn’t take long for them to locate the Edith on the computer screen, and also to see that she was still approaching the mouth of the river at some speed. In the background the radio continued its barrage of increasingly urgent instructions for the Edith to slow down and turn back.
On the screen, Geldard and Fiona could see the cause of the urgency. In the river near Southtown, a ship was turning to head downstream, while near the river mouth a second was heading upstream. Others were waiting offshore to enter the river or the outer harbour, but further movements had been put on hold pending resolution of the crisis being brewed by the rogue cruiser. As they watched, the Edith swung round the turning ship, and they could only imagine the consternation she was causing.
‘We need to get someone to intercept her at sea,’ said Jim. ‘We’re unlikely to catch her in the river, even if it was safe to do so. And we’re not equipped for boarding! Where’s the Border Force ship? That might be our best bet.’
Andy pointed to the Shipfinder display.
‘Unfortunately she’s between Felixstowe and Orford Ness. Too far away. I think we should ask the coastguard to launch the Gorleston lifeboat.’
‘Except the lifeboat seems to be down near Lowestoft as well,’ said Fiona, pointing.
‘Damn. Pity, because the lifeboat station is near the mouth of the river. In that case what we need is the Caister lifeboat. It’s not far away and they have what they claim is the fastest lifeboat on the east coast.’
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
Secret Places is set in North Yorkshire and the unique rural landscape of the Norfolk Broads and coast. Against these idyllic backgrounds DCI Greg Geldard and his team hunt a killer who is also a victim of domestic abuse and coercive control. If you like an action-packed thriller that deals sensitively with difficult issues – this is for you.
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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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