Against the Clock, John Carson [digital ebook reader txt] 📗

‘Evans! Get the lady a chair.’

Evans turned round from the coffee station and rushed over with a chair for Alex.

‘Thanks, Robbie,’ she said, smiling at him.

He winked at her.

‘Right, now we all have a drink, let’s celebrate getting those lassies back. And pay our respects to those who didn’t come home.’

They all raised their coffee mugs.

They ate breakfast and swapped stories until it was time to leave.

‘We’re going to come through and wet the baby’s head,’ Dunbar said. ‘Eh, Robbie?’

‘I’ll be there.’

‘Me too,’ Muckle said. ‘Sparky will stay home with my wife.’

‘I’ll be there, Harry,’ Shug said.

‘Good man,’ Harry said.

Stewart was looking down at his plate.

‘You too, sir?’ Harry said.

Stewart looked up. ‘You want me there?’

‘Of course I do. The more the merrier.’

‘Magic! If you come through to Glasgow for it, I know some great fucking strip clubs.’

Alex looked at him.

‘I’m kidding. We will, of course, be through here.’

They said their goodbyes and Alex walked out with Harry. Following them was Lillian.

‘If you’re going to have a girls’ night out, I can help you arrange it, if you like.’

Alex looked at her for a moment, thinking back to when she first started on the force and was abandoned by her friends. How she was treated like crap by a former boss and had to stand up for herself. With no best friend by her side.

Alex slipped an arm through Lillian’s and smiled at her. ‘Come round to ours and I’ll get the kettle on. I’d like to hear your ideas.’

Afterword

Being a writer means we get to have fun with real places and twist the facts a little to suit our own ends, so the story slots together just that little bit tighter. So I played around with some places in Edinburgh. Just so nobody could say, Hey, I don’t like you using that name, etc.

North Merchiston Primary School doesn’t exist. I made it up for the sake of the book.

Turnhouse Business Park existed, but I changed the buildings just a tad. The bus garage did exist, as did the maintenance shed next to it, and the little workshop/garage. The green house did exist. There once was a bunker in there somewhere. I don’t know how far it went or what was down there, but RAF Turnhouse did have a bunker.

Being from Edinburgh and now living in New York, I have to use Google Street View quite a bit. If you look at the latest photos of the Turnhouse Business Park on Turnhouse Road, you’ll see the buildings have been demolished. But if you’re on a computer, look at the box in the top-left corner, click on the ‘street view’ button and look at 2008. You’ll see the green house on the right, just inside the main gates.

The cottage where Marshall Mann lived does exist, but I think it’s two cottages. I don’t know if there is a tunnel underneath.

Schools do exist at the location in South Gyle, but the names Broomhouse High and St. Francis High are fictitious. Not sure about now, but a long time ago the kids did get onto school buses at South Gyle Broadway.

I want to stress that this book is not based on any real-life case. I used the Portobello location because it was a place I went to many times over the years.

I would like to thank my wife and daughters as usual, and also my advance reading team, who are just fantastic. A big thank you to Jacqueline Beard, Ruth from Police Scotland and Anne Strang.

And an enormous thank you to Charlie Wilson, who stepped in and made a really difficult time that little bit easier. You don’t know how much that means to me.

Also thank you to the Carson family. I love you all.

Thank you to my readers, who make this all worthwhile.

Just one thing before you go – if I could please ask you to leave a review or a rating on Amazon or Goodreads, that would really help me out. Each one is truly appreciated.

All the best, my friends,

John Carson

New York

April 2021

OTHER TITLES

DCI Sean Bracken series

Book 1 - Starvation Lake

Book 2 - Think Twice

Book 3 - Crossing Over

DCI Harry McNeil series

Book 0 -Return to Evil

Book 1 - Sticks and Stones

Book 2 -Back to Life

Book 3 -Dead Before You Die

Book 4 - Hour of Need

Book 5 - Blood and Tears

Book 6 - Devil to Pay

Book 7 - Point of no Return

Book 8 - Rush to Judgement

Book 9 - Against the Clock

When Stars Will Shine

(this is a charity anthology featuring the Harry McNeil short story, titled,

The Art Of War And Peace.

(All proceeds go to Hope For Heroes)

DI Frank Miller Series

Crash Point

Silent Marker

Rain Town

Watch Me Bleed

Broken Wheels

Sudden Death

Under the Knife

Trial and Error

Warning Sign

Cut Throat

Blood from a Stone

Time of Death

Max Doyle Series

Final Steps

Code Red

The October Project

Scott Marshall Series

Old Habits

About the Author

John Carson is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but now lives with his wife and family in New York State. And two dogs. And four cats.

www.johncarsonauthor.com