Hard Landing

Hard Landing Dan Shepherd [1] Stephen Leather

Thriller

Praise for Stephen Leather

'Stephen Leather should be nestling in your bookshelves alongside Frederick Forsyth and Jack Higgins' Daily Mail

'Exciting stuff with plenty of heart-palpitating action gingered up by mystery and intrigue . . . Leather is an intelligent thriller writer' Daily Mail on The Tunnel Rats

'As high-tech and as world-class as the thriller genre gets' Express on Sunday on The Bombmaker

'A whirlwind of action, suspense and vivid excitement' Irish Times on The Birthday Girl

'Atmospheric suspense' Daily Mirror on The Eyewitness

'Stephen Leather's novel manages to put a contemporary spin on a timeless tale of revenge and retribution . . . Leather's experience as a journalist brings a sturdy, gritty element to a tale of horror . . . which makes The Eyewitness a compelling read' Evening Herald, Dublin

Also by Stephen Leather

Pay Off

The Fireman

Hungry Ghost

The Chinaman

The Vets

The Long Shot

The Birthday Girl

The Double Tap

The Solitary Man

The Tunnel Rats

The Bombmaker

The Stretch

Tango One

The Eyewitness

Spider Shepherd Thrillers

Hard Landing

Soft Target

Cold Kill

Hot Blood

Dead Men

Live Fire

Rough Justice

Fair Game (July 2011)

Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thrillers

Nightfall

Midnight

To find out about these and future titles, visit www.stephenleather.com.

About the author

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full-time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series.

HARD LANDING

Stephen Leather

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Ian West and John Newman who helped me to understand what it's like to work in the prison system and I am grateful for their help and advice. Any errors of fact are mine, not theirs.

Alistair Cumming was invaluable for guidance on police matters and Sam Jenner gave me his expert advice on matters military.

I was lucky enough to have Denis O'Donoghue on hand to cast his professional eye over the manuscript and to have Hazel Orme's editing skills on the case.

It was a pleasure to work with Carolyn Mays at Hodder and Stoughton again and Hard Landing is a better book for her creative input and unwavering support.

Trish Elliott ran her hand across her stomach for the hundredth time since she'd left the doctor's surgery. It didn't feel as if there was a new life growing inside her - it was far too early for any movement or kicks, for the baby to make its presence felt. But Trish had known straight away this time, after years of trying, she was pregnant. The third pregnancy test had confirmed what her body had been telling her.

She hadn't said anything to her husband and she'd left it another month before seeing her doctor, but now there was no doubt. 'Pregnant'. She whispered the word to herself as she parked the car at the side of the road, relishing the sound of it. 'I'm pregnant,' she said softly. 'I am having a baby.' She wanted to run down the street and tell everybody, shout it to the sky, phone every friend and relative she had. But she also enjoyed having such a delicious secret. She knew. The doctor knew. And that was all. For a while, at least, the baby belonged solely to her.

She switched off the engine and shuffled across to sit in the passenger seat. Her husband loved to drive. It wasn't a macho thing, or that he didn't trust her at the wheel, it was just that he enjoyed it so much that she was happy to let him do it. Trish thought that she was probably the better driver. She took more care, followed the Highway Code religiously, checked her mirrors constantly, and was always happy to let other motorists get ahead of her. Jonathon - well, Jonathon drove like a man, there was no getting away from it. She sat in the passenger seat and waited for him to leave the office.

That was something else that would change, she thought, with a smile. Jonathon had promised that when they had a family he'd get a desk job. No more late nights, no more weeks away from home, no more putting his life on the line. He'd take a regular job, with regular hours, and he'd be there for her when she needed him. Someone else could take the risks and have the glory. He'd be a husband and father. A family man. He'd promised, and she