‘Where do you go from here, Debbie?’ Adele asked, not taking her eyes from the back entrance.
‘He can come home with me for as long as he wants. I’m sure he’ll want to leave Manchester eventually, start his own life, and I’m fine with that. As long as he stays in touch.’
‘And what will you do?’
‘I don’t know. Just carry on as normal I suppose.’
The doors opened and Matilda walked out with Thomas Hartley following. He was experiencing the fresh air of freedom for the first time in almost three years. The cold sun was on his face; the breeze ruffled up his hair. He stood still and took a deep breath.
Debbie opened the car door and leapt out. ‘Thomas,’ she called.
He looked up and saw his aunt running towards him with her arms wide open. She threw herself around him and grabbed him tight. At just over six feet tall, Thomas towered over Debbie. With her head buried in his chest her speech was muffled. Only Thomas could understand what she was saying. When she released him there were tear stains on his shirt.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’ll never forgive myself.’
‘You don’t need to be sorry. There were times I didn’t believe myself either.’
He looked up and saw the three smiling faces of the women who had secured his release staring back at him.
‘I’ve no idea how to thank you.’
‘You don’t have to,’ Matilda said. ‘Just promise me you’ll enjoy your life to the fullest.’
‘I intend to.’
‘I’ve booked a train to take us back to Manchester. I’ve made a room up for you too, and I hope you still like Super Noodles.’ Debbie was so ecstatic her words were falling over each other as she spoke.
‘I certainly do,’ he smiled.
Thomas thanked Matilda, Pat and Adele in turn and gave them each a hug.
‘I feel all warm inside,’ Adele said. ‘Are you crying?’ she asked Pat.
‘No. It’s this bloody hay fever.’
‘In October?’
‘Shut up, Adele.’
Pat turned away and Adele looked in her bag for a tissue.
Thomas took Matilda to one side and lowered his voice. ‘I really don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.’
‘Like I said, you don’t have to say anything.’
‘You believed in me straightaway. I’ll never forget that.’
‘I always trust my instincts,’ she smiled.
‘“A guess is either right or wrong. If it is right you call it intuition. If it is wrong you usually do not speak of it again.” Hercule Poirot.’
Matilda smiled, not quite sure what to make of that.
Thomas held out his hand for Debbie to take. Instead, she threw her arms around him once more and gave him a tight squeeze. Matilda smiled as she saw the final two members of the Hartley family reunited. Thomas made eye contact with Matilda. He had the look of gloating triumph etched on his face. Then something happened. His smile faded but he held eye contact for longer than was necessary. It may have been the wind but Matilda felt a cold chill run right through her.
Acknowledgements
There are so many people I would like to thank for all the help, encouragement, and information which has gone in to making this book become real. Firstly, Finn Cotton, Sarah Hodgson, Lucy Dauman and everyone at Killer Reads and HarperCollins for taking great care of me, and offering so much support. Writing is a very lonely process. It is a comfort to know I have such reassurance at the end of an email.
Claire Walker, Chris Howard and everyone at iGene Global for answering my questions on Digital Autopsies. Kim Suvarna for meeting with me and giving me an insight into what Adele Kean’s office would look like. Simon Browes for the medical research – thank you for answering my texts.
A belated thank you to Jon Appleton to informing me of Killer Reads in the first place all those years ago.
My unnamed police contact is invaluable to me. This book would be full of procedural errors if it wasn’t for him. Any that remain are all for story telling purposes and not due to lack of research. This is a work of fiction, after all.
Many thanks to everyone at Agatha Christie Limited for permitting me to quote from The ABC Murders.
Also, a huge thank you to my copy editor Janette Currie and to Sarah Baxter for legal advice.
As always, a big hug for my mum, and a hearty northern handshake for Chris, Kevin, and Jonas for the support.
A final thank you to Woody. I’m not sure where I’d be if you hadn’t saved me. Sleep well, sausage.
If you liked A Room Full of Killers, try the previous books in the DCI Matilda Darke series…
Two perfect families. Two broken marriages. And a killer who needs to be stopped…
The pressure is on for investigating officer, DCI Matilda Darke: there’s a violent killer on the loose, and it looks like her team members are the new targets. With no leads and no suspects, it’s going to take all Matilda’s wits to catch him, before he strikes again.
Click here to order a copy of Outside Looking In
Two murders. Twenty years. Now the killer is back for more…
DCI Matilda Darke has returned to work after a nine month absence. A shadow of her former self, she is tasked with re-opening a cold case: an unresolved homicide. Then a dead body is discovered, and the investigation leads back to Matilda’s case. Suddenly the past and present converge, and it seems a killer may have come back for more…
Click here to order a copy of For Reasons Unknown
About the Author
Michael Wood is a freelance journalist
