HELL'S HALF ACRE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 2) by JACKIE ELLIOTT (classic literature books .txt) 📗

Ricky was trying to muscle in on another patch. Dennis made a few phone calls, and it was all set up: two thugs for hire would snatch Ricky, smack him around a bit and teach him a lesson. When they dumped him back, Dennis would confront Sandra and Ricky with the DNA results.

Of course Ricky wasn’t his flesh and blood! There was no way he, Dennis Havers, would father such a pathetic loser. Then he’d send them both packing.

They’d have to manage without their lavish lifestyle and access to Dennis’s bank account.

At first, he’d thought the plan had worked. One day, Ricky disappeared. Even Sandra wasn’t unduly worried. Then she started making phone calls to his friends and driving up to the Smoke Room to check every couple of hours. Dennis took no notice, expecting Ricky to be dumped on the doorstep any day soon. But another week went past, and then another. Then Dennis made some calls. But his thugs swore they hadn’t touched Ricky. Couldn’t find him, they said. He was already gone.

Dennis made more calls, but the answer came back the same. Nobody had seen Ricky. The word was he’d started doing business with a new organization, but nobody knew who they were, not even Kevin.

As Sandra intensified her search and involved the police, Dennis became paranoid. Had Ricky found out about Dennis’s plan? Had he taken a once-in-a-lifetime business deal and just left? Dennis knew he wouldn’t let Sandra suffer. Ricky loved his mother. There was no doubt in Dennis’s mind. So he must have been taken against his will. Who took him? Why?

The rumours spread through Coffin Cove. Dennis heard the gossip — it was payback, some said, for all the shady deals Dennis had done over the years. That reporter, Andi Silvers, suspected him, he knew. She’d even asked him outright during the election campaign.

“Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your son, Mayor Havers?” she’d asked in the middle of an interview, with all his staffers present. Dennis had just stared at her, too stunned to reply. Eventually the awkward silence became too much, and Andi was asked to leave, but Dennis saw the triumphant smirk on her face.

He took another swig of Jack Daniel’s. The study was in shadow now. The sun had slid down behind the house, and Dennis could see the lights from Coffin Cove, turning his old empire into a fairyland.

He got up from his desk and staggered slightly as he removed a picture from the wall, revealing his safe. He made himself concentrate as he turned the dial. The steel door clicked and opened smoothly.

Steadying himself, Dennis emptied the contents of the safe on his desk. Without bothering to close it up or replace the picture, he sat back down again. He picked up a clean sheet of headed notepaper and started to write. When he was finished, he reached over to a roll of cash he’d just taken out of the safe and peeled off several bills. He stuffed them in the envelope, sealed it and wrote “Joanna Campbell” on the front. The housekeeper. She deserved it. He knew she’d find it tomorrow. He sat back in his chair and let his thoughts flow as his intoxication increased.

He thought again of that day with the reporter. When Andi Silvers left, his staff fussed over him, promising to make Jim Peters fire her immediately. But Sandra had surprised him most. She had flung her arms around him.

“You mustn’t feel guilty,” she sobbed. “It’s not your fault! You’ve been the best dad and husband. Ricky loves you, wherever he is, and I’ll always love you.”

He’d rubbed her back and soothed her.

He’d been a shit of a husband. He’d been screwing Nadine the whole time they were married. Nadine. She’d been his mistress, his dirty, vulgar secret, for years.

They’d flaunted their affair. Dennis quite liked the rumours. Didn’t all powerful men behave like this? Taking what they wanted, not caring what anyone thought, not even his wife?

God, what had he been thinking? Nadine rubbing up against him in the office or at official city functions. Sometimes in front of Sandra. She’d behaved with dignity, never commenting, never causing a scene. Nadine, on the other hand, made no secret of her goal: to be the second Mrs Havers. Some nights, she’d phone, drunkenly screaming down the phone at him, threatening to destroy his marriage. Nadine even texted him the day after Inspector Vega confirmed Ricky’s death. She’d invited him to go to her belly dancing night, for fuck’s sake.

It was all over now. Nadine’s last call was from the office. She’d been snooping around for him, keeping him updated on the new mayor’s activities. She’d told him about a developer sniffing around the old fish plant. Dennis had wanted to get his hands on that, but he didn’t care now. No, it was the name of the developer that made his heart skip a beat: Knights Development Ltd. Was it just coincidence?

Nadine had tried one last time.

“You know I always look out for you, Dennis. We’re a good team. We go way back, don’t we? We’ve known each other for ever, from the old days at the gravel pit and those crazy times . . .”

Crazy times indeed. Dennis tried not to think of them, but in his mind he saw the old gang hanging out.

“Hell’s Half Acre. Now there’s a place,” Dennis grunted to himself, half laughing. He knew he was drunk, but picked up the bottle anyway. It was nearly empty. His vision was blurred, and he had a hard time sitting up straight, but he swallowed the rest of the bourbon in one go.

He thought he saw a man in the doorway. It looked like Daniel. He squinted, trying to focus. It couldn’t be Daniel. Maybe it was Ricky, come back to haunt him from the