Impurity – Ray Clark

Briggs slammed a copy of The Yorkshire Post down on his desk. The two detectives stared at the headline: “Police Violence!” It was no less than Gardener expected. As he read through it, the article was filled with details of the murder, uncooperative detectives, and police brutality. The broadsheet had then decided to run an opinion poll, ‘Did the public have a right to know?’ One diligent reporter had also insinuated a link between the Rawston incident and the corpse found within the grounds of St John’s Church.

Briggs glared at Reilly. “Slipped your mind, did it, Reilly? The fact that you’d assaulted a reporter?” “I didn’t.” “It’s not what he says.” “He sells papers.” “You took his camera away from him,” said Briggs, leaning back in his chair. “Which isn’t assault,” argued Reilly. Briggs turned over the front page. “I think the photograph taken here paints a different picture.” In the shot, Reilly had his hands around the photographer’s throat as they tumbled.

“It isn’t how it looks.” “So you keep saying. How is it, then? ’cause from where I’m sitting, it’s assault.” “I tried to stop him taking any more photos, and I fell down the steps.” “Oh, come on, Reilly, even you can do better than that. You’re not exactly known for using kid gloves. Are you really trying to tell me it was an accident?”

“What’s the point in me saying anything? You’ll believe what you want, at the end of the day.” Briggs turned to Gardener. “What have you got to say about it?” “I’m with him. You’ve seen the photo, and you’ve obviously made your mind up.” Briggs stood, knocking his chair over in the process. “There’s a lot of point! I want your version of events.

All I’ve had from you two so far is a boat load of trouble, and you’re no nearer to catching the killer. You’ve no idea what’s being used to kill the victims. I have a landlord putting in a claim against us because you wrecked his pub. Now, we have the newspapers claiming police brutality. The Chief Constable is furious. I’ve had him breathing down my neck all bloody morning. So now can you see why I want an explanation?”

Gardener didn’t need the aggravation or the pressure the case was putting on them. He was well aware of how it appeared without Briggs listing his grievances. “I know how bad things look at the moment, but the case is not cut and dried. You’ve seen all the reports. Whichever line of inquiry we take, it’s a dead end.” Briggs sighed, repositioning his chair before sitting down. “We can’t afford bad publicity.

The newspapers could cripple us. Have you any idea of the repercussions a picture like this will have?” “Of course I have. I’ve been in the force long enough to realize what parasites reporters are, and how they manipulate the public. But I can’t pull answers out of thin air.”

Polite note to the reader This book is written in British English except where fidelity to other languages or accents is appropriate. You are invited to visit www.thebookfolks.com and sign up to our mailing list to hear about new releases, free book promotions and other special offers. We hope you enjoy the book.

IMPURITY is the first book in a series of four murder mysteries by Ray Clark featuring DI Stewart Gardener. Full details about the other books can be found at the end of this one. Impurity: 1. Being impure. 2. A substance that makes another impure by being present in it. “They very commonly construct for themselves a life-romance, a personal myth in which they are the maltreated hero, which secret is the key of their battle against despair.”

William Bolitho Contents Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-one Chapter Thirty-two Chapter Thirty-three Chapter Thirty-four Chapter Thirty-five Chapter Thirty-six Chapter Thirty-seven Chapter Thirty-eight Chapter Thirty-nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-one Chapter Forty-two Chapter Forty-three Chapter Forty-four Chapter Forty-five Chapter Forty-six Chapter Forty-seven Chapter Forty-eight Chapter Forty-nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-one Chapter Fifty-two Chapter Fifty-three Chapter Fifty-four Chapter Fifty-five Chapter Fifty-six Chapter Fifty-seven Chapter Fifty-eight Chapter Fifty-nine Chapter Sixty Chapter Sixty-one Chapter Sixty-two Chapter Sixty-three Chapter Sixty-four Chapter Sixty-five Chapter Sixty-six Chapter Sixty-seven Chapter Sixty-eight Chapter Sixty-nine Chapter Seventy Chapter Seventy-one Chapter Seventy-two Chapter Seventy-three Chapter Seventy-four Chapter Seventy-five Chapter Seventy-six Chapter Seventy-seven Chapter Seventy-eight Chapter Seventy-nine Chapter Eighty Chapter Eighty-one Chapter Eighty-two Chapter Eighty-three Epilogue More fiction in this series FREE BOOKS IN YOUR INBOX Prologue Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Twelve Months Ago. “All set?” he asked as he held her coat open. She nodded and slipped into the garment. He put his hat on as they left the restaurant. Sarah had presented it to him before they went out for the evening. “I still can’t believe you bought this. What possessed you?” he asked. Sarah glanced up and adjusted it.

“It was you. The minute I saw it I fell in love with it. As I knew you would.” He laughed. He had to admit, it was comfortable. The grey Australian leather hat resembled a Stetson with a narrower brim. Two studded holes sat on either side of it, with a braid circling its base. A six-pointed gold badge graced one side of the crown.

Despite being early December, the weather was mild. Gardener carried his topcoat over one arm, held Sarah’s hand with the other.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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