I looked at Rink, wondering if I wore the same stunned expression he did. I exhaled slowly. I had come to terms with the fact that Jones had taken revenge on Markus over the slaying of his partner, but I hadn’t expected this. But who was I to complain? Jones had found a way that exonerated us all. If ever there was a burden of obligation it was now on Rink and me never to mention Detective Jones’s involvement in this to anyone.
‘You think any one will buy his story?’ I asked.
Rink shrugged. ‘Maybe if Markus hadn’t murdered Detective Tyler things would be different. Now, I’m not so sure. Perhaps someone will suspect something, but who’s going to dig too deeply? Cops have a way of closing ranks to protect their own. Jones got his partner’s murderer: one way or another, that’s all that will matter to them.’
‘You sure about that, buddy?’
He looked wistfully at the bedroom door beyond which lay his elderly mother. She had survived everything that had happened to her, but being forced to reveal her secret would likely finish her off.
‘I hope so, for my mom’s sake,’ he said.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
As usual there are people who I must thank for their unflinching encouragement and support while writing this book, and as usual the list is a long one. So, without further ado, I say a huge thank-you to: Denise Hilton, Luigi Bonomi, Alison Bonomi, Thomas Stofer, Sue Fletcher, Eleni Lawrence, Swati Gamble, Alice Wood, Pete Nicholson, Richard Gnosill, Gary Jones, Paul Tyler, Col Bury, Lee Hughes, Jim Hilton, David and Karen Hilton, Jacky and Val Hilton, Sheila Quigley, Adrian and Ann Magson, Raymond Hilton, Sue Harding, David Barber, Ian Grahame, Trevor Turner, Martin Fell, and all my author-type friends throughout the world. Also, a huge thank-you goes out to my readers: without your support, all the efforts of the above would be for nothing.
I would also like to say a posthumous thank-you to Sensei Ronnie Whittle, the person who taught me the concept of giri and all that it stands for. I carry a burden of obligation to you all.