It was going to be a hot morning, Guy thought. But not for a few hours. In the meantime, the only way he was getting any warmth into his body would be by moving it. Fast. The sun wasn’t visible yet, but the sky was beginning to lighten as the ruins of Egremont Castle came into view. The hill rose before him as he peeled off the main road and onto the path. Last week he’d slowed down here, afraid his legs wouldn’t take it. When he’d told his daughter, she’d smiled at him: a pa

Ella Hanley took a sip from her drink, then checked her watch again. Samira, you’re forty minutes late. They’d arranged to meet at the Bees Knees for a few cheeky cocktails. Just a few: it was a work night, and however undemanding their jobs, they’d have to be there in the morning if they wanted to keep them. But a few wouldn’t hurt, and this place was fast becoming their favourite hangout. Ella slid the slice of passion fruit to the side with her little finger and took anoth

The tides were perfect this time. Simon Miller smiled as he parked his car by the final gate before Grune Point. He’d driven through three of them already, carefully unlocking each padlock and securing them after passing through. The track ahead was too rocky for his Honda Jazz, and it was only a ten-minute walk along Skinburness Creek to reach the Point. At half past five in the morning, the tide was out, exposing plenty of sand and marsh for the birds. Dawn was still an hou

Miles Stringer wiped his bald head and turned away from his crew to look skyward. Not yet nine and sweat poured off him like he was in the Mediterranean. The clouds gathering over the sea brought welcome relief. Not the menacing storm clouds that halted work, just the gentle sort that offered shade. “Come on!” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Pick up the pace! Break in fifteen minutes.” The still morning air carried his voice across the site. Though he couldn’t hear the

Trixie Burns stood above the pools at Tongue Pot, watching Eileen and Ada splashing below. Joe stood to one side, his eyes on Ada. Ada knew that Joe was only here for her. She was wearing a modest one-piece, but given the way Joe stared at her, Trixie reckoned she’d have drawn his attention in a plastic bag. Joe wasn’t a bad lad. But Ada could do better. And the fact that Joe and Ada were still here, rather than off somewhere private, like Liam and Bella, suggested that Ada k

“Where’s the little shit gone now?” Hettie Bradshaw muttered. “Persephone! Where are you, my darling?” Two years, she’d had the dog. Two years of puppy training and all the care a special little girl could ask for, and she still didn’t understand her own damn name. Maybe it was too complicated for a spaniel. But Hettie had had eight King Charles Cavaliers, all named after overlooked figures from Greek mythology, and Persephone was the first to struggle with recall. Mind you,

Terri glanced at her watch. Midday. They’d only been there half an hour, and she was bored. She stood on the rocky shore of Ennerdale Water, kicking at the stones, watching her girlfriend crouch down, pick things up, turn them over, then put them down again. Erica had assured her there would be treasure here. Pots. Bottles. Ashtrays. Old stuff. Terri wasn’t interested in old stuff, but Erica had a way of making boring things fun, so she’d agreed to come along and help search

Bobby Silver pushed through the door and stood, dripping onto the carpet, waiting for her eyes to adjust. It was shit out. Worse than shit. Like someone had thrown a bucket of ice and water over the country, and most of it had landed on Cumbria. Still, no surprise. Not for someone who knew the county. And at least it was dry inside the Henry Bessemer. She spotted Miles, the overhead lights picking out the lines, scars, and bruises of thirty years’ work at the port. He was in

“You taking part?” DI Carl Whaley turned towards the voice. Tall, lean, white hair to his shoulders: the man would have been a dead ringer for an Old Testament prophet if it weren’t for the green stain of mushy peas on his teeth. “I’m sorry?” Carl said. “You. You look like you could spin a yarn or two.” The man pointed towards the makeshift stage, where a microphone awaited the next contestant. “Not one of them politicians, are you?” His partner, DI Zoe Finch, laughed. “He’s

At least they’d been lucky with the weather. For the last three months, Pat hadn’t shut up about the forecast. Half a dozen different websites and apps, historic rainfall levels, the effect of global bloody warming. When she’d finally declared that late September was their best bet for a dry night, Carly hadn’t believed her. There was no science to it. They were in Cumbria, and the only thing you could be sure of was that if it wasn’t raining now, it would be raining later. L

“What’s your name?” asked the man opposite Sue. It was dark in here, on the first floor, and although they weren’t wearing masks, Sue couldn’t see his face clearly under his pointy hat. He’d already been there when she’d arrived, so she hadn’t been able to get a decent look at him walking in, either. Her own age, she guessed. Maybe a little younger. “My real name?” “No, no, I mean – I mean your name for this.” “Marston,” she said. Outside, there was something that might have

Simon Haslam stared at the woman’s outstretched hand in confusion, before remembering the etiquette, pasting on a smile, and taking it in his own. Even as he nodded and replied to her platitudes, he was looking over her shoulder and frowning, as if there was something important behind her he had to attend to. Anything to get away from all these people. He’d known it would be busy. He’d been to enough fell races over the years. But this was the first time he’d organised one. H

Paula glanced up. Clouds were gathering overhead, and even though there was no one else about, she was starting to regret letting herself get talked into this. “Come on!” called Ryan. He was standing up ahead, on one of those big concrete slabs, holding one corner of a banner and grinning. There were dozens of those slabs, a couple of metres wide and as much as four metres long, embedded in the ground. She’d asked about them when they’d arrived. Asked what was under them. Che

“Put a bloody smile on your face,” said DC Nina Kapoor as they shoved their way through the crowd. DC Tom Willis gave her his best fake grin to make her shut up. The pub Nina had dragged him to had apparently been around for more than a century, and he’d walked past it plenty of times. But he didn’t think he’d ever set foot inside, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was in the right pub now. Yes, it was cold and wet outside, and he’d agreed to go for a pre-Christmas drink with Ni

Aisha pulled her jacket tight around her and shivered. It wasn’t all that cold, thank God, because the jacket’s job was to look good more than to keep her warm. But she’d been inside and on the dancefloor most of the night. Now she was outside, standing still. It was dark, and the wind coming in off the sea didn’t care that it was October and only an hour or two till sunrise. “Come on,” she muttered. Claire, standing beside her, giggled. Claire was drunk. Simon was a few feet