Stop All The Clocks
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
‘WE’D LIKE to take your finger prints.
‘Take my finger prints? What for?’ Terror was taking hold again.
‘That way we can eliminate you from the list of suspects when we find the knife. It’s bound to have fingerprints on it,’ Ken said quietly but with a look that said it all. A sense of horror enveloped me as I interpreted his look. By now he’d decided I was guilty, maybe not of a cold-blooded murder but of a crime of passion.
Feeling completely helpless I muttered, ‘Oh God, help me.’ I was the accused, accused of Nicholas’s murder. The words hadn’t been voiced yet. But worse now a dark, tormenting thought was mounting inside me - the idea that I was going insane and that I wasn’t at that moment in a position to protect myself. I should have had a solicitor; murder had been committed and I was the accused.
Something else added to my ordeal. I’d been told that my first husband Donal and Deirdre were in the building. They’d been denied contact with me.
Finally when my fingerprints were taken I was escorted to an equally windowless room where Deirdre, Donal and Lynda were waiting. It was an emotional time. Deirdre clung to me and wept.
I managed to gasp, ‘Deirdre they’re trying to stitch me up,’ before I were whisked away and driven to Lynda’s house as I’d no where else to go. On the way DI explained that my house was cordoned off.
‘It’s now a murder scene and our men are sifting through the evidence. Maybe you could stay with Donal? And tomorrow we can continue with our little chat.’ A rictus like smile appeared.
‘Little chat.’ The tri syllable was a drop of blood. So they were going to continue their interrogation until I’d crack. Tonight was only a taste of what was to come and that had taken six hours. And then they’d charge me. A new thrill of terror washed over me.
Seven o’clock, the street was stirring with the clang of waking life. Light was beginning to twinkle through the grey clouds. A bird flew to the glistening roof singing a sweet melody but I walked up the path to Donal’s flat, my heart a piece of stone. Just up the road a murder had been committed and it was clear I was the accused.
WHY? One person sprung to mind - Danny. And Nicholas? I knew every one lives two lives: our real life and our secret life."
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Alex, a Chemistry teacher, believes she has found happiness at last in Nicholas. Yet, she has to compete for his affections with his daughter from a previous marriage. When she discovers he’s thinking about remarrying his ex-wife to be closer to his daughter, she writes him a ‘chose between us now’ note. When Nicholas is suddenly and brutally murdered by an intruder and dies in her arms, Alex is treated as the prime suspect because of this note.
She learns that Nicholas was involved in a financial scam and the police believe that she is party to this fraud. As Alex delves into the background of this scam, an evil cast of characters emerge including a man who is known as ‘Psycho’. Why he was always heavily disguised when he appeared at syndicate meetings, who he was and why he relentlessly stalks Alex remains a mystery to the end. As Alex investigates the murder she is viewed as a threat, and thus a would-be victim of the remorseless Psycho.
About the Author
Veronica St Clare lives in Coventry, England. She was educated in the Presentation Convent, Kilkenny, Ireland and has an honours degree in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She now spends her time writing and also tutors in Science, Mathematics and English. Previously, she taught in state, private schools and Colleges of Further Education. She has two daughters. Currently she is writing the sequel to ‘Stop All The Clocks’ where the heroine Alex, pursues her partner’s murderer to the bitter end.