In The Doll's House

By Milly Reynolds

DI Mike Malone fears that this might be the case that breaks him – the discovery of a child's body at the local landfill site, especially when the secrets that the post-mortem reveal are so grotesque. Add to the mix some disturbed graves and Mike feels that light and happiness are distant countries. This is one of the strangest cases that Mike and his trusty DS, Alan Shepherd, have ever tackled and they find themselves seeking help from someone who leaps at the chance to be useful once more. Another Mike Malone mystery and a chance to meet up with some familiar faces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Milly Reynolds
• Release date: Nov 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005484064

Milly Reynolds

As you may have already guessed, Milly Reynolds is not my real name. Like my 'hero' Detective Inspector Mike Malone, I also hide my real identity. Having 'retired' from my job, I was a full-time teacher in a secondary school, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. So why Mike Malone? I love all things detective and wanted to create my own series. However, I decided not to go for the deep, dark thriller - I could never compete with the masters of that genre, like Jo Nesbo whose books I adore? Therefore I came to the decision that the Mike Malone series would be off-beat. I like to think that there is humour in my books; I don't want to scare people, I want to make them chuckle - there is not enough laughter in the world at the moment. As the series has progressed, I have become very attached to Mike; he is the comfortable pair of slippers that I put on at night. My husband has also become attached to Fi and I am under strict instructions not to let anything happen to her - yet. Living in Lincolnshire, I love the flat, endless landscapes and want these to be seen in my books alongside places that I know and love. Mike Malone has moved from the city to Lincolnshire and has fallen in love with the place; me, I was born here and can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. However, although Mike was my first creation, he is not the only one. I have also created Jack Sallt, another Detective Inspector. Jack is grittier than Mike and there is not the humour in his stories that there is in the Mike Malone stories. I wanted to write a more 'grown-up' detective story. When time allows this will be developed into a series as well. With two male detectives under my wing, I also decided that it was time for the girls to take centre stage and 'Scorpion's Tale', my first novel featuring Liv Harris, a character in the Jack Sallt novels, was published in 2013. I am hoping that Liv will make another appearance at some point in the future. Not content with crime, I have also wandered into the realms of romance; my first stand-alone novel 'The Unseen Sky' was published August 2011. I'm lucky, I enjoy writing and find it just as relaxing to sit and create as it is to read, although sometimes a good book can get in the way of my writing. I read on average 50/60 books a year and always keep my blog updated with reviews. Anyway, I hope you like my novels. I have fun coming up with ideas for Mike -...

Book preview

Prologue

He put the brush down and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with a bright red ribbon.

There you are, sweetheart. As good as new. He smiled at her. Now are you going to be ok on your own while I fetch Tabitha?

He didn’t wait for an answer, he just kissed her cheek, closed the door behind him and stepped into the darkness. Felicity had been on her own for far too long, it was good that she was going to have a friend to talk to. He had no qualms about the two girls getting along, after all they had so much in common. They had both lost their families.

1

Paul Hunter was busy typing a reply on WhatsApp to the girl that he seemed to have spent an awful lot of the last week with after meeting her at the Greyhound Stadium on his regular boys’ night out. She had been with a group from her office and they had hit it off straight away, both drifting away from their respective groups so that they could spend the rest of the evening together. He felt as if he had known her all his life, but it was still early days. His track record with women was not good, he tended to be a bit of an idiot at times and drive them away. It was the alcohol that was to blame. One drink too many and he couldn’t be responsible for his actions. He really should stick to soft drinks and then he might actually have the chance to start to form a meaningful and long lasting relationship. He had just added a row of kisses and pressed send when his office door burst open.

Can’t you knock? he grumbled.

The lad who was framed in the doorway, a lad who could only just have stepped out of his teens, was a sickly green colour and Paul’s gaze was drawn to the streaks of vomit running down the front of his grey fleece. This was not going to be good.

You need to come, the lad stammered. There’s a kid…

Paul Hunter’s hand was already dialling. Not a child, please not the body of a child.

The morning had been quiet, thankfully, as I had so much paperwork to catch up on; an innocuous brown envelope had landed on my desk last week. It had looked so innocent that I had been lulled into a sense of false security which is why, when I had studied its contents, all of the shadows in my office which had been languishing in the glorious July sunshine immediately evaporated. I was required to complete a full review of my team and their effectiveness. Government was cutting police funding so, basically, in this review, I was being asked to decide which members of my team should lose their jobs. The whole idea was scandalous. Communities needed police on the beat. Communities needed to feel secure in their homes, in their towns, and having to make cuts like this was just opening the door to crime. In my little patch, our success rate was good but that didn’t mean that I could afford to lose anyone. My internal tirade was interrupted by the door opening and the shape of Shepherd taking its place. Looking up, I could see a spark in his eyes.

We need to get to the landfill site, Sir, he informed me. It looks as if they have found a body.

While we walked to the car, Shepherd filled me in on the little that he knew. Paul Hunter, a name that I remembered from some time ago, had called to state that one of the drivers had reported finding the body of a child. Hunter hadn’t been to investigate himself, he’d just made the phone call.

I’m not surprised he didn’t investigate, I commented. He didn’t a few years ago when we were called. He’d rushed straight back into his office.

Wonder if he’s been dumped again? Shepherd grinned.

Don’t you mean you wonder how many times he’s been dumped?

Our more recent memories of Paul Hunter were from his involvement in a murder case about eighteen months previously, and they had not been favourable. Still, that was in the past. Now we potentially had another murder to investigate and if the body really was that of a child, then this was going to be particularly harrowing.

Audrey Rice put the phone down and got to her feet. Looking through the window she decided that she wouldn’t bother with a coat, the sun was glorious. In fact, she wouldn’t even bother to take the car. It was only a ten minute walk to the retirement complex.

I’m going to see Mrs Flinders, she told Hannah. I should only be about three quarters of an hour.

I’ll take my lunch when you get back if that is ok. Hannah glanced at her watch. I’m meeting someone at twelve thirty, will you be back by then?

I should be, but if I’m not, just lock up and put a Closed for Lunch on the door.

Ok. Hannah brushed her dark hair back over her shoulder and returned to her computer screen.

A date? Audrey asked cheekily.

No. No, it’s…

The blush on Hannah’s cheeks told another story. Sorry, it’s not my business. I’ll try to be back.

Leaving her colleague to deal with her hot cheeks, Audrey stepped outside into a warm summer day. Behind her the weekly market was in full swing and, deciding that she could really do with some more fruit, she went there first. Nick liked a fruit smoothie in the mornings and Audrey always made sure that she had a variety of fruit in the house.

I’ll take a pineapple, some strawberries and some peaches, please, she told the young girl behind the stall.

With her purchases in her bag, Audrey then resumed her walk to the retirement complex, deciding to take the riverside path. Nick had moved in with her when he was released from hospital after the attack nearly five months ago; it had seemed the logical thing to do so that she could help with his recovery. On the whole he was doing ok. The dizzy spells were getting less which was a good thing, but he still was having difficulty sleeping and concentrating. He would start something and drift off but, deep down, he was still her Nick, the man she had fallen in love with and the man she was going to marry. She knew that the elephant in the room would have to be talked about at some point. Nick’s job. Mr Malone was a regular visitor, as was Alan Shepherd. The other guys from the station had visited regularly in the beginning, but it had tailed off; Jamie Miller was the only one who came regularly. In her heart, she feared that Nick would not be able to work again, not like this. The question was how long would the police force keep his job open? The force was Nick’s life and she worried what it would do to him if it shut the door on him. Maybe she could have a private word with Mr Malone and ask him to be straight with her. Yes, she would do that.

2

Paul Hunter was exactly how I remembered him except that he now seemed to be favouring one of those awful beards that I abhor. Beards should be beards, not lines drawn on with a pencil!

Mr Malone. He held out his hand. Mr Shepherd. Nice to see you again although this isn’t a good occasion.

What can you tell us?

Paul Hunter stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. The guys reported seeing a child.

Have you…?

No. No. I phoned you.

My reply was stopped by the sound of a couple of cars approaching and I watched Adrian O’Brien pull up.

Mike! Alan! You both ok? he asked as he strode over towards us, zipping up his white suit as he did so.

Fine thanks, Adrian, I replied. Family ok?

Great. Archie breaks up on Thursday. Can’t believe he’s had a whole year at school. Time flies. He turned to Shepherd. Your lad must be getting to school age.

He starts in September.

They'll be married before we know it, Adrian laughed and then pulled himself up. So, what do we have?

I turned back to Paul Hunter who was just gazing into space and, I expect, crossing his fingers that we did not need him to take us to the body. Where do we need to go? I asked.

Relief flooded over his face and he reached for a radio that I hadn't spotted hanging from his jacket.

Bill, can you take the police to the site? He didn’t wait for a reply, he just clicked the radio off. Bill will be here in a sec. Do you need me anymore?

The body, do you know where it came from? Did it fall from a skip that was being emptied or…?

That I don’t know.

Right, I might need to talk to you again once I can establish where and when it was left.

I’ll be here. There’s Bill.

While we all turned to watch the approaching figure, Hunter took the opportunity to scurry back into his office. No backbone, that man. I faintly recognised the chap heading in our direction from our last visit to the landfill site a few years ago. The sad grey eyes were the same but the whiskers were now considerably less.

This way, folks.

Bill turned around without ceremony and I took a couple of large strides to join him, leaving Shepherd and Adrian to talk about schools.

Have you seen the body, Bill? I asked.

Not got close, but looks as if it's a girl.

Any idea where it came from?

We get twenty to thirty skips a day on that particular spot. Could have been any one of them.

Wouldn’t it have been spotted when the skip was emptied?

Bill turned to me. I’d have spotted it. I keep my eye on the job. Lots of these drivers, they couldn’t give a monkeys. While the skips are emptying they’re having a fag, even though it is against the regulations, or checking their phones. The bloody Crown Jewels could fall out of their skips and they wouldn’t even notice.

My mind was working. But the next drop, wouldn’t they have seen it?

As I said, they don’t bother. Just press a button and empty the skip.

Who found it?

Ah, bless him, a young ‘un. Only started with the skip firm two weeks ago. He was doing what he should, he was watching and when his load went it shifted some of the crap and that was when he saw her.

So it wasn’t his load?

That’s what I just said. His load shifted some of the rubbish and that was when he saw her. Spewed his guts up, poor sod.

And presumably there is a list of all skips?

Hunter’ll have those.

My thoughts continued jotting down notes and presenting me with questions. One