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DI Sean Corrigan Crime Series: 5-Book Collection: Cold Killing, Redemption of the Dead, The Keeper, The Network and The Toy Taker
Luke Delaney
The DI Sean Corrigan Collection includes the first three books in Luke Delaney’s terrifyingly authentic DI Sean Corrigan series, COLD KILLING, THE KEEPER and THE TOY TAKER, plus two DI Sean Corrigan short stories, REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD and THE NETWORK.COLD KILLING:A series of brutal killings leaves South London’s Murder Investigation Unit struggling to connect the crimes: no recognizable method; no forensic evidence; no link between the victims.DI Sean Corrigan’s troubled past has left him with an uncanny ability to identify the darkness in others. He knows these murders are the work of one man. As the violence escalates, Sean must find the evidence he needs to bring the perpetrator to justice – before the next attack hits too close to home.THE KEEPER:Thomas Keller knows exactly who he’s looking for…When women start disappearing from their homes in broad daylight, DI Sean Corrigan’s Murder Investigation Team is reluctant to take on a missing persons case. But then the first body turns up, and Corrigan knows he must quickly get into the mind of the murderer. Because this killer knows exactly who he wants. And he won’t stop until he finds her.THE TOY TAKER:Children are being snatched from their homes in the dead of night. There’s no sign of forced entry, no one heard or saw a thing.DI Sean Corrigan needs to find four-year-old George Bridgeman before abduction becomes murder. But his ability to see into dark minds, to think like those he hunts, has deserted him – just when he needs it most.REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD (SHORT STORY)1993. The Parkside Rapist has been terrorising the women of South London, and Detective Chief Superintendent Charlie Bannan is in need of a secret weapon if he’s going to catch this particular monster. When fresh-faced PC Sean Corrigan is transferred to join the team, Bannan immediately spots his potential…THE NETWORK (SHORT STORY):Early in his career as a Detective, Corrigan is approached for an undercover assignment. He must take on the identity of a prison inmate and befriend a suspected paedophile, then infiltrate an early internet child abuse ring. Can he tap into his dark side for long enough to uncover the identities of the abusers without serious harm to himself?
DI SEAN CORRIGAN CRIME SERIES
5-BOOK COLLECTION
Cold Killing, Redemption of the Dead, The Keeper, The Network and The Toy Taker
Luke Delaney
Copyright (#u1d2e7729-8dcc-5f22-9f36-4c83fbff9300)
Harper
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
HarperCollins Publishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
Copyright © Luke Delaney 2015
Extract from The Jackdaw © Luke Delaney 2015
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
Luke Delaney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any references to real people, living or dead, real events, businesses, organizations and localities are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. All names, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © February 2015 ISBN: 9780008108625
Version: 2014-12-23
Contents
Cover (#u69351ee5-8291-54b3-b1aa-d6c214b25037)
Title Page (#u22428cc6-b898-52ab-bc58-f708aa94c0e6)
Copyright
Cold Killing (#u75f57a36-b4b1-586a-89a3-448e6f3272bf)
Redemption of the Dead (#uc663d3cd-cfdb-53ff-ab4b-2c85e01294d4)
The Keeper (#u864fb4aa-2d20-571b-9a4b-254c4c9b0996)
The Network (#ua3722fe3-d0fd-588b-8e27-1f3176c19328)
The Toy Taker (#ucadbbe94-bd17-51fd-bb04-d082f3a06a69)
About the Author
Also by Luke Delaney
About the Publisher
COLD KILLING
Luke Delaney
Copyright
Harper
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
HarperCollins Publishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
Copyright © Luke Delaney 2013
Luke Delaney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Cover photography © www.henrysteadman.com (http://www.henrysteadman.com)
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007486083
Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2013 ISBN: 9780007486076
Version: 2014-12-23
DEDICATION
There are so many people I could dedicate this book to, without whom my writing career would have been over before it even began, but I feel a shared dedication can some how lose much of its power and I didn’t want that as this particular dedication is so personal to me and indeed others who were close to the man.
So I dedicate this first novel to my dad, Mike. For reasons of maintaining the anonymity of my family, friends and myself, I cannot say too much and nor would he want me to. I could talk about his brilliance in his own field and the worldwide respect and admiration he is held in amongst his peers. I could talk about his meteoric rise from very humble beginnings to the very top of his difficult trade, but that’s not really what I remember about him most.
What I remember about him most was his gentleness, kindness, incredible generosity and painful honesty. He was the best moral compass a young man could have had, especially one with ambitions to join the police. I would be lying if I said tempting opportunities didn’t present themselves, but the thought of letting not just myself but my parents down kept me well and truly on the straight and narrow.
My dad taught me one thing above all others – that no matter how much we achieve in our chosen professions, no matter how much wealth and power we obtain – what is really important is to be a good man. Just be a good man. He was a very good man.
Sadly Mike passed away three years ago aged a very young seventy-two. Another victim to the great taker of men – cancer. The world has felt a poorer place ever since. He is much missed and much loved.
For Mike.
Contents
Cover (#u75f57a36-b4b1-586a-89a3-448e6f3272bf)
Title Page (#ua4863ddb-8e3d-5907-be02-0f2b568c9002)
Copyright (#uc0c6ddae-b0cd-51a4-8c7c-d7df66ae648a)
Dedication (#ubd483986-57e5-5077-9042-8d3391cdf6d3)
Chapter 1 (#u7c62be82-abbb-5867-8e7e-9088638081b6)
Chapter 2 (#uc543d442-2dcd-5d72-9938-d2c6bbeb0e10)
Chapter 3 (#ua6e4a374-2e81-550e-8b12-73ea11f86bd4)
Chapter 4 (#u3b9cbbd0-74d3-5b45-a838-ab5f6d035f06)
Chapter 5 (#ub6411f11-a33e-59dc-af50-e868f81a1bb8)
Chapter 6 (#u0bc81aac-1426-5364-906e-a5f7555f9bef)
Chapter 7 (#u2d52250f-6464-50dd-ab2b-1f79bd907882)
Chapter 8 (#uf2003df9-c8f8-528d-99eb-2c630ecb1c11)
Chapter 9 (#u1bf5f267-8f81-5b76-bef8-c164e1a0c815)
Chapter 10 (#u9fbc4afd-b7eb-5d7c-b4bb-79d61bc8adba)
Chapter 11 (#u386df070-9141-54f8-8e95-1c090e9d0c30)
Chapter 12 (#u51e5ae27-c7f0-55a1-8bd3-9a2f4e9c418d)
Chapter 13 (#ud2e3b27f-35c7-5414-8149-49e93b7a67c9)
Chapter 14 (#u7b095159-c542-50d6-8a0d-429e74142496)
Chapter 15 (#uef6378e3-129c-5550-a077-b1966c6cd158)
Chapter 16 (#u42a90f12-3c95-5aa9-a18d-56ebe61c72d8)
Chapter 17 (#ued88486e-dad1-579a-a724-aeb9d62a685a)
Chapter 18 (#u3d40b293-e887-5e27-aa4b-ccf1d49eb80c)
Chapter 19 (#ubb4fa38c-65bb-5fc5-9f9f-0fca4e6d5939)
Chapter 20 (#u2ffa2fb6-5b94-5744-be7a-ec7cc53b84fe)
Chapter 21 (#uc6e9024c-9c43-5bbd-ad4d-9eefcd477ec8)
Chapter 22 (#u7f3e2ecb-a826-5a47-ba33-0340cbf0a638)
Epilogue (#u6cd67e84-be65-50e8-a7a0-a2632970e3b0)
1
Saturday. I agreed to come to the park with the wife and children. They’re over there on the grassy hill, just along from the pond. They’ve fed themselves, fed the ducks and now they’re feeding their own belief that we’re one normal happy family. And to be fair, as far as they’re concerned, we are. I won’t let the sight of them spoil my day. The sun is shining and I’m getting a bit of a tan. The memory of the latest visit is still fresh and satisfying. It keeps the smile on my face.
Look at all these people. Happy and relaxed. They’ve no idea I’m watching them. Watching as small children wander away from their mothers too distracted by idle chat to notice. Then they realize their little darling has wandered too far and up goes that shrill shriek of an over-protective parent, followed by a leg slap for the child and more shrieking.
I am satisfied for the time being. The fun I had last week will keep me contented for a while, so everyone is safe today.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with the little queer. I made it look like a domestic murder. I’ve heard fights between people like him can get nasty, so I had a bit of fun with the idea.
He was easy enough to dispatch. These people live dangerous lives. They make perfect victims. So I hunted amongst them, looking for someone, and I found him.
I had already decided to spend the evening stalking the patrons of a Vauxhall nightclub, Utopia. What a ridiculous name. More like Hell, if you ask me. I told my wife I was out of town on business, packed some spare clothes, toiletries, the usual things for a night away and booked a hotel room in Victoria. I could hardly turn up at home in the early hours. That would arouse suspicions. I couldn’t have that. Everything at home needed to appear … normal.
I also packed a paper decorating suit that I bought at Homebase, several pairs of surgical gloves − readily available from all sorts of shops − a shower cap and some plastic bags to cover my feet. A little noisy, but effective. And last but not least a syringe. All fitted neatly into a small rucksack.
Avoiding the CCTV cameras that swamped the area, I watched the entrance to the club from the shadows of the railway bridge as the sound of the trains reverberated through the archways.
I had already spied my target entering the club earlier that evening. The excitement made my testicles tighten. Yes, he was truly worthy of my special attentions. This wasn’t the first time I had seen him. I had watched him a couple of weeks earlier, watched him whore himself inside the club with whoever could match his price. I had been searching for the perfect victim, knowing the police would only check CCTV from the night he died or, if they were especially diligent, maybe the week before.
