No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2)

This book is dedicated to the
one person who has stood by me through thick and thin throughout my
life, my beautiful Mother, Jean.

I’d also like
to dedicate this book to the wonderful John Dunne, who sadly passed
away just before this book was completed. R.I.P. John. My sincere
condolences go to his loving Mum, Lesley, and my dear friend,
Audrey Gibson. May the special times you shared with John before
his premature departure, dwarf the amount of grief you’re
experiencing at this sad time, ladies.

Special thanks as always go to
my talented editor Stefanie Spangler Buswell and to Karri Klawiter
for her cover design expertise.

My heartfelt thanks go to my
superb beta reader Mary Endersbe, and my wonderful proofreaders,
Joseph Calleja, Tara Lyons, and Irene, for spotting all the
lingering nits. You guys rock.

New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author M A Comley

Published by Jeamel Publishing
limited

Copyright © 2015 M A Comley

Digital Edition, License
Notes

This ebook is licensed for your
personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given
away to other people. If you would like to share this book with
another person, please purchase an additional copy for each
recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or
it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the
site and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard
work of this author.

This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events
or locales is entirely coincidental.

OTHER BOOKS BY

M A COMLEY

Blind Justice

Cruel Justice

Impeding Justice

Final Justice

Foul Justice

Guaranteed Justice

Ultimate Justice

Virtual Justice

Hostile Justice

Tortured Justice

Rough Justice

Dubious Justice

Calculated Justice

Forever Watching You

Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker
thriller)

No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker
thriller)

Evil In Disguise – Based on True
events novel

Deadly Act (Hero series novella)
coming Feb 2015

Torn Apart (Hero Series #1)

End Result (Hero Series #2)

Sole
Intention (Intention
Series
#1)

Grave
Intention (Intention
Series
#2)

Wrong Place (A DI Sally Parker
thriller)

Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins
short story)

It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne
Simpkins short story)

A Time To Heal (A Sweet
Romance)

A Time For Change (A Sweet
Romance)

High Spirits

The Temptation Series (Romantic
Suspense/New Adult Novellas)

Past Temptation (available
now)

Lost Temptation (available
now)

Keep in touch with the author at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mel-Comley/264745836884860

http://melcomley.blogspot.com

http://melcomleyromances.blogspot.com

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Despite the cooler evenings
emerging in Norfolk, the pub where Gemma and her friends were
chilling out had become hot and sticky.

“Listen, I’m going to step
outside for a breath of fresh air. I won’t be long,” she told her
friends.

Audrey eyed her suspiciously
and glanced sideways at the man standing at the bar who’d been
studying her best friend with interest all evening. “Hmm… are you
sure you two haven’t been using telepathy?”

Gemma screwed up her nose in
disgust. “Eww… you’ve got to be winding me up. I’m a married
woman.” She flashed her ring at her friend.

“Like that has stopped you in
the past,” Audrey ribbed her.

Gemma shook her head, tutted,
and picked up her handbag. She knew Audrey was only joking about
her being unfaithful to her husband, Mark, in the past, but it
didn’t stop her wanting to deck her friend for making her out to be
a slapper in front of the rest of the group. Still, that was Audrey
to a
T
. She always spoke first and thought about the
destruction her actions caused later. Gemma made a note to have a
chat with her loose-tongued friend on the way home.
With friends
like you, matey!

After nipping to the toilet,
Gemma ventured outside to the pub’s family area, which thankfully,
was free of screaming kids at this time of night. She sat down on
one of the swings and imagined her five-year-old daughter,
Samantha, climbing the wooden steps to the little house where the
slide began and gliding down to the bottom. She loved that child so
much it hurt at times. A smile settled on her face as she smoked
her cigarette, finally cooling down under the dark star-filled sky
and the subtle evening breeze.

Life was good. At least it
would be this time next week. Her smile broadened at the thought of
what lay ahead of her; she’d made a life-changing decision that
would cause her much elation while disappointing others in her
life. But that was the nitty-gritty of the unenviable scenario
she’d found herself thrust into—it was her life. Losing one of her
friends to breast cancer a few months earlier had made her step
back and re-evaluate her life and the miserable direction it was
heading in. She deserved better. Samantha deserved better. Melinda
had been the strongest person Gemma had ever met in her relatively
short life. The way she’d handled her illness with dignity and
determination right up until her last breath was an inspiration.
Melinda had declined further treatment against the wishes of her
doctors after she decided the pain and discomfort were no longer
worth fighting. She’d slipped away peacefully when the time
presented itself, much earlier than her friends had
anticipated.

Gemma’s eyes misted over as
Melinda’s beautiful face entered her mind. Gemma had no doubt she
would miss her dearly for years to come. That included missing
Melinda’s daily telephone calls, enquiring how her goddaughter was
getting on at her new school. But most of all, she would miss
Melinda’s willingness to listen without ever judging her. Gemma’s
other friends seemed to be incapable of doing that. They all had
their different qualities and faults, but no one would ever come
close to filling Melinda’s patient, wonderfully caring, and astute
shoes.

She jumped when someone sat on
the bench next to her and coughed. Her hand covered her cleavage.
“Gosh, you scared the crap out of me.”

“I’m sorry. You were in a world
of your own there.” The man, who had a gentle face, was neither
handsome nor ugly, just ordinary looking. His blond hair glinted in
the moonlight, creating an ethereal glow around his head.

“I was merely contemplating
life. You tend to do that when you lose someone special, I
guess.”

“That’s sad. A close
relative?”

“No. One of my best friends. We
met at primary school. I actually can’t remember a day when I
didn’t have any contact with her either in person or over the
phone. That’s why it’s so hard.”

“You seem to be enjoying
yourself with your friends inside, though. Or is that just a
smokescreen?”

“I am. Don’t get me wrong—I’m
sad, but I know that life must go on, all the same. Melinda has
left a lasting legacy in the lives she touched during her time on
this earth.” She held out her hand for the man to shake. “I’m
Gemma, by the way.”

He took her hand and shook it
lightly. “Pleased to meet you, Gemma. I’m Taylor Hew.”

“Taylor? That’s an unusual
name.”

He laughed. “Yeah, don’t ever
tell my mother you think that if you ever have the misfortune of
meeting her. She loves it, even if I don’t.”

Gemma sniggered. “Makes you
wonder what our parents were thinking when they named us,
right?”

“Indeed. You seem a wise woman,
Gemma.”

“Crikey, not sure anyone has
ever laid that trait at my door before. Maybe I am getting a little
wiser as I get older. Who knows?”

“What kind of job do you have?”
He raised his hand in front of him. “Tell me to mind my own
business if you want.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m… well,
sort of in between jobs at the moment.”

“That’s a shame. Okay, what
career have you had in the past then?”

“Well, before my daughter was
born, I was a PA to the director of a local business. I had to give
up my job as they couldn’t afford to pay maternity leave and employ
someone to fill my position at the same time.”

“Isn’t that illegal? I mean,
for them to force you out like that?”

“I didn’t really think about it
at the time. They offered me a great package, and I found it hard
to turn down, so grabbed it with both hands. It wasn’t until I’d
had my daughter and wanted to return to work that I realised what a
fool I’d been. Jobs are so much harder to come by now—
good
jobs, that is.”

“I agree. I’m into property
developing—boring, I know, but it pays the mortgage and allows me
to drive around in that thing.” He thumbed over his shoulder
towards a few cars parked in the car park.

Feeling devilish, Gemma
chuckled and widened her eyes. “Wow, I can’t imagine you fitting
into that Mini.”

His head snapped around. “Ha,
ha! I mean the Porsche.”

“Oops, silly me. I’m not really
interested in cars. Mind you, I would say that, driving around in
my old banger. One of these days, I think it’s going to let me down
badly.”

“To be honest, before I got my
hands on that beauty, I felt pretty much the same way as you do
about cars. Funny how one’s perception changes once you have the
funds to alter things.”

Gemma couldn’t have put it
better herself. She had been telling herself the same thing for
months, hoping to find a way of changing her mundane life,
constantly carrying out her daily chores, uttering the words “If
only…”

He clicked his fingers to gain
her attention. “Hello, Gemma. You’ve drifted off again.”

She shook her head and smiled.
“Sorry. Look, it’s been lovely talking to you.” She rubbed her bare
arms. “It’s getting a little nippy out here now, and my friends
will be thinking I’ve deserted them. I better rejoin them. It was
lovely meeting you.” She rose from the bench.

He stood up too and held out
his hand for her to shake. He gripped her dainty hand with both of
his and held on to it longer than was necessary. “It’s been a
pleasure getting to know you, Gemma.”

She blushed, swiftly withdrew
her hand, and hurried inside the pub again. Shivering slightly as
she reached the door, she turned to look over her shoulder to see
the man still watching her.
Idiot! He could have been a serial
killer for all I know. I’m too bloody trusting at times.

“Here she is! I thought you’d
gone home,” Audrey complained when Gemma sat down at the table
surrounded by four of her friends.

“Sorry, I got chatting to
someone and forgot the time. What have I missed?”

Audrey’s eyes widened in
expectation. “Never mind about that. Chatting to whom?” She looked
over at the bar then tapped the side of her nose. “I think I have
an inkling.”

Gemma’s brow furrowed. “You
do?”

Audrey pointed. “There was a
chap standing at the bar. He’s been eyeing you up all evening. I
hadn’t noticed, but he’s gone now. Did he follow you out to the
beer garden?”

“I’m not sure. I was sitting in
the children’s play area, and a man joined me. I can’t say I’d
taken much notice of him before I laid eyes on him outside. He
seemed nice enough.”

“What did you chat about?”
Audrey asked.

“This and that, nothing
special. Although I did get a little maudlin when he caught me
thinking about Melinda, it’s hard not to.”

Audrey reached out and squeezed
her hand. “We’re all missing her, sweetheart. Granted, probably not
as much as you. However, tonight is about celebrating Melinda’s
life and all that she stood for, right?”

The group of girls raised their
glasses and clinked them together over the middle of the table.

“To Melinda. May her soul rest
in peace, and may her spirit live long in our minds and our
hearts,” Gemma said before her throat closed over and her eyes
welled up with tears once more.

Audrey nudged her elbow. “She
wouldn’t appreciate you getting upset, love. Come on, think of all
the happy times we’ve shared over the years.”