In Cold Blood Adam Croft Copyright © 2021 Adam Croft All rights reserved, but most of them are negotiable for the right price. ISBN 978-1-912599-52-3 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. I’m not sure why you’d want to, but there you go. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. I mean, isn’t that a ridiculous thing to have to say when the series is quite clearly set in a real place? I had to put it, though, because otherwise the lawyers would tell me off. Ridiculous. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental, except where it isn’t. Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd. Elcograf S.p.A., who didn’t even give me a discount for that bit of free advertising. The cheek of it. Contents Get more of my books FREE! More books by Adam Croft Have you listened to the Rutland audiobooks? Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Epilogue Want more? Acknowledgments A special thank you to my patrons Have you listened to the Rutland audiobooks? Adam Croft Get more of my books FREE! To say thank you for buying this book, I’d like to invite you to my exclusive VIP Club, and give you some of my books and short stories for FREE. To join the club, head to adamcroft.net/vip-club and two free books will be sent to you straight away! And the best thing is it won’t cost you a penny — ever. Adam Croft For more information, visit my website: adamcroft.net More books by Adam Croft RUTLAND CRIME SERIES What Lies Beneath On Borrowed Time In Cold BloodKNIGHT & CULVERHOUSE CRIME THRILLERS Too Close for Comfort Guilty as Sin Jack Be Nimble Rough Justice In Too Deep In The Name of the Father With A Vengeance Dead & Buried In Too Deep Snakes & LaddersPSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS Her Last Tomorrow Only The Truth In Her Image Tell Me I’m Wrong The Perfect Lie Closer To YouKEMPSTON HARDWICK MYSTERIES Exit Stage Left The Westerlea House Mystery Death Under the Sun The Thirteenth Room The Wrong Man All titles are available to order from all good book shops. Signed and personalised editions available at adamcroft.net/shop. Foreign language editions of some titles are available in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Korean. These are available online and in book shops in their native countries.EBOOK-ONLY SHORT STORIES Gone The Harder They Fall Love You To Death The Defender To find out more, visit adamcroft.net Have you listened to the Rutland audiobooks? The Rutland crime series is now available in audiobook format, narrated by Leicester-born Andy Nyman (Peaky Blinders, Unforgotten, Star Wars). What Lies Beneath and On Borrowed Time are available from all good audiobook retailers and libraries now, published by W.F. Howes on their QUEST and Clipper imprints. W.F. Howes are one of the world’s largest audiobook publishers and have been based in Leicestershire since their inception. 1 Sean Taylor thrust his hands into his coat pockets, willing them to warm up again. He’d only taken them out for a matter of seconds to help Millie put her scarf back on, but it was baltic. The fields and meadows, usually green, were a whiteish-grey, the morning frost still heavy, crunching underfoot. He pulled his own scarf back over his chin and mouth, feeling his beard slowly defrosting as he did so. Still, he’d promised Ciara and the girls an early morning walk, and that’s exactly what they were getting. He didn’t mind too much, but he doubted he’d have suggested it without Ciara’s nudging. She tried a different health kick every new year, and 2021 wasn’t going to be any different. He was just astounded she’d made it to February this time, and had to admit that frosty walks were preferable to the cabbage soup diet she’d inflicted on them last year. She was convinced the cold weather meant her body had to work harder to keep her warm, and that more blood would be drawn to the muscles, making her heart pump harder and faster, thus helping her lose more weight. Sean wasn’t entirely convinced as to the scientific basis behind that, but it was easier to smile and nod. After all, at least it wasn’t cabbage soup. He watched as Millie and Mia sprinted across the cold, hard ground of Seaton Meadow, wondering where they got their energy from. It took him at least three hours and twice as many cups of coffee to feel even vaguely alert. Still, he and Ciara had both been able to get the half-term week off work, so he supposed he should be thankful for small mercies. ‘I don’t know where they get their energy from,’ Ciara said, as if reading his mind. ‘I know. Certainly isn’t from me.’ The girls looked up at the sound of a train soaring across the enormous Harringworth Viaduct, which intersected the meadow. It was a relatively rare sight, with only three trains passing over the viaduct on a busy day — and sometimes none at all. But it was always worth dragging the family out of bed to catch the sight of the 9.26 from Corby to Oakham soaring over Britain’s longest masonry viaduct, splitting the meadow in half in glorious style. Officially, the area was called Seaton Meadows — two s’s — because of it. Sean had always considered it to be one field, especially as the train line was twenty-odd metres above them and there was absolutely nothing stopping people walking easily between the two
