Dead and Buried

Начало книги

Thanks go to all the police officers, crime scene examiners, fire investigators and Peak Park rangers who have willingly talked to me about moorland fires and many other subjects. Special thanks to everyone at Chesterfield Police Station for their hospitality, and to (now retired) Chief Superintendent Roger Flint for giving so generously of his time, knowledge and experience. Always appreciated!

From a distance, it looked solid — a black wall lying across his path, dense and impenetrable. But as Aidan Merritt drew closer, he could look into its depths. He was able to watch it coil and seethe as the wind drove it across the heather. It was like a vast sooty snake crawling relentlessly over the moor. But he didn’t need to watch it for long to realise it was an illusion. This thing didn’t crawl. Its speed was frightening.

Further up the hill, Merritt saw more dark spirals, drifting low to the ground. Two, three or maybe more of them, disappearing over the moor. He could smell their acrid stink, feel their heat on his skin, taste the millions of burnt fragments choking the air as they passed.

Читать дальше →