A man is charged with murder but the jury believes his story.

Accidental Death

The Foreman of the jury’s voice echoed round the courtroom as Steve sat down in the dock with a sigh of relief.  Accidental death.  They’d believed him.  He was a free man again.

Not that he’d really had any doubts about the verdict.  He felt the police should never have called for a prosecution in the first place.  It was only that officious Inspector sniffing about who’d got it in to his head that things weren’t quite as they seemed.  He’d taken Steve in for questioning and finally managed to persuade his superiors that it would be worth going to Court, but Steve knew he’d got no real evidence and, anyway, he’d got a cast iron alibi.  He’d made sure of that.

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Wealthy guests are staying at a hotel before attending a wedding. There have been several burglaries in the area and the receptionist has been asked to make sure everywhere is secure. Should she really be letting the old lady, taking shelter from the rain,  stay in the spare staff room?

An Inside Job

‘Bye, Sam.  See you later.’  Mitzi Palmer watched the under-gardener as he disappeared through the swing doors of the hotel and thought how dishy he was.  She reluctantly turned back to the elderly lady waiting at the reception desk and tried to keep her mind on her job.  She’d only been working at the hotel for a few weeks and was still learning the ropes.

‘I’m sorry, we don’t have any vacancies,’ she said.  ‘We’ve got a big wedding here tomorrow and this weekend has been booked for ages.  Have you tried the other hotels?’

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A girl who is having an affair with her boss is waiting for him to arrive for an illicit weekend, but all is not what it seems!

Dummy Run

Carol eased the little car through the twists and turns of the narrow road, her excitement growing each time she caught a glimpse of the sea.  When she’d first mentioned the cottage to James she’d been thrilled by his positive reaction.

‘See if you can get it for a long weekend,’ he’d said, the corner of his mouth curving into the familiar smile that always made her pulse race.  ‘We can spend a few days together.’

Looking through his desk diary, he’d said: ‘The weekend of the 9th would be good for me.  I’ll tell Angela I’m going to a conference.’

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A recently widowed woman and her small daughter are staying in a boathouse when she learns that the man who killed her husband has escaped.

Keeping in Touch

‘Ooh, look, Mummy!  Someone’s made a fire.’  Eight year old Flora raced ahead and had begun to push at the charred pile of sticks with her shoe when Ellie caught up with her.  They were walking through the woods on their way back to the converted boathouse and Ellie felt a flicker of unease as she looked at the debris surrounding the fire.  Empty beer bottles and food cans had been thrown under the bushes and a makeshift shelter of branches and bracken fronds leant against the stone wall.  Ellie was sure it hadn’t been there yesterday.

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Jessica is looking after her father’s beach café and trying to forget the death of a boyfriend.

Losing the Past

By mid morning the beach has begun to fill up.  I open up the shutters on the front of the café and set out the tables and chairs.  Far off, at the other end of the beach, a solitary figure saunters along the shoreline, sunlight glinting on his blond hair.  I stretch my arms above my head and watch for a while before he disappears round the edge of the rocks.  Then I go inside and switch on the urn before the rush starts.

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A known diamond smuggler is interviewed by the police after a robbery. He is confident he’ll get away with it.

On the Rocks

Tony Morelli had a problem.  Where could he hide a million pounds’ worth of top-quality uncut diamonds before the police arrived?

Tony knew that Chief Inspector Cranshaw always came to him first whenever there was a big robbery.  It was one of the penalties of being a known jewel thief and, over the years, he’d learnt to live with the regular police visits.  In a way he rather enjoyed them.  The Chief Inspector was an old adversary and was fanatical in his desire to see Tony behind bars.

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A woman has hired a killer to kill her husband – but things go horribly wrong

The Best Laid Plans

The man lying on the side of the hill moved to a more comfortable position.  He looked at his watch.  Three o’clock.  He’d been up here for almost two hours.  Not that he minded waiting.  It was part of his job and he was being well paid for it.  On the phone the woman had said:  ‘He’ll be back around three-thirty.  He’ll drive the Land Rover to the front of the house, walk round the side, cross the yard and go in by the back door.’

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