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<\/p>\nI’m thrilled to have Val Penny back with the second book in her re-branded DI Hunter Wilson series, Murder in Gilmerton.<\/p>\n
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Linda\u00a0<\/span>has found<\/span>\u00a0the body of the victim in his porch when she tried to deliver a book. DI Hunter Wilson and DC Tim Myerscough examine the scene and discover the corpse is the body of their friend George Reinbold.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>DI Hunter Wilson and DC Tim Myerscough pulled up just behind the ambulance. Hunter liked spring: he could almost smell the world waking up. The freshness of the air encouraged crocuses and daffodils to decorate flower beds, and buds of leaves to appear on trees. Edinburgh had a beauty in every season, but he found his city especially lovely in springtime. However, today was not one of those fine, balmy spring days. It was bright enough, but sharp and cold. Hunter did not like chilly days like today as much as the warmer days he hoped April would bring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He and Tim got out of the car. The detective constable dwarfed Hunter by an easy five inches, but as Hunter stood and took in the scene with a serious face and intelligent piercing blue eyes, it was clear that he was the man in charge. Hunter quickly identified the girl sitting on the wet grass as the source of a loud and blood-curdling racket that offended his ears. He looked from the girl to Tim and back again.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou deal with her, young Myerscough. It\u2019s far too early for me to be coping with weeping women. Try to get some sense out of her, and get her to be quiet, will you? I can\u2019t think with that noise going on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sir.\u201d Tim took two strides and crouched down beside the young woman. \u201cHello, I\u2019m DC Tim Myerscough. What\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLinda.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLinda?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLinda Maguire.\u201d She stopped crying but was still sobbing hard.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo, Linda, it was you who found the body, was it?\u201d Tim asked.<\/span><\/p>\n She looked at him as if she thought he was crazy. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t get this upset just because there\u2019s nobody home. I don\u2019t get paid enough for this. It\u2019s awful. Have you seen it? Don\u2019t look. The place is all blood and brains. The back of his head\u2019s gone. I can\u2019t un-see that, you know.\u201d Linda started weeping again as Hunter shouted.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTim! Tim! DC Myerscough. Here. Now.\u201d Hunter\u2019s face was grey. \u201cTim, you won\u2019t believe who the victim is. It\u2019s George Reinbold, shot in the head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat? Oh No! Not our George Reinbold? Head of the Crime Scene Investigations?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot any more he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo, it can\u2019t be. It must be a mistake, he\u2019s just an old man. Who would want to kill him?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t take my word for it. Feel free to look but hold on to your breakfast.\u201d Hunter watched as Tim went over and stuck his head around the door and withdrew it quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n Linda was right, you can\u2019t un-see that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBoss, that\u2019s been close range. Tiny hole in the forehead, but they\u2019ve blown the back of his skull right off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHmm. Bloody awful. It\u2019s got to be a professional job. But the murderer would surely be hit by some spray from the blood.\u201d Hunter grimaced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely. This is surely a case of mistaken identity? Nobody would want to hurt George?\u201d Tim\u2019s questions asked for the reassurance that Hunter could not give.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll need to find out what he\u2019s been working on recently. It could be a targeted attack. And I certainly don\u2019t want our CSIs working on this; it would be too traumatic. I\u2019ll call Glasgow and get them to send a team over. PC Angus McKenzie can stay at the door to restrict access while I get DS Jane Renwick to gather a team to organise door-to-door enquiries. One thing is for sure, somebody saw something or heard the gun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d Tim paused \u201cWill Doctor Sharma be able to do the post-mortem?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI doubt she would allow anybody else that honour, but it won\u2019t be easy for her. She liked George and respected him greatly. You stay here and take the witness statement from that girl. When Meera Sharma and the CSIs are finished, I want you and me into that flat as soon as possible to find out everything we can about George and why he was murdered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tim turned back to Linda and walked slowly across the grass. He saw the young delivery woman was now dry-heaving as hard as she was weeping. It must have been a terrible shock for her. He took out his notebook in a vain effort to try to divert her attention. He smiled at her as she lifted her head. His smile seemed to work as a better diversion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He was aware of her looking up at him. He watched as she swept her hair behind her ear, glanced into his eyes and she allowed her glance to rove from his eyes to his hair, smile and shoulders. For some reason he became self-conscious about his broken nose. This was silly. He blushed and realised that she had stopped sobbing.<\/span><\/p>\n Tim looked at her more closely. Under all the thick layer of make-up and dribbles of snot, she was pretty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He took down her personal details and then they discussed how Linda\u2019s morning had been going before her shocking discovery.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you delivering to Mr Reinbold?\u201d Tim asked.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA book. The label just says a book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut it also says it\u2019s insured for \u00a325,000. That\u2019s some book,\u201d Tim said, looking at Linda\u2019s delivery list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t notice that. It’s an awful lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tim looked around for help and caught sight of DS Jane Renwick, who had joined Hunter talking to the paramedics. Tim wondered how Jane always looked so elegant, as though she had just walked off a magazine cover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSarge? Sarge, can you help with this?\u201d Tim called to Jane.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s up, Tim?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLinda here has on her manifest that the parcel Mr Reinbold was expecting was a book, but I\u2019ve noticed it\u2019s insured for \u00a325,000. That seems a great deal for a book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt certainly does. Do we know where the parcel is?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Linda pulled it out from underneath her. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to do. I didn\u2019t want to sit on the grass. It’s wet,\u201d she said by way of explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n Jane looked at the girl and sighed. Then she held out her hand and, in the presence of Linda and Tim, opened the parcel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is indeed a book. A signed first edition of A.A. Milne\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Winnie the Pooh<\/span>. My goodness. It\u2019s amazing! Include this in the statement, Tim, and give Linda a note to say that we now hold the book. I\u2019ll take it back to the station. We\u2019ll need to get a proper valuation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWow! All that for a kiddies\u2019 book.\u201d Linda finished her statement and agreed to come down to the station to sign a typed copy whenever Tim phoned her to tell her it was ready. He caught her allowing herself one more gaze into his eyes before they stood up. Tim was over a foot taller than her diminutive five foot two inches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThank you for all your help today, Linda,\u201d Tim said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s all right, but I suppose I better get on with my deliveries. I\u2019m ever so late. It would be me who found the bloody body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’m thrilled to have Val Penny back with the second book in her re-branded DI Hunter Wilson series, Murder in Gilmerton. Blurb Exerpt Linda\u00a0has found\u00a0the body of the victim in his porch when she tried to deliver a book. DI Hunter Wilson and DC Tim Myerscough examine the scene and discover the corpse is the … Continue reading Murder in Gilmerton by Val Penny #MURDERINGILMERTON<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c2b520c-6ac7-4050-bc05-dca50bf6495e.jpg\")
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