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Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd - Maria Casey

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170 pages

English

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Finn, a young doctor working in Dublin, is leaving the hospital one night when he is nearly run over by a car. He dismisses it as an accident at first, but a second near miss in Oxford station while visiting his grandfather convinces him that someone is trying to kill him. Finn's attempts to find out who is targeting him leads him down a path to discover the sinister secret that is endangering his life. The truth takes him across The Atlantic to Canada, where he becomes entwined in a world he never could have imagined and tries to find a way to come to terms with the past so that he can have a future.

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Thriller

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
Date de parution	30 novembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781398468405
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0175€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

U nity
Maria Casey
Austin Macauley Publishers
2022-11-30
Unity About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © 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
About the Author
Maria Casey is an author based in South County Dublin, Ireland. Unity is her first novel.
Dedication
To Michael, forever.
Copyright Information ©
Maria Casey 2022
The right of Maria Casey to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781398468399 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781398468405 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published 2022
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd ®
1 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5AA
Chapter 1
It had been raining heavily before Finn’s shift ended. He stood at the door of the hospital, the lights bright behind him while he buttoned his jacket. Turning up his collar, he stepped out into the chilly November night. As he trudged wearily down the steps, all he could think about was a hot shower and a warm bed when he got home to his apartment.
If he caught the next train, he could be there in twenty minutes. The empty road shone silver in the rain as he crossed over to the other side.
There was no warning. Simultaneously, he heard a car engine and felt a violent push as the car sped past him into the night. The hand that had pushed him to safety steadied him and a rough voice said, “Easy there lad, you want to be more careful on a night like this.”
A shaken Finn turned to thank his deliverer. “But I know you,” he blurted in surprise, at the tall, unkempt man in front of him.
His rescuer smiled, showing surprisingly good teeth. “That you do,” he agreed, “you often throw a couple of bob into me cap, Jim’s the name by the way.”
Finn gratefully shook the proffered hand.
“I think you just saved my life,” he said. “But why are you here so late? you haven’t been playing your harmonica until now?”
“Nah,” replied Jim, “I’m on my way home now, I had me supper in town earlier, no one would thank me for playing at this hour let alone throw me a few bob.”
Finn rooted in his pocket for a banknote, which he pressed into Jim’s hand, saying, “Have a pint on me and thanks again, I’d better get my train now, before I do something else foolish. I need a good night’s sleep.”
A strange expression crossed Jim’s face as he pocketed the note.
“Take care of yourself,” he said, gruffly, “and keep yer eyes open.” Then he turned on his heel and disappeared into the night.
Finn walked slowly towards the train station, still shaken by his near miss with the car.
‘The driver never stopped,’ he mused. ‘I wonder did he even see me?’
It was only when he was sitting on the train that the thought occurred to him, ‘The car didn’t have its lights on!’
Turning his key in the lock, Finn stepped into his apartment. The lights were on, which meant his flatmate, Simon, was home. The strong smell of cooking coming from the kitchen had him suddenly feeling hungry. Simon turned, as Finn walked into the room, a spatula in his hand.
“Hi,” he said. “You’re just in time for some stir fry, how was your shift?” Then, noticing the tenseness and pallor in the younger man’s face he added, “everything all right?”
“A bit of an incident on the way home,” Finn answered. “I’ll tell you about it over dinner, I’m just going to dump my coat and wash my hands first.”
When Finn returned a few minutes later, Simon had laid the table.
“Want a drink?” he asked as Finn sat down, filling a glass from the tap for himself in response to a shake of the head.
There was no conversation while the two men tucked into their dinner. Finally Finn put down his fork with an appreciative noise.
“That was good,” he said gratefully.
“Will you have a cup of tea if I’m making it?”
Simon nodded in assent, handing Finn his plate as he stood up from the table. “What happened to you on the way home?” he inquired curiously. “You were as white as a sheet when you came in.”
As Finn made the tea, he related the tale of his near miss. In the warmth of the kitchen, it seemed a distant memory, so when he turned to hand Simon the steaming mug he was surprised by the look of consternation on his friend’s face.
“You’re sure the car had its lights off?” he asked. “And the homeless man pushed you out of the way?”
“Yeah,” answered Finn. “His name is Jim, as I learned tonight. He has his pitch outside the hospital, I pass him every morning, lucky for me he was passing this evening or I’d be another statistic of careless driving.”
“You were lucky tonight,” responded Simon slowly. “Did you notice anything about the car? It was strange it didn’t stop; the driver must have realised he nearly hit you”
Finn shrugged. “He probably realised that his lights were off then and was afraid to stop. It all happened so quickly I didn’t notice anything about the car. It just sped away into the night.”
Simon nodded, although he still looked troubled. The conversation moved on and Finn felt himself relax in the warmth of the room.
He stretched his arms above his head as he said, “I’m off until Monday, so I might go home and see the Mammy for a few days, do you need the car this weekend?”
Simon shook his head, “I’ve no plans,” he answered, “but if you’re going to be gone, I might ask Ruth over.”
Ruth was Simon’s bubbly, dark haired girlfriend. Finn had only met her for the first time last New Year’s Eve and had liked her immediately. The two men shared a car. Well, it was technically Finn’s car, but Simon and he split the running expenses. Neither of them used it for work but it was useful at the weekend and Finn was glad to have it to go and see his mother on the family farm, some forty miles outside Dublin.
“Right,” he responded sleepily. “I’ll be off tomorrow so, I’m going to turn in now. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Thanks for dinner, by the way and tell Ruth I said hello. See you Sunday night.”
Finn was asleep as soon as he laid his head on the pillow. The click of the hall door woke him much later. He listened for a moment, recognising Simon’s footsteps, followed by the sound of his bedroom door closing, then fell back asleep wondering vaguely whether Simon had gone out to see Ruth.
Thursday morning was cold and damp, but not actually raining, when Finn left the apartment. The short walk to the car was pleasant, with a little watery sunshine breaking through the clouds. The red Nissan was twelve years old but reliable nonetheless. Finn intended to change it as soon as he had paid back the last of his student loans, but it was good enough for the time being.
The drive to County Meath took just under an hour, the pale wintry sunshine lending some cheer to the barren fields as Finn turned off the motorway and headed home. Even though he had been living in the city for the last twelve years, he was still a country man at heart and enjoyed being out of Dublin. Soon, he was turning up the lane which led to his home and pulling up in front of the old two-story farmhouse, where he had lived since he was five, until he went away to college at eighteen.
His mother must have heard his car turning on the gravel because she came around from the back of the house with her arms outstretched.
He returned her hug with affection.
“Welcome home, love,” she said, emerging a trifle breathless from his embrace. “’Tis great to see you, how long can you stay?”
“Until Sunday,” Finn answered her. “I have to be back in the hospital on Monday morning, so I thought I’d make the most of my time off and come home. How are things with you?”
He pushed open the back door, following his mother into the warm farmhouse kitchen.
Dropping his rucksack to the ground, he pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat at the table while his mother put on the kettle.
“Paddy will be in for his lunch in half an hour, can you wait or will I do you something now? ’Tis no trouble.”
“Just a cup of tea will be grand for now, Mam,” responded Finn with a smile. “It is good to be back. Where’s Buster?” he asked, looking round for the collie.
“He’s off with your Uncle Paddy,” his mother answered, placing a mug of tea and a plate of biscuits in front of him. “He’s getting too old to be out all day in all weathers, so he sits by the fire after lunch.”
“Do you mean Paddy or the dog?” said Finn with a grin, dodging a swipe of her tea towel.
Finn sat in the cosy kitchen, nursing a warm mug of tea as his mother bustled around preparing lunch.
“I’ve a few days off at the start of next month, so I thought I’d go over to England and see Grandad,” he told her. “I haven’t been over since the summer.”
“And I haven’t seen him for two years,” his mother replied, a trifle guiltily. “Tell Barney I said hello and I’ll try to get over this summer. I am fond of him you know,” she continued. “But I find it hard to visit him, I feel bad for him though, he’s lost his whole family, except for you.”
“I’m fond of him too,” Finn responded. “And not just because he’s the last link with D