The shrill ringing of the phone on the bedside table awoke Mike. He reached sleepily for it and through bleary eyes saw it was Mark Samuels’ number on the screen, and that the time was a little after seven AM. Mike cleared his throat and swiped the screen to answer the call.
“Mark,” he croaked. “What’s up?”
“You were out at Derriford last night, weren’t you?” barked Samuels’ agitated voice down the line. “I thought I asked you to leave it alone, Mike.”
Mike knew this call would be coming, he just hadn’t expected it quite so early. “Mark,” he began but Samuels cut him off.
“She’s dead Mike.”
"What?" Mike sat up in bed, the waking drowsiness gone in an instant, as if someone had just injected a triple espresso into his veins. "How?"
“Bleed on the brain in the night, it was always a ris
