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  Klatzky gripped Lambert’s wrists, his hands sweaty. ‘But Billy hardly knew Mad Terry, what’s this to do with anything?’

  Lambert unpeeled Klatzky’s fingers, and, grimacing, wiped the sweat off onto the plastic table covering. ‘It could mean anything or nothing,’ he said, softening his voice. ‘Maybe the killer thought Haydon knew something about him.’

  ‘After all this time?’

  ‘It’s a possibility. Perhaps Haydon contacted the authorities. There’s no way for me to know until I look into it in more detail.’

  ‘What if the killer’s coming after everyone involved in Billy’s killing? Everyone who knew him?’

  ‘Don’t be dramatic, you need to snap out of this. If he’s going to kill someone once every eighteen years there’s a good chance that we’re all going to be safe. Listen, I need to go. I’m not sure how long I’ll be but I’ll call you when I’m finished. Try to get some rest somewhere.’

  ‘Where do you suggest?’ asked Klatzky.

  ‘I don’t know. Find a sofa. But stay away from the bars.’

  ‘Any other orders?’

  ‘No.’

  Lambert reached the coffee shop thirty minutes early. Like London, Bristol basked in the heat of the Indian summer. A number of people sat outside the glass-fronted café. One of the crowd, a woman with shoulder-length black hair, stood up as Lambert walked towards the entrance. ‘Mr Lambert?’ she said.

  Lambert turned to face the woman. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’m DI May. Sarah.’

  ‘How did you know who I was?’

  ‘Forgive me,’ said May, not once taking her gaze away from him. ‘Can I get you a coffee and perhaps we can go inside and talk.’

  ‘Decaf, thanks,’ said Lambert.

  A blast of cold air hit Lambert as he entered the high-ceilinged coffee shop, at first refreshing then uncomfortable. DI May directed him to a small booth with high wooden benches. She returned with two drinks and smiled as she sat down opposite him. Her large brown eyes shone bright, full of confidence and intelligence. She wasn’t wearing make-up and Lambert wondered if her looks were a benefit or hindrance in her professional life. From his experience, he imagined it was probably a bit of both.

  ‘So tell me DI May…’

  ‘Sarah, please,’ said the woman with a soft, yet firm voice.

  ‘Sarah. Tell me what you found out about me?’

  DI May leant forward in her chair, her gaze remained steady, never once leaving Lambert’s eyes. Most people would have found her glare unnerving, would have felt obliged to look away, but Lambert matched her look. She spoke with a sly amusement. ‘Well, first of all, possibly most importantly, I know you’re a friend of the last Souljacker victim, Billy Nolan. In fact, Mr Lambert …’

  ‘Please, Michael.’

  May squinted her eyes. ‘Michael. You were initially a suspect.’

  Lambert crossed his arms, deciding not to answer.

  ‘Of course, you were one of many potential suspects and were cleared very early on in the case.’

  Lambert’s eyes widened, prompting the DI to continue.

  ‘After graduation you were accepted into the accelerated programme, where you excelled.’ She nodded in admiration, and let out a small laugh. ‘You moved up the ranks and reached DCI.’

  Impressed by her research, Lambert didn’t interrupt.

  ‘And then the mystery.’

  ‘The mystery?’

  ‘Yes, six years ago your work becomes classified. I received a phone call from a Chief Super this morning for trying to access the details.’

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘Tillman.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘So can you fill in those blanks for me, Michael?’

  ‘Afraid not. As the file says, classified.’ Lambert hadn’t given much thought to his personnel file before though it was obvious that his work with Tillman was classified. The blanks coincided from when he’d joined The Group. He made a mental note to access it later on The System. Although government sanctioned, in many ways the organisation was a law unto themselves. Their remit had been to investigate politically sensitive cases, and as such the need to avoid public scrutiny. It had been a tough transition for Lambert moving from normal CID to The Group. He’d found out early on that it was a balancing act. They’d worked out of the same offices as other task forces, and were supposedly subject to the same governing rules, but at times Lambert had been given leeway he’d never experienced before. The small team had been issued firearms and had received military intelligence-level training. Lambert had known it was somewhat of an experiment, and from his meeting yesterday Tillman wasn’t about to tell him if things had changed.

  ‘But apart from that, you’ve done very well, Sarah.’

  She shot him a glance, but he could tell she knew he was teasing her. ‘So what can you tell me, Michael?’

  Lambert didn’t want to be too pushy at the outset. ‘I’ve been doing a little reading on the case,’ he said.

  ‘Naturally,’ said May.

  ‘I was particularly interested in the victim, Terrence Vernon.’ He studied May for a response. If she was surprised she didn’t show it.

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘I was wondering how much you knew about him.’

  ‘How much information do you have on the case?’

  ‘As I said, I’ve read some notes.’

  ‘I understood you are not active at the moment. I read something on your file about an absence of leave?’ said May. The words were matter of fact, contained no hostility.

  ‘Something like that. I take it you’ve made the same connection I’d had about Mr Vernon.’

  ‘You’re talking about Mr Vernon’s other name?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘It was his mother who let it slip. I spent some time with her. She told me about her divorce and how Terrence had changed his name back from Haydon to Vernon after leaving University. From there, we made the link with Billy Nolan. They were at University together. He lived one floor above Billy Nolan.’ She paused. ‘One floor above you.’

  Lambert paused, assessing the underlying words. ‘I needn’t have bothered you, then,’ he said.

  ‘You’re not bothering me. So tell me what else you know.’

  ‘Not much more than that,’ replied Lambert.

  May’s face contorted into a half smile, half frown. ‘Oh come on, we’re not going to play those games are we?’

  Lambert shrugged. ‘From what I can see it’s highly probably that it’s the same killer,’ he said, checking no one was eavesdropping.

  ‘Of course, you saw the original body. Your friend Nolan.’

  Lambert thought back to the day when they’d kicked down Billy Nolan’s door. Nolan’s corpse with its bloodied sockets, lying naked on the bed. The smell, a terrifying mixture of death and decay, not fully masked by the overpowering perfume of the incense. Klatzky had been right. That smell was part of Lambert too. He could taste it now at the back of his throat. He took a large swig of his coffee mirroring Klatzky’s earlier actions. Once he’d composed himself he said, ‘The carving is the same. Identical. And the eyes. He was alive when they were removed?’ he asked, knowing the answer.

  May pursed her lips. ‘They haven’t been recovered. Like the others. Were Nolan and Haydon friends at University?’

  ‘No. We all knew Terrence but he wasn’t what we’d call a friend.’

  And what was he like as a person?’ May raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. A practised gesture which had no doubt obtained many a confession from helpless suspects.

  ‘I’m sure you know all this but he was bit of a strange one.’

  ‘Mad Terry,’ said May, surprising him once more.

  ‘Mad Terry. He was a nice enough guy, though. Intelligent. I assume he was hardworking because he was always at lectures. Never slept in. Hardly went out.’

  ‘Any enemies?’

  ‘No. People talked about him behind his back ob
viously, me included I’m afraid. He wasn’t a threat to anyone and no one had any grievance with him.’

  ‘No altercations with Nolan?’

  ‘Not as far as I’m aware. I would say it is highly unlikely.’

  May ordered another coffee from the counter. Lambert asked for a glass of water, his bloodstream thick with caffeine. When she returned he tried to take the initiative. ‘So what are you working on at the moment?’ he asked.

  ‘Normal procedures. We’re looking into Haydon’s church. As before, there was incense at the crime scene so we’ve contacted local churches to see if any amounts have gone missing. But the problem with these guys is that they just don’t have strong stock control.’ She raised her eyebrows again, a completely different look to before. The gesture softened her face and made Lambert feel like she was being companionable.

  ‘We’re crosschecking the other murders too but the connection between this murder and Billy Nolan’s is our main focus at present. In fact if you hadn’t found me there was a good chance that I’d have had to find you.’

  ‘How can I help now?’ asked Lambert.

  ‘Maybe you could stick around for a bit. I could do with some insight on the Nolan murders, if that wouldn’t affect you too much? Obviously I would prefer it if you didn’t conduct your own investigation.’ Her eyes narrowed, Lambert understanding the warning. She hesitated for a beat, the first sign of indecisiveness he’d seen. ‘Perhaps we could meet for dinner this evening?’ she said.

  ‘Sure,’ said Lambert, a little quicker than he would have liked.

  DI May stood up to leave. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you,’ she said, shaking his hand.

  ‘I’ll see you this evening,’ said Lambert. He relaxed as he watched May cross the floor of the coffee shop. The encounter had surprised him. May was more open than he’d expected, and he imagined how easy it would be to work with her.

  As he was about to look away, May stopped and turned. ‘Oh, Michael. Please feel free to bring along Mr Klatzky this evening as well if you wish.’

  You can read the rest of Dead Eyed by downloading it here: Dead Eyed

  DEAD EYED

  DCI Lambert book 1

  Gritty, complex and effortlessly chilling, Brolly’s Dead Eyed is a grisly crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

  DCI Michael Lambert thought he’d closed his last case…

  Yet when he’s passed a file detailing a particularly gruesome murder, Michael knows that this is no ordinary killer at work.

  The removal of the victim’s eyes and the Latin inscription carved into the chest is the chilling calling-card of the ‘soul jacker’: a cold-blooded murderer who struck close to Michael once before, twenty-five years ago.

  Now the long-buried case is being re-opened, and Michael is determined to use his inside knowledge to finally bring the killer to justice. But as the body count rises, Michael realises that his own links to the victims could mean that he is next on the killer’s list…

  The gripping first novel in a thrilling new crime series by Matt Brolly. Perfect for fans of Tony Parsons, Lee Child and Angela Marsons.

  DEAD LUCKY

  DCI Lambert book 2

  A fast-paced crime-thriller, full of chilling twists, turns and grisly surprises, Matt Brolly’s Dead Lucky will have you gripped from beginning to end!

  DCI Michael Lambert is back…

  When a woman is murdered, the twisted killer forcing her husband to watch her slow and painful death, DCI Michael Lambert knows that his next case might be his toughest yet.

  And when a second set of killings are discovered, with exactly the same MO, the race is on the find the lethal sociopath before he strikes again.

  But Lambert never expected to receive an anonymous call from the killer. This time, it’s personal: if Lambert doesn’t find the murderer soon, his own loved ones will be next…

  DEAD EMBERS

  DCI Lambert book 3

  An explosive fire. A double murder. And that’s just the start

  When DCI Michael Lambert is called out to an apparent house fire, he knows it can’t be routine. Instead he finds the remains of a burnt house, a traumatised child and two corpses - one of whom is a senior police officer.

  Lambert’s got other problems. Anti-corruption are onto his boss. His relationships is on the rocks. He can’t get over his ex-wife and he keeps blacking out.

  But when a detective has been murdered the stakes are too high to get distracted. All is not as it seems. As the investigation continues Lambert realises he is getting drawn into something altogether bigger and more terrifying than he could ever have imagined…

  Trust no one…

  DEAD TIME

  DCI Lambert book 4

  Someone is recreating murders from the past; from DCI Lambert’s past

  A man is found electrocuted in his bath. Accident? Suicide? Apparently not. Attached to the body is a handwritten note; all it says is ‘DCI Lambert’. And something about the case rings a bell…

  Lambert, shaken by past and present, is put on notice when a major prisoner escapes. Is there a connection? And why are MI5 getting involved? Before the investigation is over, Lambert will be pushed to his very limits… And beyond.

  How far would you go for justice? And what would you do to save your family?

  The extraordinary new crime thriller from bestseller Matt Brolly is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Joy Ellis and Angela Marsons.