In The Stars Part I, Episode 3: Pisces

By Debbie McGowan

Sean’s all primed for a murder mystery, but are his intentions all they seem?
A chance meeting in a milk bar sparks a brand new friendship;
Josh finally comes of age and is eager to explore his newfound identity.

* * * * *

‘Pisces’ is the third episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

In The Stars explores the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now it their late thirties—following them through celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions.

Each episode covers the period of time indicated by the zodiac sign from which it takes its title.

The full novels of In The Stars Part I: Capricorn–Gemini and In The Stars Part II: Cancer–Sagittarius are also available for purchase (paperback/ebook).

In The Stars Part I is season four in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series.

The story follows chronologically from The Harder They Fall (Season Three), Crying in the Rain (Novel) and First Christmas (Novella). It continues in Breaking Waves (Novella) and In The Stars Part II (Season Five).

* * * * *

What readers say about the Hiding Behind The Couch Series:

“The remarkable characterisation in these novels is what makes them for me.”

“This story reminds me of my favorite movies about friendship and relationships.”

“Few authors have explored the depths of longtime friends within a group, or ‘circle’ the way Debbie McGowan has!”

“I have a love-hate relationship with Debbie McGowan’s Hiding Behind the Couch Series. I love to read them, I HATE it when they’re over.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
• Release date: Feb 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781909192638

Debbie McGowan

Debbie McGowan is an award-winning author of contemporary fiction that celebrates life, love and relationships in all their diversity. Since the publication in 2004 of her debut novel, Champagne—based on a stage show co-written and co-produced with her husband—she has published many further works—novels, short stories and novellas—including two ongoing series: Hiding Behind The Couch (a literary ‘soap opera’ centring on the lives of nine long-term friends) and Checking Him Out (LGBTQ romance). Debbie has been a finalist in both the Rainbow Awards and the Bisexual Book Awards, and in 2016, she won the Lambda Literary Award (Lammy) for her novel, When Skies Have Fallen: a British historical romance spanning twenty-three years, from the end of WWII to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Through her independent publishing company, Debbie gives voices to other authors whose work would be deemed unprofitable by mainstream publishing houses.

Book preview

In The Stars Part I, Episode 3: Pisces

Hiding Behind The Couch

Season Four

by

Debbie McGowan

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

Copyright 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 Debbie McGowan at Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/debbiemcgowan

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Cover Design by Debbie McGowan

Licensed stock images: usage is not indicative

of the models’ identity, activities or preferences.

Zodiac Illustrations by Emma Pickering

http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

* * * * *

This novel is a work of fiction and the characters and events in it exist only in its pages and in the author’s imagination.

* * * * *

Sean’s all primed for a murder mystery, but are his intentions all they seem?

A chance meeting in a milk bar sparks a brand new friendship;

Josh finally comes of age and is eager to explore his newfound identity.

* * * * *

‘Pisces’ is the third episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

In The Stars Part I is Season Four in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series. This book is also available as six separate episodes.

The story follows chronologically from The Harder They Fall (Season Three), Crying in the Rain (Novel) and First Christmas (Novella). It continues in Breaking Waves (Novella) and In The Stars Part II (Season Five).

For those readers unfamiliar with the series, In The Stars re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

* * * * *

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my wonderful proofreaders, Tracy and Andrea, for your persistence in / insistence on finding and then laughing at my dreadful mistakes, not to mention your extraordinary expertise in all matters, but in particular, those of bingo and health care! The Circle thank you, too!

***

‘Love Hearts’ used with kind permission:

Swizzels Matlow Ltd.

www.lovehearts.com

Excerpts from:

‘The Signs’, by Henry Van Dyke

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Poems of Henry Van Dyke.

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.

Reproduced under the terms of the

Project Gutenberg Licence.

www.gutenberg.org

‘Footprints In Your Heart’, by Eleanor Roosevelt;

also attributed as

‘Today is a Gift’, by Laszlo Kotro-Kosztandi.

Further bibliographic information unavailable.

* * * * *

Dedication

For my friends on the flat roof:

we steered a wayward ship,

lost and found God, glimpsed Satan,

didn’t learn a lot of Latin.

And for Powelly, rider on the storm.

Elf people, though, dude. Seriously?

* * * * *

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Whodunnit Part One: Monday 20th February

Milk Bar: Monday 27th February

Redemption: Wednesday 1st March

Clair Voyant: Saturday 4th March

The Kiss: Wednesday 8th March

The Check: Thursday 9th March

Clairvoyant: Wednesday 15th March

Demons: Friday 17th–Tuesday 21st March

The Story Continues

About the Author

By the Author

Beaten Track Publishing

* * * * *

In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen.

William S. Burroughs

* * * * *

Pisces

Last of the sacred signs, you bring to me

A word of hope, a word of mystery—

We all are swimmers in God’s mighty sea.

Whodunnit Part One

Monday 20th February

The woman who brought in the trolley smiled and left; Sean acknowledged her with a polite nod. He’d asked for coffee and tea, thus, there were two mini-urns, paper cups, and a basket filled with clear plastic packets, each containing three digestive biscuits. Not bad, really. The hospital were usually a little less forthcoming, but this was the only place with a room large enough for a ‘case conference’, which was what he’d booked it in as. It was a case conference—of sorts—albeit a very small one, but still too big for his office, here or at the university, and also not strictly hospital business. Now to wait for everyone to arrive; he checked the time: still another fifteen minutes to go, which meant—

Afternoon, Josh greeted him, already with eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Josh, Sean nodded. Thanks for coming. They shook hands, and Sean indicated a seat at the top end of the conference table.

What’s this about? Josh asked. He sat down and checked his phone.

A case of wrongful imprisonment.

Of whom?

I’ll explain when everyone else gets here.

Josh got up to pour himself a coffee. He returned to his seat with his paper cup and took a sip.

Ugh, that is revolting. He put the cup down and peered into it with a grimace.

Yeah, it’s pretty bloody awful stuff they serve in here. Pity the patients, I do, having to endure that muck.

Think I might swap it for tea, Josh suggested.

I wouldn’t go to the trouble, if I were you.

Josh instead took out his tablet, turned it on and opened a game.

You’re restless today, Sean observed.

Hmm? Not really. I just hate this place. He closed the game and put his tablet down on the table, to prove the point. There was a knock at the door; one of the nurses poked her head into the room.

Doctor Tierney? Are you expecting someone called Hadyn O’Farrell?

Yes, Kate. Is he here?

She disappeared from view. Voices were heard outside, and then Hadyn came in. He smiled at Sean and held out a latex-gloved hand.

Hi, Doctor Tierney, he said. Sean shook the offered hand.

Hello, Hadyn. You’re looking well. Thanks ever so much for coming along today.

Oh, it’s OK. I’ve got to be at work in an hour and a half.

We’ll be finished long before then, don’t you worry. This is my colleague, Josh Sandison, Sean introduced.

Josh stood and shook Hadyn’s hand. Hi, he said. There wasn’t much else he could say, because to do so would be to betray George’s confidence. Instead, he prepared himself for acting out the novelty of their meeting. He was fairly certain that he wouldn’t have reacted to the gloves, even if he hadn’t known the reason for them in advance, so he continued the charade of ignoring them.

Hadyn retracted his hand. OCD, he explained.

Josh mouthed an ‘oh’.

Hadyn went around to the other side of the table and perched himself on the very edge of the seat, trying not to fidget.

How’s it been going? Sean asked to keep him distracted, even though he’d seen him only a few hours ago.

Very well. Hadyn nodded.

They set off on a conversation that Josh found extremely uninteresting. He picked up his tablet again and reloaded the game. He was curious about why Sean had invited him, but there was no point in asking, because he was evidently playing the suspense card.

So, who else are we waiting on? Josh tried as a subtle probe in the next pause in Sean and Hadyn’s dialogue.

Just a couple of prior employees of Campion Holdings PLC, and a GP.

Josh nodded without looking up from his game. The door opened again. Josh still didn’t look up.

Ah, Doctor Brown. Glad you could make it, Sean greeted the newest arrival. This is—

Josh?

Josh paused with his finger on the screen. Ellie? What the hell?

Doctor Brown, please help yourself to tea or coffee. It’s not great, I’m afraid, but it’s the best I can do.

I’m all right, thanks, Doctor Tierney. She sat down next to Josh and took a water bottle from her bag, along with a notepad and pen.

This is Hadyn O’Farrell, Sean said. Eleanor smiled at the young man sitting three seats to her left.

Hello, he muttered awkwardly.

We’re waiting on Bill Meyer, your husband and Alice Friar now, Sean explained—to Eleanor. Josh glared at him. Everything all right?

"Fine. Everything’s