Time to Die

By Robert A.V. Jacobs

It all started when Larry Dexxman received a letter more than twenty years late. It cast doubt upon the official verdict of accidental death on two employees of a legal company, one of which was Larry’s former wife. Several attempts on Larry’s life, when there is no discernible reason for them, drag him ever further into a web of lies and deceit.
It seems to involve espionage, and is believed to be centred on the law firm of Parkes and Parkes, until links back to a former adversary are found. All of the main suspects are already dead, so his attention is inexorably drawn back to the law firm.
The action moves into one of the many deserted tunnels in London, where a shocking scenario unfolds, leaving Larry and his friends embittered, stunned and confused.
Finally things come to a head, leaving Larry and his friends trapped by two people consumed with the desire to see them dead in the slowest and most painful way possible. Now, the only question that he has left to answer is whether or not now will actually be his ‘time to die’ after all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert A.V. Jacobs
• Release date: Oct 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311830159

Book preview

Children’s fiction, ten years of age and upwards:

Daisy Weal

Daisy Weal and the Monster

Daisy Weal and Sir Charles

Daisy Weal and the Last Crenian

Dauntless

The Adventures of Daisy Weal (Omnibus edition, containing four of the books in the series)

Grandpa’s Shed

Short Stories in the Daisy Weal series

(Only Available as ebooks):

Daisy Weal and the Grelflin

Daisy Weal and the Weenies

Daisy Weal and the Millions

Daisy Weal and the Face

Daisy Weal and the Secret

Daisy Weal and the Disaster

Daisy Weal and the Ghost

Daisy Weal and the Figment

Young Adult and Adult Fiction:

The Lost Starship

The Star Queen

The Yellow Dragon

The Diamond Sword of Tor

Cardoney (Omnibus edition containing both The Yellow Dragon and The Diamond Sword of Tor)

Speaker (A selection of short stories)

Adult Science Fiction:

As a Consequence

Taldi’na

Adult Detective/Murder Mysteries:

Dexxman

The Disappearance of Natalie Firth

A Promise to Doreen

Almost Enough

Non-fiction:

Sudoku, Food for the Mind

Table of Contents

Also by

Author’s Note

Dedication

Previous books in the series

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Why not write a review?

Character List

A Promise to Doreen

About the Author

Author’s Note

This is the third in the series of Larry Dexxman Mysteries, with a bit of urban fantasy mixed in.

The Urban fantasy bit revolves around the fact that unaccountably Larry has dreams alerting him to events that are a potential danger to him.

While it is not essential that you read the two preceding books, some elements of the story refer to events that are described in them. Just in case you haven’t read them, then I have included a short synopsis of each following the dedication.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the memory of my

Brother:

Albert Frederick Clive Jacobs,

who passed away sadly at the age of 62, and missed all of the excitement.

Previous Books in the Series

Dexxman

When the body of the British Home Secretary’s son is found in an alleyway where he had been battered to death, Larry Dexxman, a seventy-five year old private detective is thrown into the middle of a political minefield that could easily cost him his life.

His only protection is Sally, a tiny Shih-tsu/Yorkshire terrier cross, Penny his twenty-four-year-old assistant and his own combat experience gained in the armed forces fifty years ago.

Narrowly surviving several attempts on his life, Larry must try to protect those around him while, at the same time, keeping his promise to the murdered boy’s girlfriend that he would find out who was responsible and see that they are brought to justice.

When the Director General of MI6 is murdered, his daughter Hayley fears for her own safety, and turns to Larry and Penny as the only people that she can trust.

Worried that the situation might be terrorist related, the Home Secretary orders his own daughter, Denise, placed under protection as a precaution, but Larry soon realises that it is not enough, and if he can’t remove her from danger she could easily be next

As Larry probes deeper into the conspiracy, he is placed under police protection himself. But he still must find a way to keep Denise safe, even if he has to kidnap her, without, at the same time, alerting Counter Terrorism Command or his own bodyguard to his plans.

The Disappearance of

Natalie Firth

When all the bodies have been filed away, and the killer of the Home Secretary’s son apprehended, Larry must cope with being inundated with the request for work, having become a household name and a knight of the realm. But then unaccountably he starts having dreams...

Harry, the eight year old son of Malcolm and Natalie Firth, engages Larry Dexxman to find his mother, but he has no idea of the can of worms that he is about to open. Larry is astounded to realise that he knew that Harry would be coming.

His wife Penny, Neil and Denise his two new assistants, and Sally, a tiny shih-tsu/Yorkshire terrier cross, embark on a mission to find her. With the help of MI6 they delve into the murky depths of Malcolm’s life and are astounded and horrified to find that he has links with Vincente Vasquez, a known villain, suspected of drug smuggling and murder.

When Special Branch shows an interest in his case, Larry finds that he has unwittingly become embroiled in an ongoing espionage investigation, which seems to be inexorable linked with Natalie’s disappearance.

Whether Natalie is alive or dead is a moot point, when keeping himself, his friends, and Harry alive, becomes the order of the day.

Chapter One

It’s not very often that you receive a letter as old as the one that I received that morning. The wall clock said that it was eight thirty-five. It was still pretty dark, but that was not unusual for this time of year, and that together with the fact that the postman had actually climbed the stairs, made this delivery unusual. Eight thirty-five was a bit earlier than his normal delivery time which was strange enough, but to climb the stairs when our post box was at the bottom was even stranger. I started to really pay attention when he was met by Neil, and ascertaining that Neil was not me, refused to hand over the letter saying that it could only be delivered into my hands personally, which explained him bypassing the box. He was lucky to find us in the office this early in the morning, as normally we are much more tardy, but we had a lot of paperwork on some wrapped up cases to complete, and had agreed to come in early to get it out of the way.

I walked over without comment, signed the form on his clipboard, and was handed a small package. I waited until he had gone, and then carefully opened it, sincerely hoping that it wouldn’t go bang. Fortunately, it seemed that eight thirty-five was not my time to die after all, and it didn’t. There were two items in the package. The first of which was a note from the Postmaster, which explained that the accompanying letter had been found by a more alert than usual boiler man in amongst some rubbish destined for burning. Apparently he had been gathering up handfuls of old paper for the incinerator when the letter had fallen from his hands. Realising that it was still sealed and stamped, he passed it back to the sorting office with a note asking for clarification.

It seems that it took the post office some time to find out where I had moved to, but as soon as they did, the letter was passed to a postman for personal delivery. Again, I found this pretty strange, when a simple enquiry to the electoral roll would have found me in a couple of minutes. The note concluded with an admission of liability for the delayed delivery, and gave details of their legal team, should I wish to take any action for compensation. Personally I would have preferred a cheque included for any inconvenience that such a late delivery might cause me. But the post office was a mighty organisation and I was only one individual, so I was pretty sure that their defence would be vigorous enough to leave me seriously out of pocket if I went down that route. Fortunately I have a lot more sense than that and decided that it was much wiser to just say thank you and open the damn thing.

The postmark, even though it was indistinct, showed enough to indicate that it had been posted first class just a little over twenty years ago. The letter looked to be intact, with the flap still sealed and apparently undamaged, but it was pretty filthy with some yellowing of the envelope showing through what were, obviously, boot marks.

Curiously I turned the envelope over several times in my hands, unsure of what I should do next. I did think that I recognised the writing on the envelope, but a lot of years had passed since it had been written, and I couldn’t be sure. There was no doubt that it was old, and I let my mind drift back twenty years in an effort to determine who was around at that time, and who it could possibly be from. I know I could have resolved the puzzle instantly by opening it, but I firmly believe that you should always approach unexpected things intellectually before you dive right in.

Penny didn’t say a word, but just watched my every move with interest and growing impatience. I knew that she was trying very hard not to make it obvious, but considering the fact that the office had fallen silent, and all eyes were on me expectantly, she was failing completely.

What? I asked, looking around at the five bemused faces.

Well, a man who looks like a postman, carrying a package, asking for you personally and refusing to give it to us. Then you open it up and finding two letters, read one that looks official, while only playing with the other, explained Neil, should we not be inquisitive?

My name is Larry Dexxman by the way, and at seventy-five, most people would think that I am too old to be a private detective. Most of the time, I enjoy it immensely, but sometimes, when things don’t go as smoothly as they should, then I have to agree with those other opinions. Neil is my second in command, and came to work for me, from being a freelance investigator, when my workload became too much for me to handle. Penny is my wife, and at twenty-five must be completely cracked wanting to be married to a man old enough to be her grandfather. The other three people in the office were Denise, who is the daughter of the Home Secretary and married to Detective Inspector Chuck Allen, Jean who only joined us recently but very soon became Neil’s significant other half, and Margaret French who had been the girlfriend of the deceased son of the Home Secretary.

We made a damn good team, particularly since we had become good friends rather than just work colleagues. I have to admit that their concern for my age, demonstrated by their efforts to keep all the hard work away from me, while welcome at times, is really annoying at others.

Chapter Two

OK, I said, holding up the official letter that I had been reading, This letter is an explanatory letter from the postmaster, specifically relating to the other one which appears to have been sent by first class post over twenty years ago. Due to age, and probably not too careful handling, the date is about the only part of the postmark that is still legible, so we have no idea where it’s from. The parts of the original address that are still visible are handwritten, in a style that looks feminine and vaguely familiar, though for the life of me I have no idea why it should be.

Not a particularly good advertisement for the Royal Mail’s first class delivery service then is it? observed Margaret.

Oh, I don’t know, added Jean, at least it arrived…eventually.

Personally, interrupted Penny, to the point as usual, I shall take a baseball bat to your head, Larry Dexxman, if you don’t open the damn thing.

Err right… OK then, I said.

Penny calling me by my full name was a warning that I couldn’t ignore, so I reached for the commando knife that I had used as a letter opener ever since an army friend had given it to me in exchange for some RAF badges about fifty years ago. Inserting the tip of the knife under the flap, I sliced the envelope open, and removed a single folded sheet of paper from inside it. As I unfolded the paper, a photograph fell out.

I picked up the photograph, and looked at the three people that were in the picture. One was a woman in her late forties/early fifties, and standing next to her was another woman in her late twenties, holding the hand of a young child of about five. I immediately recognised the oldest woman as being my ex-wife and the child as being my daughter. But then I realised that it was not possible, given the age of the letter. It had to be that she was Sally, my granddaughter, standing next to her mother, my daughter, who I hadn’t seen since she was four.

A few months ago, in a moment of nostalgia, but being too busy with a case to do it myself, I had asked Neil to see if he could find out what had happened to them in the years following my divorce. From what he had told me, I knew that Sally had been sent to private school when she was seven, after she had been orphaned. From that, I was able to calculate that the picture must have been taken only about eighteen months to two years, before her parents and grandmother were killed in a car accident.

My expression must have said it all. I was stunned. Why would my ex-wife have written me a letter seven or eight years after we had divorced? And having said that, why would she have included