Almost Enough

By Robert A.V. Jacobs

A phone call in the middle of the night alerted Larry Dexxman to the death of his wife Penny’s friend Stella. It seemed to be a simple mugging, but what should have been a straight forward investigation turns major when the bodies start to pile up.

Initial enquiries reveal that Stella’s past, and her present, were shrouded in mystery, and when the frequent trips that she took before her death lead to the Department of Work and Pensions whose office in London is unaccountably destroyed in an explosion, the puzzle deepens.

The investigation moves to Stella’s last employer, Bytesize Systems Ltd, who were contracted to develop an AI solution for the DWP, but before any progress can be made, the owner is brutally murdered in a hit and run.
Larry, despairing that he will ever get a handle on the puzzle is not as surprised as he should have been when the whole thing is brought to a head by his home being invaded by armed intruders.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert A.V. Jacobs
• Release date: Apr 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370794454

Book preview

Almost Enough

A Larry Dexxman Mystery

Almost Enough

A Larry Dexxman Mystery

By

Robert A.V. Jacobs

Published by

Robert A.V. Jacobs on Smashwords

Almost Enough

Copyright 2017 Robert A.V. Jacobs

Cover Background Image: permission of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Smashwords edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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 book is written in ‘English’ English, so there may be some differences in spelling to other international forms of English.

This book is a work of fiction and all characters are fictitious or are portrayed fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental

This book Contains Adult Material

Also by Robert A.V. Jacobs

Children’s fiction, ten years 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

(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

Speaker (A collection of 29 short stories)

The Yellow Dragon

The Diamond Sword of Tor

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

Adult Science Fiction:

As a Consequence

Taldi’na

Adult Detective/Murder Mysteries:

Dexxman

The Disappearance of Natalie Firth

Time to Die

A Promise to Doreen

Non-fiction:

Sudoku, Food for the Mind

Table of Contents

Author’s Note

A Note for the Bad Guys

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

Why not Write a Review

Character List

Almost Enough

Author’s note

This is my fifth excursion into the world of Larry Dexxman, a 76 year old private detective based in the outskirts of London. As with the other four, there is some urban fantasy woven through the story, in the form of dreams that Larry has foretelling dangerous situations.

I could have used up several chapters reprising the characters that appear in the book, but instead, I urge you to read the previous four volumes. I do give a brief description as each appears, where it is vital to the story, but other than that I leave it to you to learn about them as we progress. Hopefully however you will take my advice and rush out to buy the other four volumes.

A Note to the Bad Guys

Any bad guys reading this book should note that while my portrayal of the law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom is globally correct, the detail may not necessarily be so.

This is a work of fiction, and so are my descriptions of the internal workings of MI6, Special Branch, the Metropolitan Police, and other law enforcement agencies. These are more about how I would like them to be, rather than any basis in fact.

For those bad guys who do not understand the word ‘fiction’, don’t worry, it only means that it’s all made up stuff.

So if you are reading this book to help you in some nefarious project, then you are clean out of luck and I strongly advise against it.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to Sally, my very own Yorkshire Terrier/Shih Tsu cross, who was the inspiration for Larry Dexxman’s devoted companion. She has shown me fourteen years of devoted service, and hopefully will continue to do so for many more to come.

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 perplexed as he realises that though his dreams, 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 horrified to learn that he has links with Vincente Vasquez, a known villain, suspected of drug smuggling and murder.

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

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

Time to Die

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, when Larry and his friends are 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.

A Promise to Doreen

Recovering from a heart attack, Larry is being overprotected by his colleagues, which in itself is providing more stress than he needs, so he decides to take some time out with a visit to Gregory’s café.

A conversation overheard in the café attracts Larry’s attention, and becomes more intriguing when a day later he witnesses the murder of the principle speaker. On the spur of the moment as he kneels beside the dying girl he makes a promise. He promises to find the murderer, whatever it costs. It is a promise that he will find has a much higher price than he would willingly pay.

An imposter in MI6, murder, embezzlement, and terrorism, are just four of the hazards that he has to face, as he struggles with the bizarre, in the form of an almost identical twin to himself.

Several attempts on Larry’s life, when his ‘twin’ is in the vicinity raises the question of whether those attempts are really meant for him, or are they actually meant for the ‘twin’?

When Margaret, Larry’s adopted daughter, fails to return from assignment, Larry fears the worst, and thus begins a race against time to ensure that those fears are not realised.

Chapter One

Stella Keen was half walking, half running along the poorly lit street. She had left work far later than she had intended, but she knew that her boss, well not her real boss, was in a bit of a bind and had willingly stayed behind to help. The contract that he had seemed to be having difficulty in formulating, was the biggest that his personally owned company had ever had a chance to bid for, and Stella knew that it was vital for the company’s continued operation. Not to mention of course the fact that it would mean promotion for her and certainly more money, even if not from this company.

There were some aspects of the contract that concerned her, in particular his seeming reluctance to talk to her about its progress, or about the overall direction that the software was supposed to take. Her current position meant that she really needed to keep on top of it, but the whole thing was too compartmentalised, with over a dozen people each responsible for a small part of the coding. But as she trusted him absolutely, which she accepted was more to do with her sexual desires than actual facts, it was inconceivable that he could be doing anything illegal, so she put her unease down to cynicism or imagination.

She felt as if she was betraying him, which was weird given her purpose here, but in all conscience she needed to get to the bottom of her disquiet. It had taken several days, mostly out-of-hours, but she had managed to gather together most of the various projects. That collated information she had passed on to a friend for safekeeping, until she could find the opportunity to study it in depth.

She hated to admit it, but most of her working hours were spent fantasising about feeling his hands inside her underwear, so it hadn’t taken much for him to persuade her to stay.

Every time he leaned over her to check information that she was collating for him, her heart almost stopped because he was so close. Her shoulders straightened and her breasts pushed against his arm in an involuntary reaction, but she groaned inwardly when he didn’t seem to notice. God how she wished he would rip her dress off and take her there and then across the desk.

But it was not to be, and almost on the verge of tears, with that terrible longing tearing through her body and culminating in that special place that had never felt a man, she was hurrying home.

It was so late that she was virtually alone as she stumbled along, torn between her desires for the man and her eagerness to get home. No taxis, no busses, and not even on a tube line, so there was nothing for it but to walk the one and a half miles to her flat. She kept pausing to listen, but there was no sound of any following footsteps, so she began to feel less nervous as she walked.

She had no chance to avoid the hooded figure, as it stepped from the shadows in front of her, and ran into it quite heavily. A sharp pain in her abdomen made her look down, as the figure withdrew the knife and thrust it in again. She gasped as the agony hit her, and her legs folded, causing the knife handle to be released, dropping her to the ground at her killer’s