The Rookie: Young Culverhouse, #1

By Adam Croft

Mildenheath. 1981.

Jack Culverhouse's first day at Mildenheath CID wasn't what he expected. Hoping to make a good impression, he walks straight into a culture of lies and corruption.

Set up for a fall by his new boss, the only way he can save himself is to solve the crime alone — without the help of his colleagues. And it could end his career before it's even started.

The Rookie is a prequel novella to the Knight & Culverhouse crime series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Circlehouse
• Release date: Dec 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386604792

Book preview

The Rookie

The Rookie

A Knight & Culverhouse Prequel Novella

Adam Croft

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

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1

PC Jack Culverhouse opened the door of his Vauxhall Chevette and stepped out onto the tarmac. The rain had been beating down heavily overnight, but the morning sun had since broken through and the air was filled with the scent of spring. It had been a warm few days, and it was looking as if all the predictions of a long, hot summer were going to be proved correct.

In just a few minutes’ time he’d be able to call himself DC Culverhouse, having been offered a position — albeit probationary — as a Detective Constable at Mildenheath CID.

This was where the real fun was to be had, he thought. This was where the serious crime was investigated; the sort of crime he’d come into policing to put a stop to. He knew it wouldn’t be quite like it was on the telly, as much as he loved The Sweeney and that new show, Minder, which had started a year or two previously.

This was his first time at Mildenheath Police Station, despite having worked in the county since he’d joined the police. He’d wanted to join CID before even applying to become a police officer. It had always been his ultimate goal. And to be able to do that job in a place like Mildenheath, with its reputation for being a town that was on the turn, was manna from heaven for Jack.

His eighteen months in the force had been an eye-opener, to say the least. Training had been less intensive than he thought it would be, and he’d been thrown onto the streets with nothing but a walkie-talkie and a truncheon.

Fortunately for him, the truncheon had been all he’d needed for his first nick. He’d had a tip-off from an old lady on the street that a man was trying to break into a car round the corner. Jack had peered round the bend and seen the young man trying to prise open the door of a Ford Cortina. Mere seconds later, Jack’s truncheon had made its first of many contacts with a shinbone and the man was under arrest.

Now, things were going to be different. Now he’d be able to stalk around out of uniform and arrest murderers and big-time gangsters. His days of nabbing car thieves were over. Crime in Mildenheath was becoming far darker, far more sinister.

Mildenheath had always been a fairly quaint, pleasant market town. The sense of community had been strong. It was a place where people looked out for each other, where you could keep your doors unlocked overnight. If some local scrote tried to break in, his own mother would shop him in if it meant keeping order in the local community.

That had all changed, though.