The Angel and the Hag

By Richard Pinkerton

Rex has quit detective work, lamenting the fact that Vanessa is in a coma. He finds himself falling for her nurse, Angel Murray. But how can he allow himself to fall in love with Angel, while his childhood sweetheart and perfect match, remains in a coma?

Tucker’s abusive mother has come to stay and is determined to treat him exactly like she did when he was a kid. He has also been dumped by his girlfriend, Sally, but has his mother believing they are still together and that Sally is a model.

What hell will his mother put him through when she finds out the truth?

Book 10 in the RCI series. This book gives a look into the everyday lives of the RCI when they are not on a case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Pinkerton
• Release date: Mar 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005579647

Richard Pinkerton

I am in my early 50s and have been writing now since I was 12. I prefer to write light-hearted drama but have written a little fantasy horror and science fiction too.I have an entire series of high school novels (19 of them so far) set in New Zealand (The Mob from TAC series), which I will gradually publish if there is a demand.I prefer to use a mix of quirky and outrageous characters you would never come across in reality and also your every day Joes.My writings are aimed at teenagers mainly, but also young adults.I have also written a series of detective novelettes, most of which can be found on my website. The majority require work, to be able to be published here, mainly due to copyright issues.Please do leave feedback or contact me if you want to know more about my books.

Book preview

The Angel and the Hag

(Book 10 in the Rex Cassidy Investigators series)

Published by Richard Pinkerton at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Richard Pinkerton

Other books by Richard Pinkerton

The Rex Cassidy Investigators

The Curse of the Witchdoctor

The Secret of the Devil’s Triangle

The Gruesome Murders at Manhattan High

The Case of the Cattle Rustlers

The Mystery of the Moving Statue

The Secret of the Phantom Clown

The Case of the Landmark Terrorists

The Great Prison Break

Doppelganger Madness

Aliens in Atlantis

The Revenge of Dr Dream

The Return of Fingers McGraw

The Angel Cassidy Rescue

Silhouettes of a Moving Statue

The Legacy of a Roving Buccaneer

The Return of Fingers McGraw II

The Isle of Bad Dreams

Others

Dead End High

Dead End Town

Time Warped

The Mob from TAC series

Introduction

Hi. Rex Cassidy here.

The Rex Cassidy Investigators have been involved in a lot of cases over the years, but you never get to hear about all the stuff that goes on in the background. For the most of it, we have a great time.

I have been privileged to have some fantastic women in my life. As most people know, my true love is Vanessa Danté… the goddess. At least that’s what everyone came to know her as at high school. And she’ll always be a goddess to me. There is no one who could possibly come close to the position I hold in my heart for her.

Well, all except for one woman. Her name was Angel.

In these manuscripts, you’ll find out how Angel became such a huge part of my life. You’ll find out about other stuff too, but this is mainly about her. Although Vanessa plays a key role in this too. It couldn’t be any other way.

As you may or may not know, I am a former cop. I worked for a couple of years in the CID in New Zealand. I decided to make the big shift to the USA. It was where I wanted to start up a detective business, which was to become known as the Rex Cassidy Investigators.

We started off with incredible fortune and became very well known very quickly. Some time ago, we were involved in one of our most bizarre cases, which we entitled Doppelganger Madness. In that case, I was killed. Or at least it looked that way. Worst of all, it looked that way to Vanessa too.

I quit the business because of that case. And I didn’t think I’d ever involve myself in detective work again. But before I get ahead of myself, let me take you back to a few weeks after that case took place…

CHAPTER 1:

Pain

Rex Cassidy sat beside the bed of Vanessa Dante. For the last several weeks he barely left her side. He was too distraught to think about anything but her. He gazed down at her peaceful face as she slept. Her body was hooked up to a lot of fancy equipment, drip-feeding her, keeping her healthy. He longed for her to awaken. But they said she might never awaken.

'Even if she does awaken, there's no knowing what sort of brain damage has been done,' the doctor had told him. 'The carbon monoxide poisoning can have devastating effects on brain cells.'

It tormented Rex, knowing that her suicide attempt had been a completely needless tragedy. If only she'd known he hadn't been killed.

'If anything ever happened to you,' Vanessa had told him many times. 'If you were killed. I wouldn't be able to go on living. It would be like Hell. I'd be better off dead.'

He knew how serious she was. Many years ago, when they were young teens she had tried to end her life then, when she was forced to move away from Rex. Ironically her first suicide attempt then was what she had done this time around too. Trying to gas herself to death in a locked up car. Just like before someone came to rescue her before she died. The first time she had been lucky. This time though, it seemed that she had succeeded. For all intents and purposes anyway.

Rex refused to give up hope. But as the weeks went by and she showed no signs of recovery, the hope became less and less.

'Mr Cassidy?' A doctor entered the hospital ward.

'Yeah.'

'I've made some enquiries for you. I have some contact details of some private hospitals where Vanessa can be taken to. They are very upmarket and provide the best of care. She will be looked after.'

'No,' Rex said. 'I'm not taking her to any private hospital. I want to be sure that she is completely safe.'

'She will be.'

'Sorry. But private hospitals can't provide the type of security I want. I need to know that the people who care for her are completely trustworthy and that nobody apart from them can see her and care for her.' He peered directly at the doctor. 'When it comes to her wellbeing. I'll do anything I have to do. And she'll be safer with me at the estate, especially with the high tech security I have there.'

The doctor sighed. 'Very well. But you are going to need professionals.'

'Of course. I want the best. And I'm willing to pay. I want the best care that money can buy. But I want to interview and choose who I want. Can you put me on to the right people?'

'Yes. I believe I can.'

'I want 24-hour care. I want someone with her all the time, making sure she's okay. So they would have to live at the estate. Anyone else can come and go when they need to, but these particular ones will have a special role to play.'

'I'm sure we can send some candidates your way.'

'And make them women. I don't want any guys near her.'

'Really, sir?'

'Yes. I mean, God... look at her. I couldn't trust a guy with a comatosed goddess like her. Would you?'

'I guess not.'

They talked for a few minutes more about what was needed and then the doctor left. Rex turned back to Vanessa and sighed. 'I'm gonna get you well again. I promise.'

* * *

The grossly overweight, Tucker Pyles sat in his psychiatrist’s office. Ted Ratner was his name. Tucker had been visiting Ted for around six months now. There was always some problem he needed to talk about and today was no different.

‘I miss Sally. Why won’t she come back to me?’

Ted leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs. ‘Tucker, we’ve been discussing this for the last few weeks. There is a very good reason why she will have nothing to do with you.’

‘It’s not fair!’

‘Tucker, you had an affair.’

‘Myrtle was an old friend who was over from New Zealand. We caught up and well… one thing led to another. And we didn’t even do anything really. Just kissed.’

‘I am well aware of that. You’ve explained it to me already, but this is still a big thing. You can’t expect Sally to welcome you back.’

Tucker winced. ‘But what am I going to do without a girlfriend? Who am I going to eat with now?’

Ted sighed. ‘Tucker, how old were you when you had your first girlfriend?’

Tucker thought back to Winifred at high school. It had only been a short relationship and they’d never even kissed. ‘Sixteen years old.’

‘So you went for sixteen years without one. I’m sure you can continue on for at least a little longer.’

Tucker blubbered. He’d yearned for a girlfriend ever since then and although Sally was far from being his ideal mate, she had liked him, unlike almost every other girl he’d ever come across. He pictured her pudgy cheeks in his mind and slightly bugged