Daisy: Not Your Average Super-sleuth! The Shanghai Shadow: Daisy Morrow, #8

By R T Green

When Daisy is warned that someone very, very dangerous is gunning for her, in revenge for her father being mistakenly killed by MI6 some years ago, she realises there is no choice. Involving the others is far too dangerous. This time it has to be a solo mission…

 

"One of the best cozy mysteries I've ever read!"

 

"A real breath of fresh literary air!"

 

The Eighth One: The Shanghai Shadow

 

Daisy gets a terrifying phone call from an ex-colleague. A Chinese lethal weapon codenamed the 'Shanghai Shadow' is in England, and determined to exact retribution on those she believes are responsible.

The friend lives in a remote part of the Lake District, and Daisy knows they must join forces to stand any chance of defeating their enemy. She slips away secretly, leaving Aidan a vague note. Aware it's a case of kill or be killed, it's debatable which of them will come out of it alive. But when she reaches the Lake District, Daisy realises things are not quite what they seem.

Aidan and the others find out where Daisy has gone, and set off after her. But will they be in time?

 

Check out Daisy, and everything else we do, on the new rtgreen website.

 

And enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wise Owl
• Release date: Jul 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201154462

R T Green

The RTG mission in life is simple... to not be like everyone else! ‘Going Green’ has taken on a new meaning, in the book world at least. Whilst we applaud the original meaning (ebooks are a perfect way to promote that) we also try to present a different angle to it. The tendency these days is that if you don’t look and read like everyone else, you don’t sell books. Maybe there’s some truth in that, but we simply don’t do it. The RTG books have been described as a ‘breath of fresh literary air’, and, by those discovering us for the first time, ‘unexpectedly good’. We know many readers prefer the same-old same old, and that’s fine. It’s just not what you get from the RTG stable. Those who know about such things said it would take five years to become a proficient author... I scoffed at that. They were wise. It took six. It’s one reason why even today we remodel existing books, and will always do so. Right from the early years the stories were always good, but were put into words less well than they could have been! These days we have several series and a few standalones, the hit Daisy series most popular amongst them. In everything we do, the same provisos apply – Never the same book twice. If we can’t think up a good story, it doesn’t get written. The RTG brand is about exciting and twisty plots, a fast pace which doesn’t waste words, and endearing (sometimes slightly crazy) characters. We can never please everyone, but it works for us, and, it seems, for those who appreciate our work. Enjoy! Richard, Ann and the RTG crew

Book preview

Introduction

THE DAISY MORROW SERIES documents the slightly-crazy adventures of our R.E.D. (Retired Extremely Daisy) heroine... she’s fun, feisty, kind of wicked, and rather like the other RTG books, she will take you to places you never really expected to go!

When Daisy is warned that someone very, very dangerous is gunning for her, in revenge for her father being mistakenly killed by MI6 some years ago, she realises there is no choice. Involving the family is far too dangerous. This time it has to be a solo mission...

Just after she and Aidan move back into the rebuilt cottage, Daisy gets a terrifying phone call from an ex-colleague. A Chinese lethal weapon codenamed the ‘Shanghai Shadow’ has arrived in England, and is determined to exact retribution on those she believes are responsible for her father’s death.

Daisy’s friend and colleague lives in a remote part of the Lake District, and she knows they must join forces to stand any chance of defeating their enemy. She slips away secretly, leaving Aidan a vague note.

Aware it’s a case of kill or be killed, it’s debatable which of them will come out of it alive.

Aidan and the others however, won’t lie down. They discover where Daisy has gone, and set off after her. But will they be in time?

The ‘Shanghai Shadow’ has unintentionally become very topical! Given one of the news stories that broke in the UK very recently, a little of the subject matter in this book is well up to date. And the book was written before the news story!

Enjoy!

Richard, Ann, and the crew

The Shanghai Shadow

Home is Where the Heart Is

DAISY COULD HARDLY hear herself turn the key in the kitchen door lock, the clapping and cheering of the small crowd in the drive so loud. The local brass band didn’t help either, belting out their rendition of the theme tune from Where the Heart is, as only they could.

The Lord Mayor, his ornate gold chain around his shoulders, had just shaken her hand, and Aidan’s too, as he’d presented them with a shiny brass memorial plaque, and told them how brave they both were. Everyone in the crowd seemed to have words of encouragement, and smiles to match, as they braved the cold of a mid-January day to watch the great return home.

Maisie was there too, of course. She’d given her a hug, and even Brutus the furball seemed to be nodding his approval, standing dutifully by his owner’s side, his red lead clipped to his matching collar , and only shivering very slightly in the near-freezing temperatures.

Everyone in the village seemed to have turned out, including the guy with the mobile hot drinks kiosk, who was doing a roaring trade from his location in a corner of the garden. Daisy glanced around, a tear in her eye, still unable to believe so many people had ventured out to welcome them back to the rebuilt cottage.

Even Matilda was there, with a once-in-a-lifetime smile on her face, clapping away with the rest of them. She wasn’t even wearing her stupid goggles, so she’d obviously not come on her bike.

Celia put an arm around her mother’s shoulders. ‘Go on mum, do it. It’s time to be back home.’

Daisy buried her face in her daughter’s neck. ‘I just... just can’t believe how many people actually care.’

Jack smiled his encouragement. ‘See, Daisy... everyone loves you. Even Matilda, when push comes to shove.’

Daisy nodded, eased herself away from her daughter, and then took Aidan’s hand. ‘Shall we do it, dear?’

He grinned. ‘I think there’ll be a lot of disappointed people if we don’t.’

So Daisy smiled happily, and turned the key in the lock of the new door. The crowd cheered a little louder, and the brass band switched the tempo up a notch. Everyone was waiting for her to swing the door open. Then a voice next to her spoke.

Sarah was grinning from ear to ear. ‘This is a wonderful day, guys. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. It’s so exciting!’

DCI Burrows held out a bottle of Bollinger. ‘Just to welcome you home, you two. Enjoy it as you sink your butts onto your favourite stools at the island unit. I’m so happy for you both. My two favourite pensioners are back where they belong!’

There was a big cheesy grin on his face. He looked genuinely happy, and sounded like he meant what he was saying.

That’s when Daisy knew she was dreaming...

She sat bolt upright in bed. In a second, Aidan was sitting up next to her. ‘Dear... are you ok?’

She buried her face in shaking hands. ‘I... it was a nightmare... Burrows was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and telling us we were his favourite pensioners...’

He couldn’t help smiling, despite his wife’s discomfort. ‘I don’t profess to understand what you were dreaming, but some would say that would be a nice dream...’

She glared at him. ‘That’s as maybe, but it would only ever be a dream, wouldn’t it?’

‘Well, you never know, one day. You want to tell me what woke you up so suddenly, apart from impossible scenarios?’

She took a gulp of water, slipped her hand into his, and told him all about it. He nodded his head, knowing what had brought on the dream his wife described as a nightmare. ‘You know what Freud would say, don’t you?’

‘That I’m crapping myself because I’m dreading what’s going to happen later today?’

‘Exactly.’ He glanced at the clock, telling him it was three in the morning. ‘We’re simply going back home, Flower. But I appreciate how difficult it is. I’m sure Celia and Jack won’t mind if we put it off for a day or two?’

Daisy snuggled into him. ‘And will that make it any easier?’

‘I can’t speak for you, dear. But for most people it would just be putting off the inevitable.’

She turned out the light, and pulled Aidan under the covers. ‘Then today’s the day, dear. Just don’t let go of my hand when the bad memories resurface.’

When the real homecoming came later that day, there was no brass band. No Lord Mayor, no cheering crowd. Somehow it came as a relief to Daisy, especially as there was no grinning Inspector Burrows either, a figment from her dream that would linger in the memory for weeks to come.

Such a surreal image was a sure-fire reminder she’d had a nightmare.

Celia and Jack were there with them, giving them hugs of encouragement, and most likely vaguely relieved they’d have their home to themselves from that point on.

That was debatable, if understandable. They’d enjoyed having them there as they’d slowly come to terms with renovating the house standing further along the street that was now their home. And the guests had sure done their bit, with paint rollers and dust-removing duties.

Now that short era had come to an end. Daisy and Aidan’s cottage was rebuilt, and the others had made sure it was as ready as it could be for the big return.

Daisy had kept away, letting everyone else make it right. For one important reason. It wasn’t so hard for them to put everything back as it was... but they couldn’t dispel the memories of that awful night.

There was a vague tinge of concern on the faces of her family as Daisy turned the key. The click as the kitchen door unlocked seemed to reverberate in the cold and silent morning air. She felt Aidan’s gloved hand in hers as she dropped the handle, and glanced up to him.

‘Welcome home, Flower,’ he said quietly.

She nodded, but said nothing. The lump in her throat made speaking impossible. Gently she eased the door open, but didn’t step inside. A little cry escaped from her lips, even though she hadn’t really wanted it to. ‘It all looks exactly as it was...’ she whispered.

He tightened his grip on her hand. ‘That was what we decided, dear,’ he smiled. ‘Shall we go inside? It’s a bit chilly out here.’

‘I suppose we should.’

Cautiously she stepped through the door, as if some kind of demon was about to jump out and attack her. There was a demon, but it only existed in her mind.

The others followed her in, their faces still full of concern at how she would react. She gazed around. The kitchen, the island unit, and even the two stools... all were just as they were. Then a smile broke across her face, as her eyes fell on something standing on the worktop.

‘Dip... even the super-duper turbo-boosted state-of-the-art mega-blender? And the lid is closed?’

He grinned, a little sheepishly. ‘I see you haven’t lost your wicked sense of humour, dear.’

She lowered her head. ‘Some things never change, dear. Just like this cottage. Thank you, everyone. You all worked so hard, despite having two houses to fix up. And I didn’t really do anything.’

Celia pulled her mother into a hug. ‘In your own home, maybe you didn’t. But you threw yourself into helping with ours, so we had a little more time to make this place home again for you.’

‘I still should have been here. But...’

Aidan kissed her softly. ‘We all understand, dear. We wanted to make sure it felt like home when you got here.’

Daisy threw him a mock-angry glare. ‘I should think you would have done that, regardless.’

‘Um... why?’

‘It was all your fault after all.’

Chapter 1

‘MY FAULT?’

‘Yes, your fault. You weren’t here when you were supposed to be.’

Realising she wasn’t being serious, Aidan played the game. ‘Are you blaming me for popping to the pub for a pint?’

‘Of course.’

‘I did leave you a note.’

‘Which burnt away with everything else, before I rushed in to save you... when you weren’t even there to be saved.’

Celia looked horrified for a moment at her mother’s words, but then noticed the grins on her parents’ faces. Then she played the ice-breaking game too. ‘Quite honestly, mum, you should actually thank dad for saving you when you were overcome by the smoke.’

‘Which would never have happened if I’d known he wasn’t here.’

‘I actually considered a second pint, but then I thought it was time to get back to rescue you from a burning building,’ Aidan grinned.

‘Very funny,’ Daisy growled, but then kissed him on the cheek. ‘Actually, it isn’t funny at all. But thank you for saving me anyway, my hero.’

‘Let’s just say we both saved each other, despite the fact only one of us was here to get saved.’

‘Fair enough... but we’re both here now.’ Daisy walked slowly towards the living area at the front of the house. It had escaped the worst of the flames, but had suffered badly with smoke damage. There wasn’t a trace of damage anymore. ‘It’s like it never happened,’ she breathed.

‘Except we both know it did.’

She glanced ahead to the passageway leading to the upper floor, and found her legs taking her there, even though the rest of her didn’t want to go. Nervous eyes flicked around, and then focused on the stairs. ‘The last time I saw this, it was a sea of flames. The staircase...’

The words faded as she walked hesitantly down the narrow passage. Aidan wrapped an arm around her waist, and spoke quietly. ‘We both have awful memories of that night, Flower. It was where I first saw you, unconscious on the floor. I thought you were...’

Daisy smiled, and held him close. ‘Those memories will take a while to fade, dear. In one way, perhaps we shouldn’t have put everything back just as it was. But in another, I’m glad we did.’

‘I suppose you’re going to explain that.’

‘If I can. I guess seeing it now, just as it was before the evil Italian arsonist got her hands on it, it’s kind of like she didn’t win. She tried to inflict horror, but it didn’t stay horrific. If everything she burnt was rebuilt in a different way, it would have been like she’d left her mark. At least now when the memories fade, she never made any physical difference. Am I making sense?’

‘Totally, dear.’

Daisy brushed away a tear. ‘Of course you understand. No one can take away that special bond we have, petrol or not, no matter how evil they are.’

‘I guess it’s seen us through a few scrapes in the last few months, for sure.’

She smiled a big smile to Celia and Jack, who were suddenly looking a little more relieved. ‘Shall we grab our cases from the car now?’

Celia gave her mother a hug. ‘You two stay here, and get the coffee on. We’ll fetch your cases.’

‘You sure you don’t want a strawberry and avocado smoothie?’

‘Um, coffee will do. We don’t want goo splattered all over the tiles again as soon as we’ve got here.’

Aidan glared at his wife. ‘How does she know..?’

Daisy patted him on the arm. ‘Funny stories travel fast, Dip.’

‘Hmm...’

The four of them sipped their coffees, every one of them feeling somewhat better than when they’d first stood nervously on the drive. The cases were transferred into the main bedroom, which had escaped the fire. Celia and Jack offered to help them unpack, but Daisy and Aidan declined. They still had enough to do on their own house.

Once they knew all was well, they left to go back home. Celia told her parents to call them later that evening, or anytime if things became difficult. Daisy packed them off, saying that stepping over the threshold was the hard part, and all would be fine.

It wasn’t exactly true, not right then. It would be fine, but there was still the first night to get through alone... the first time it had been just the two of them since it happened. Terrifying memories would resurface for a day or two, that much was inevitable. It was a process Daisy had to go through in order to confine recall to history.

She already knew that in a short space of time, that was where the memories would belong.

They unpacked the cases, and spent a few hours putting their personal stuff back where it belonged. The food delivery arrived, so they put that where it belonged too. Then as the day turned to evening they cooked a simple meal together, toasted the return home, and the fact not even a devastating fire could make any lasting difference.

An hour later, Daisy let out a big yawn. ‘You fancy an early night, Dip?’

He looked exhausted, physically and mentally, and nodded his agreement. ‘A brandy nightcap first? Make sure we sleep as soundly as we can?’

She knew why he’d suggested that. It was a good thought after all. ‘You always come up with the best ideas, Dip.’

He grabbed the brand new bottle. ‘All part of the service, Flower.’

‘Hmm... I still blame you for everything though.’

He caught the smile on her face, and grinned back. ‘Just be quiet and drink this.’

Chapter 2

China in your Hands

SARAH CALLED IN THE next morning on her way to work, to see how