Baby Lies (Reissue) Read online

  Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property

  PNC: police national computer

  PSNI: police service of Northern Ireland

  Prat: silly idiot

  Premier League: top English soccer division

  Proms: concerts held at the Albert Hall

  Public Analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes

  RAF: Royal Air Force

  Rag: newspaper

  Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window

  Randy: horny

  Recce: reconnaissance

  Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter

  Resus: resuscitation room

  Right state: messy

  Ring: telephone (verb)

  Roadworks: repairs done to roads

  Rozzers: police

  RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

  RTC: road traffic collision

  RV: rendezvous point

  Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering etc.

  Rugger: rugby (posh American football)

  Sarge: sergeant

  SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command

  Scrote: low life

  Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws

  Semi: Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only

  Shedload: a large amount

  Shop: store

  Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way

  Sickie: day off work pretending to be ill

  Sixth-form college: school for high school students in final two years.

  SIO: senior investigating officer

  Skip: a large open container used for building waste

  Slapper: slag

  Smackhead: heroin addict

  Snout: police informer

  SOCO: scene-of-crime officer

  Sod: an annoying person

  Sort: to do or make

  Solicitor: lawyer

  Sparky: electrician

  Spook: spy

  Spuds: potatoes

  Squaddie: a soldier of low rank

  Stunner: beautiful woman

  Super: superintendent (police rank)

  Surveyor: someone who examines land and buildings professionally

  Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart

  Tabloid: newspaper

  Tea: Dinner (Northern English)

  Tea towel: drying cloth

  Till: cash register

  Tip: a mess

  Tipsy: a bit drunk

  Top himself: commit suicide

  Torch: flashlight

  Tutor: university teacher

  Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)

  Upmarket: affluent or fancy

  Wacky baccy: cannabis

  Wally: silly person

  War Cry: Salvation Army magazine

  Wash: the washing machine

  Water board: company supplying water to an area

  White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck

  WI: Women’s Institute, organisation of women in UK for social/cultural activity

  Widow’s weeds: black clothes worn by a widow in mourning

  Wilco: will comply i.e. yes

  Wrinklies: old people

  Yellowbelly: native of Lincolnshire

  Yob: a rude or aggressive youth or person

  CHARACTER LIST

  Detective Inspector Tom Mariner is, on the surface, an average dedicated policeman, but his experiences as a younger man have given him an insight into life on the dark side, and a clear sense of right and wrong. Not a rule breaker, he is prepared to work flexibly within their parameters, striking out on his own when deemed necessary. He is meticulous and systematic, and professionally and personally contained and self-reliant, though he cares deeply about his team. Mariner has little interest in material things. He lives in a modest canal-side cottage, enjoys the occasional (real) beer and game of dominoes and drives an average car. He is most at home in the outdoors, with an OS map and a compass, and in times of crisis, will take off and walk for miles in any weather.

  Detective Sergeant Tony Knox has recently and suddenly transferred to the West Midlands force from Merseyside. Having been temporarily demoted to uniform, Knox has re-established himself in CID ad developed a sound working partnership with his boss, DI Mariner. A scouser with the gift of the gab and a roving eye, which has recently led to the breakdown of his marriage to Theresa and some estrangement from his grown-up children. A relationship with Selina has also ended.

  DC Charlie Glover: in his late forties, and with a happy marriage and two teenage children. A born-again Christian, Glover is one of Mariner’s most experienced officers and is calm and dependable and often the voice of reason when situations become stressed.

  DC Jamilla Khatoon: newly promoted to CID, Detective Constable Jamilla(Millie) Khatoon is experienced in the role of Family Liaison Officer (FLO). A dedicated and conscientious officer, Millie joined the police against the wishes of her traditional Muslim parents.

  Detective Chief Inspector Davina Sharp: Newly appointed to Granville Lane to replace retired DCI Jack Coleman, Mariner’s new boss is an ambitious, modern-style police officer who excelled throughout training and has held senior positions elsewhere in the country. Keen to make her mark, she nonetheless values the knowledge and experience of the people working for her and does what she can to allow them to get on with the job.

  Anna Barham: Mariner has been seeing Anna since their paths crossed during the investigation into her older brother’s murder. Following Eddie’s death, Anna has taken on responsibility for her younger brother Jamie, who has severe autism, and so her relationship with Mariner must be fitted in around Jamie’s needs. Following a series of further traumatic events Anna hankers for a life in the country where she and Mariner can settle down and raise a family.

  Emma O’Brien: Peter Klinneman’s partner and Jessica Klinnemann’s mother, stepmother to Lisbet and Paul Klinnemann. She is a specialist in sleep disorders though a stay at home mum she is honouring an obligation as a guest lecturer.

  Peter Klinnemann: a research scientist at Hamilton Sciences, based in Cambridge. He recently separated from his wife (Mary) to be with Emma O’Brien.

  Lisbet Klinnemann/Paul Klinnemann: grown up children of Peter and Mary Klinnemann (now separated).

  Katarina: a nineteen-year-old Albanian young woman trafficked and forced into prostitution.

  Lorelei Fielding: manager of the Daffodil Project which supports vulnerable women in the Birmingham area.

  Trudy Barratt: manager of Jack and the Beanstalk private day nursery.

  Christie Walker: a childcare practitioner at Jack and the Beanstalk nursery.

  Jimmy Bond: a secondhand car dealer and older boyfriend of Christie Walker.

  Marcella Turner: founder of “Families Come First,” which campaigns for wages for stay-at-home mothers.

  Jez Barclay: assistant producer for Angelwood independent TV company.

  Sheila Fry: a counsellor based at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, who has a child at Jack and the Beanstalk nursery.