Spotlight HTML For Her Bones by Alec Reid
For Her Bones
Excerpt
“The thing is, Tom, I did call him a few
months after I left. It was a bit of a surprise. I was supposedly
embarking on some great adventure, and there I was struck down with what felt
like terminal homesickness. I needed a friend.”“You could have called me.”
“I know, but it wasn’t you I wanted.
Sorry. What I never expected was that I would be longing for Frank.
How strange was that? Anyway, it was late and the foul weather made
me feel even more lonely. I virtually forced him to come to me that
night.”“Do I really need to hear this?”
“He never made it. Ice on the
motorway. His mother called me a few days later.”“Jesus, Sally. No wonder you’re
imagining things. It’s guilt, that’s all.”“So that’s it, Mr Freud? I really am
just imagining it? Going mad”“I wouldn’t say going mad exactly. I
mean it’s understandable. You had a terrible shock. You were
missing Frank – can’t understand that bit, but there you are – and you called
him to you. And because of that he died. It doesn’t make it your
fault. Not really. I can’t imagine he was the greatest driver in
the world.”“He’s here, Tom. In this restaurant.
I can feel it. I can almost see him.”“The flickering?”
“Yes! Please tell me you’ve seen it
too.”Poor Tom. I think he’s about to deny
it. A straight ahead, get the job done sort of guy can’t acknowledge the
terrors that shimmer on the edge of his vision. It has to be Sally who is
mad, not he. The truth is, neither of them is mad. I would show
myself if I could, join them at their table, discuss important matters of life
and death. But it doesn’t work that way. That would be like
believing in ghosts. Foolish. But the three of us will soon be able
to have that discussion face to face. I’m looking forward to it.
Come along now, Tom, the second bottle has arrived. Pour her a
drink.“Jesus Christ!”
General consternation sounds like an
incompetent military leader, but it is probably the best description for what
was happening around Tom and Sally’s table. Tom had lifted the bottle and
begun to pour. But he didn’t know his own strength. Or rather he
didn’t know mine. His grip on the bottle tightened like a noose until the
bottle shattered, showering the unhappy couple with Pinot Grigio and sending
splinters of glass everywhere. I’m not exactly a poltergeist, they don’t
exist by the way, but I made sure some of the glass went where it needed to.
A freak accident is how it was later described by those who were there
and therefore must know. The first shard sliced through Tom’s shirt and
severed the carotid artery. There was more blood than Pinot. In
less than a minute he was what people call dead, although we know better, don’t
we?Sally’s demise was even swifter. A
shiver of glass pierced her eye and came to rest deep in her brain.
About the
Author:
Alec has had a number of careers, some of them still ongoing. After a brief
spell with the BBC 2 arts programme, “Late Night Line-Up”, he moved
on to Radios 1 and 2 where he produced “Night Ride”, giving Genesis
their first national broadcast.
Alec went on to become an award-winning radio drama director and creator of
radio documentaries and features, one of which required him to spend a week with
the French Foreign Legion!
During that time, he also wrote and directed two musicals for radio,
“Misrule”, starring Max Wall, and “Gilgamesh”, with Ian
Holm; the latter was the BBC’s entry for the Prix Futura award in Berlin.
After leaving the BBC,Alec was commissioned to write and produce a double CD
tribute to Princess Diana. Within days of its release in America it had sold
over 100,000 copies. As a result, he won the prestigious international Audi award
for best creative work.
Since then, Alec has produced hundreds of audiobooks, adapted TV and movie
soundtracks for audio release, and was even commissioned to write two new
‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ stories! He also wrote book and lyrics for ‘Muscles
the Musical’, which was premiered at The Landor theatre in London where the
‘House Full’ sign was up most nights. There are hopes for a revival in a larger
theatre.
Alec’s publications have included two anthologies based on Radio 4’s ‘With
Great Pleasure’, poems in ‘The Sunday Times’ newspaper and numerous magazine
articles, and poems. ‘For Her Bones’ is his first fiction book. He is thinking
about his next one.
https://www.facebook.com/alec.reid.73/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20849030.Alec_Reid
