Marjorie Graham ran her household, and family, in much the same way as she ran the office of Harris, Lewis & Applecross; Solicitors. There was a procedure for everything, and everything was done correctly. When it came to her son, Kenneth, she was particularly concerned that he would be kept well clear of undesirable influences, and remain wholesome and virtuous. Her husband James thought she went too far, and mollycoddle...

Four people sat silently in the bedroom, with only moonlight and the glow from the monitor for illumination. It was enough for their purpose. They were each dressed in black jeans, black sweatshirts and had black balaclava hoods at the ready. Two men, and two much younger women. The girls sat together, and they wore headphones to listen to the dialogue being played out in the next room. The men had heard too much of it be...

“So, sweetheart, what are we going to do while the house is a man-free zone?” Robert had to visit his parents for the weekend at short notice; too short for the three of them to go together. Melissa had some commitments at college on the Saturday morning, and Sarah was reluctant to leave her by herself. It was not that she was not capable, but a lot had happened this last few weeks, and they all thought that some serious...

Melissa had been wondering what it was all going to be about all day. Her mother had told her to be home from college by six, as they were all going to have a talk, and she had sounded serious. Now here she was, sitting opposite her Mum and step-dad, Robert, struggling to come to terms with what had just been explained to her. Little things in their lives began dropping into place, like missing pieces in a jig-saw puzzle....

Ronald Fairhurst drove home in a very sombre mood. He tried to cheer himself up and force a smile to appear on his face. He knew if he could smile then he would feel better. He had been driving aimlessly for an hour. He had taken two walks in the park, but had begun to think people were regarding him with suspicion. He had no dog or child that would legitimise him, and he realised that he had to go home sooner or later. H...

Janet Tompkiss loved quiet, and she liked to be quiet. She moved around the house and garden almost silently; not with any sinister mien, but with a soft and gentle grace. Peter, her husband, sometimes called her his ‘Lady Goldberry’. She liked that, and in the same terms of loving affection she referred to him as ‘Bombadil’. It matched his good humour, and the fact that he clumped around the place. She thrilled to the so...

Sam was sprawled over the sofa watching snooker. He’d put a casserole in the oven, and he was drinking a beer. Cassie would be home any minute. It was Friday evening. The girls all went for a drink after the office closed, so Friday was the evening he cooked. His mind wandered to what they might do after dinner and he hoped that a full blow job might be part of the action, but such things depended on how well he satisfied...

Margot La Salle loathed her son-in-law with a passion. Why her darling Sarah had married him when she could have done so much better, she was at a loss to understand? He did something called ‘sales and marketing’ which to Margot sounded common, and barely a step up from a street stall. Surely he was some sort of ‘spiv’. He was making a lot of money, but it wasn’t from a decent source such as law or banking. These were thi...

“The order form says six cameras,” said Arthur Fletcher, the security guard for Webb and Simpson. “Well! We’ve got one spare then, haven’t we?” replied the installation engineer. “You needed six but they sent seven, and I’m not taking it back. How it gets re-input into stock is a nightmare, so where would you like it?” “I don’t know,” said Arthur. “We’ve got both gates, goods inward and goods outward, reception and stores...

Malcolm Potter was feeling awful – there was a sinking feeling in his tummy. He just had no idea how the next ten minutes would play out. He just knew he had to speak to Jane and he was dreading it. It was all too complicated, but there was no way he could pretend everything was alright and that it would sort itself out. He got to the front door and hesitated. He would have liked to have turned round to walk away – but wh...

Carrie slept as she couldn’t remember sleeping before – an exhausted contented sleep. At around 7.00am she began to become conscious and glorious happy memories flooded back and she moaned as she stretched and moved her body. She reached out and panicked – the bed was empty. “It can’t have all been a dream!” her mind screamed as it commanded her eyes to begin opening. Sounds called for her attention, and she rose on one e...

Joanie had known Alice since they were at Manchester University together, nearly twenty years ago. They were close friends and Joanie always knew that if she had a problem, she only had to talk to Alice. Alice would know what to do and lay it all out – you didn’t argue with Alice. It always worked. Not that Alice was bossy or dominant but, when it was needed, you knew that doing it the way Alice suggested was the only way...

Carrie had got over her immediate panic at the phone call from her sister. Eric had been in a car accident – he wasn’t really hurt, but Liz needed to fetch him from Edinburgh, which was a six hour round trip. Could she babysit Phoebe and her friends? Her niece, Phoebe, had been promised that she could have three friends for the afternoon, followed by a sleepover until Sunday morning. She could stay with Mrs Harper next do...