The Surgeon's Blade

Also by Faith Mortimer:

 
“The Crossing”
– A Voyage of High Adventure, Action and Romance

                            across Two Generations

 
“The Assassins’ Village”
–
A Classic Murder Mystery in a Cyprus Village

                                          (featuring
Diana Rivers
Novelist & Amateur Sleuth)

 
“Children of the Plantation”
–
A
Diana Rivers
Mystery set in Malaysia

 (all available as a paperback or eBook from Amazon)

“The Bamboo Mirror”
An Anthology of Short Mysteries introducing Diana Rivers

(now available as an eBook)

About the author:

Faith Mortimer was born in Manchester and educated in Singapore, Malaya and Hampshire, England. She qualified as a Registered nurse and after some years changed careers to oversee a number of travel and sport related companies.

In 2005, Faith decided to read for a science degree with The Open University.  She believes that the dedication and stamina needed to sit for a degree gave her the confidence to finish writing her first novel. January 2009 saw the publication of, “The Crossing”. This novel is based on a true incident and Faith thoroughly enjoyed the six months or so research that went into the book and the 18 months writing and editing.

In spring 2011 Faith published her second novel, “The Assassins' Village”, a murder mystery set in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus where she spends the majority of her time. This 93,000 word novel was posted on the Harper Collins/Authonomy site and out of over 8000 books was chosen in November 2010 to be the Number 1 book. (Excerpt from the review can be found under Faith’s Amazon author page). Available in paperback and eBook.

Summer 2011, “Children of The Plantation” was published. This is the second in the bestselling Diana Rivers’s mystery series.  This time the story is set in exotic Malaysia. “Children of The Plantation” was Amazon’s number 1 in Movers and Shakers for 48 hours during October 2011

You can get in touch with Faith via her website, Facebook, and twitter.

www.faithmortimerauthor.com

www.facebook.com/FaithMortimer.Author

http://twitter.com/FaithMortimer

The Surgeon’s Blade

Copyright © Faith Mortimer 2012

The right of Faith Mortimer to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All Rights Reserved

No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents originate from the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Published in 2012

by Topsails Charter, Southampton

Acknowledgements

The Surgeon’s Blade

Prologue

Playing this game was a major enjoyment. It had been played many times before, and this time, it was proving even more of a thrill.

The watcher spotted her immediately. She was seated at a table for two, and from the number of times she had glanced at her watch, it was obvious she had been stood up by her date. The watcher was cautious by nature and covertly observed the woman from a chosen seat which was half-hidden in the shadows behind a potted palm. She was one of those women in their thirties who looked attractive in a quiet, unassuming way and could have been stunning if she had spent more time over her hairstyle and make-up. Her dress was an off-the-rail model, most probably from one of the departmental stores and in a different colour would have enhanced her appeal. Unfortunately, the dull fabric did nothing for her hair and skin colouring.

The watcher had seen her many times around the hospital and knew who she was. She came across as confident and sure of herself as far as her work was concerned.

She now sat alone and forlorn, casting wistful glances at those couples who sat with bent heads sharing a whisper and promise of the night to come.  Minutes later, she answered a call on her mobile phone with nervous girlish pleasure, but her face paled in distress as she replaced it into her evening bag.  The watcher knew instantly how easy it was going to be and smiling coldly, raised a glass with a slight movement in her direction and offered a silent toast.

Why waste time yearning over a date that would never show when your prayers have been answered, dearest girl, the watcher demanded silently. From now on, you’re mine, all mine.

Chapter 1 

Three o’clock. The dead hour. It was the rain lashing against the window that woke Libby. Cursing under her breath, she glanced at her clock on the bedside cabinet and contemplated the day ahead: nearly three-thirty. She must be mad! At the end of June, the weather really should be fine. ‘Flaming June’, they called it. Well, there hadn’t been too much flaming lately. This was the fourth day in a row of seemingly endless downpours. Dratted weather! Well, she was committed to today’s race, and there was nothing she could do but put on a smiling face.

Less than an hour later, showered and dressed, Libby had a quick breakfast of toast and tea and headed for the door. Her cat followed her and meowed loudly as Libby put on her jacket. The fluffy pale ginger cat was obviously thinking her mistress was quite mad, not only for disturbing her slumber at this untimely hour, but for leaving the flat on such a cold and wet day. She sat on the rug looking quite put out.

“Okay, Rommie, I’ll see you tonight. Don’t fret. The automatic feeder is primed to open for your tea, and I’ve left you plenty of biscuits in the meantime. If you feel you can bring yourself to use the cat flap, please do, because I don’t want any little accidents before I return.”