From
'Devil Dick' by Val Kyrie

I EXPECTED to come across some strange Voodoo practices when I went to Trinidad to study the African roots of the native languages. But when I was asked to be a surrogate mother to a corpse, I felt I was in the land of the weird.



From
'Wishing You Well' by Joy & Bob Griffiths

MISS PYMM was knocked down when she was just four years old. The Master of the Hunt barely raised enough interest to acknowledge the event, and the particular horse and rider were never identified. Even if they had been, that small community was far too dependent on the Squire's good graces to have allowed any action to be taken. So Miss Pymm grew up a cripple with a twisted leg and a face that was unlikely to attract anything other than a sympathetic smile.



From
'My Father, My Idol' by Yvonne Eve Walus

Julia,
I don't know the colour of your hair. I don't know what books you read. Or what perfume you wear. I have no idea what to buy you for Christmas. Nor, indeed, whether buying you a Christmas present would be appropriate under the circumstances. I only know your name. And that my father is in love with you.



From
'Twin Volcanoes' by Mark Bannerman

THE QUESTION OF MURDERING UNCLE JEREMY would never have arisen had his attitude towards Helga not been so downright unreasonable.



From 'The Fisherman's Tail' by Billy Watt

SO THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED. I'd been angling on a spit of shingle out there under the shadow of the Monadhliath Mountains. It was just after dawn. Having waded out much further than I'd planned, I was turning round to see how far I'd strayed from the Loch Ness shore. I could tell that the bed was starting to shelve away steeply under me. The only sign of life was a white and orange minibus threading through the trees maybe a mile to the north.



From
'Explicit Exposure' by Phil Cook

I WAS PLEASED WITH THE PHOTOS. Lovely shots of the Northumberland coast - and of Shirley as always. They were not strictly holiday snaps. I had told Mildred I was on a business trip.



From
'Mrs. Lane's Bathroom' by Jonathan Pool

I DID NOT KNOW that Ruskin was on his last legs when I met him to go on holiday: he had been a bachelor since he was born and I was convinced he would remain a bachelor until the Great Almighty beckoned to him and said, 'Ruskin, lad, you've served your time. Don't bother to pack - just come as you are!'



From
'Ever Increasing Circles' by Bill Smurthwaite

IF THAT GREEN DRESS had arrived only one hour earlier, Mariella Munroe might well have found serenity in her later years. So might Sid and Annie Jelks, whilst both of their grandchildren would almost certainly have escaped the deprivations of fatherless childhood.



From
'New Century Women' by Teresa Holmes

THE SLEEK, SMOOTH CONTOURS looked inviting but at the same time threatened to repulse. They recalled memories of Annie; unhappy, painful memories. Tall, slender, immaculately groomed; her tailored clothes accentuating the gentle curves of the body beneath. How could anyone so perfect be so flawed?

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