A Popular Murder

A TV reporter gets a late night scramble call to a lay by, a man lying dead with a gaping wound in his chest. Crime Correspondent Dan Groves knows him, a local businessman with a changing personality. One day in the headlines as Bray the Bastard for his ruthlessness, the next the Angel of St Jude's after saving a hospice, then the Jeckyl and Hyde businessman when he spurns a plea to help a charity that organises holidays for disabled children.Dan''s new to the crime job. He used to cover the Environment until he paid a couple of prostitutes for a story. A local MP got to hear about it and his complaint prompted a savaging from Dan''s News Editor Lizzie and saw Dan shifted from his beloved job. With his friend Dirty El, a sleazy tabloid photographer, he''s lovingly plotting revenge. But such sweet thoughts will have to wait. To familiarise himself with the murky world of a murder investigation he''s pitched in to shadowing the man in charge, Chief Inspector Adam Breen.It''s a rough ride. The detectives are jeering and hostile and goad Dan into a series of rows. But he''s stubborn, sticks it out and forces them to change their minds when a child is abducted by a predatory paedophile. Dan calls the newsroom and arranges an instant outside broadcast with Chief Inspector Breen. The TV appeal sees the man caught and the young boy saved. ''We owe you one for that,'' says Adam, now letting Dan use his Christian name. ''Kids usually end up dead or worse.'' Adam starts to see the potential for using the power of television to solve the central riddle of the murder case. Why did whoever killed Bray pass up a chance to do it when the weather was fine, but rearrange their fatal meeting for days later when there was heavy rain?The intensity of the investigation sees the barriers between Dan and Adam worn down. As they grow closer, both reveal the shadows in their lives. A quick pint after work one night becomes a drunken session and Adam confides his secret. 'If this gets out mat


Genre: Mystery