It was three years since Crawford left Cleveland CID his voluntary retirement more out of pride than his loathing of the job. He prided himself on his fitness, urging himself on in his vanity. Crawford had jogged to his office every morning for the last two years, come rain or shine. His long legs pounded the footpath, his face reddened by his exertions. He would be thirty-five years of age on his next birthday, and his strenuous exercise proved no easier. He continued jogging through the crowded park on the way to his office, his breathing laboured, and his legs aching badly. Jimmy Crawford held his hand against his side, certain that one of these days he would suffer cardiac arrest. The abductor carried the baby away into the darkness, still mouthing the lullaby. The unsuspecting, slumbering nurse, who naively opened the window to allow the night air to cool the clinic, would regret her action for the rest of her life. He left the clinic the same way as he came in, through a ground floor window.

Hush little baby don’t say a word, daddy’s gonna buy you a mocking bird. The abductor carried the new arrival into this world from the clinic, crooning to her. The intruder picked her up in his arms and gently rocked her. Louise Jameson, at three days old was to be the chosen one. The babies stirred when the stranger peered into their cribs, carefully selecting his prey. He shuffled along the shadowy corridor, his breathing stifled when he neared the ward. All decent folk were asleep at this late hour, but this was not a decent person. The silent intruder gained access to the clinic, allowing the cool breeze to waft in through the open window. No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the author, except for the quotations in a review. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.Īll rights reserved. The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Anthony Hulse Copyright Anthony Hulse 2015

The Culling by Anthony Hulse