{"id":1191,"date":"2026-01-03T21:18:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/no-time-for-goodbye-02-no-safe-house-barclay-linwood\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:18:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:18:06","slug":"no-time-for-goodbye-02-no-safe-house-barclay-linwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/no-time-for-goodbye-02-no-safe-house-barclay-linwood\/","title":{"rendered":"No Time For Goodbye 02 – No Safe House – Barclay, Linwood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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PROLOGUE<\/h1>\n

RICHARD<\/span> <\/span>Bradley had never thought of himself as a violent man, but right now he was ready to kill someone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d he said, sitting on the side of the bed in his pajamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going out there,\u201d said his wife, Esther. \u201cNot again. Just let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only could they hear the music blaring from next door; they could feel it. The deep bass was pulsing through the walls of their house like a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s eleven o\u2019clock, for Christ\u2019s sake,\u201d Richard said, turning on his bedside table lamp. \u201cAnd it\u2019s Wednesday. Not Friday night or Saturday night, but Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bradleys had lived in this modest Milford home, on this hundred-year-old street with its mature trees, for nearly thirty years. They\u2019d seen neighbors come and go. The good, and the bad. But never had there been anything as bad as this, and it had been going on for a while. Two years back, the owner of the house next door started renting it to students attending Housatonic Community College over in Bridgeport, and since then the neighborhood had gone, as Richard Bradley liked to proclaim on a daily basis, \u201cto hell in a handcart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the students had been worse than others. This bunch, they took the cake. Loud music nearly every night. The smell of marijuana wafting in through the windows. Shattered beer bottles on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

This used to be a nice part of town. Young couples with their first homes, some starting families. There were some older teenagers on the street, to be sure, but if any of them acted up, threw a raucous party when they were left on their own, at least you could rat them out the next day to their parents and it wouldn\u2019t happen again. At least not for a while. There were older people on the street, too, many of them retired. Like the Bradleys, who\u2019d taught in schools in and around Milford since the 1970s before packing it in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what we worked so hard for our whole lives?\u201d he asked Esther. \u201cSo we could live next door to a bunch of goddamn rabble-rousers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll stop soon,\u201d she said, sitting up in bed. \u201cThey usually do at some point. We were young, too, once.\u201d She grimaced. \u201cA long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like an earthquake that won\u2019t end,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t even know what the hell kind of music that is. What is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stood up, grabbed his bathrobe, which was thrown over a chair, knotted the sash in front.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to give yourself a heart attack,\u201d Esther said. \u201cYou can\u2019t go over every time this happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a couple of minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, for God\u2019s sake,\u201d she said as he strode out of the bedroom. Esther Bradley threw back the covers, put on her own robe, slid her feet into the slippers on the floor by the bed, and went running down the stairs after her husband.<\/p>\n

By the time she caught up with him, he was on the front porch. She noticed, for the first time, that he had nothing on his feet. She tried to grab his arm to stop him but he jerked it away, and she felt a twinge of pain in her shoulder. He went down the steps, walked down to the sidewalk, turned left, and kept marching until he reached the driveway next door. He could have taken a shortcut across the grass, but it was still wet from a shower earlier in the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichard,\u201d she said pleadingly, a few steps behind him. She wasn\u2019t going to leave him alone. She figured there was less likelihood that these young men would do anything to him if they saw her standing there. Would they punch out an old man while his wife watched?<\/p>\n

He was a man on a mission, mounting the steps to the front door of the three-story Victorian home. Most of the lights were on, many of the windows open, the music blaring out for all the neighbors to hear. But it wasn\u2019t loud enough to drown out the sounds of raised voices and laughter.<\/p>\n

Richard banged on the door, his wife stationed at the bottom of the porch steps, watching anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to say?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

He ignored her and banged on the door again. He was about to strike it with the heel of his fist a third time when the door swung open. A thin man, maybe twenty, just over six feet tall, dressed in jeans and a plain dark blue T-shirt and holding a can of Coors in his hand, stood there.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d he said. He blinked woozily a couple of times as he sized up his visitor. Bradley\u2019s few wisps of gray hair were sticking up at all angles, his bathrobe had started to part in front, and his eyes were bugging out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d Bradley shouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me?\u201d the man said, bewildered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re keeping up the whole damn neighborhood!\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s mouth formed an O, as if trying to take it in. He looked beyond the man and saw Esther Bradley, holding her hands together, almost in prayer.<\/p>\n

She said, sounding almost apologetic, \u201cThe music is a bit loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, shit,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re from next door, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus,\u201d Richard said, shaking his head. \u201cI was over here last week, and the week before that! You got any brain cells left?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man blinked a couple more times, then turned and shouted back into the house, \u201cHey, turn it down. Carter! Hey, Carter! Turn it\u2014yeah, turn it the fuck down, will ya!\u201d<\/p>\n

Three seconds later, the music stopped, the sudden silence jarring.<\/p>\n

The young man shrugged apologetically, said, \u201cSorry.\u201d He extended his free hand. \u201cMy name\u2019s Brian. Or have I told you that before?\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Bradley ignored the hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to come in for a beer or something?\u201d Brian asked, cheerily raising the bottle in his hand. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some pizza, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the offer,\u201d Esther said cheerily.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re, like, the people in that house, right?\u201d Brian asked, pointing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Esther said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay. Well, sorry about the noise and everything. We all had this test today and we were kind of unwinding, you know? If we get out of hand again, just come over and bang on the door and we\u2019ll try to dial it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing,\u201d Richard said. <\/p>\n

Brian shrugged, then slipped back into the house and closed the door.<\/p>\n

Esther said, \u201cHe seems like a nice young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard grunted.<\/p>\n

They returned to their house, the front door slightly ajar from when they\u2019d run out of it in a hurry. It wasn\u2019t until they were both inside and had closed and bolted the door, that they noticed the two people sitting in the living room.<\/p>\n

A man and woman. Late thirties, early forties. Both smartly dressed in jeans\u2014was that a crease in hers?\u2014and lightweight jackets.<\/p>\n

Esther let out a short, startled scream when she spotted them.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus!\u201d Richard said. \u201cHow the hell did you\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t leave your door open like that,\u201d said the woman, getting up from the couch. She wasn\u2019t much more than five-two, maybe five-three. Short black hair, worn in a bob. \u201cThat\u2019s not smart,\u201d she said. \u201cEven in a nice neighborhood like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCall the police,\u201d Richard Bradley said to his wife.<\/p>\n

It took a moment for the command to register. But when it did, she started for the kitchen. The moment she moved, the man shot up off the couch. He was a good foot taller than the woman, stocky, and swift. He crossed the room in an instant and blocked her path.<\/p>\n

He grabbed her roughly by her bony shoulders, spun her around, and tossed her, hard, into a living room chair.<\/p>\n

She yelped.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou son of a bitch!\u201d Richard Bradley said and charged at the man while he was turned away from him. He made a fist and pounded it into the intruder\u2019s back, just below the neck. The man spun around and swatted Richard away as if he was a child. As he stumbled back, the man glanced down, saw Richard\u2019s bare foot, and drove the heel of his shoe down onto it.<\/p>\n

Bradley shouted out in pain and collapsed toward the couch, catching the edge and falling onto the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough,\u201d the woman said. She said to her partner, \u201cSweetheart, you want to turn down some of these lights? It\u2019s awfully bright in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d he said, found the light switch, and flicked it down.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy foot,\u201d Richard whimpered. \u201cYou broke my goddamn foot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me help him,\u201d Esther said. \u201cLet me get him an ice pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStay put,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n

The woman perched her butt on the edge of the coffee table, where she could easily address Esther or look down to the floor to Richard.<\/p>\n

She said this:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to ask the two of you a question, and I\u2019m only going to ask it once. So I want you to listen<\/em> very carefully, and then I want you to think<\/em> very carefully about how you answer. What I do not want you to do is answer my question with a question. That would be very, very unproductive. Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bradleys glanced at each other, terrified, then looked back at the woman. Their heads bobbed up and down weakly in understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very good,\u201d the woman said. \u201cSo, pay attention. It\u2019s a very simple question.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bradleys waited.<\/p>\n

The woman said, \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The words hung there for a moment, no one making a sound.<\/p>\n

After several seconds, Richard said, \u201cWhere is wh\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then cut himself off when he saw the look in the woman\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

She smiled and waved a finger at him. \u201cTut, tut, I warned you about that. You almost did it, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard swallowed. \u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you answer the question? Again, you need to know that Eli says it\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard\u2019s lips trembled. He shook his head and stammered, \u201cI\u2014I don\u2019t\u2014I don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman raised a palm, silencing him, and turned her attention to Esther. \u201cWould you like to answer the question?\u201d<\/p>\n

Esther was careful with her phrasing. \u201cI would appreciate it if you could be more specific. I\u2014I have to tell you that name\u2014Eli? I don\u2019t know anyone by that name. Whatever it is you want, if we have it, we\u2019ll give it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman sighed and turned her head to her partner, who was standing a couple of feet away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave you your chance,\u201d the woman said. \u201cI told you I\u2019d only ask once.\u201d Just then, the house next door began to thump once again with loud music. The windows of the Bradley house began to vibrate. The woman smiled and said, \u201cThat\u2019s Drake. I like him.\u201d She glanced up at the man and said, \u201cShoot the husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! No!\u201d Esther screamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus!\u201d Richard shouted. \u201cJust tell us what\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the retired teacher could finish the sentence, the man had reached into his jacket for a gun, pointed it downward, and pulled the trigger.<\/p>\n

Esther opened her mouth to scream again, but no sound came out. Little more than a high-pitched squeak, as though someone had stepped on a mouse.<\/p>\n

The woman said to her, \u201cI guess you really don\u2019t know.\u201d She nodded at her associate, and he fired a second shot.<\/p>\n

Wearily, she said to him, \u201cDoesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not here. We\u2019ve got a long night ahead of us, sweetheart, unless it\u2019s in the cookie jar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be so lucky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book Preview PROLOGUE RICHARD Bradley had never thought of himself as a violent man, but right now he was ready to kill someone. \u201cI can\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d he said, sitting on the side of the bed in his pajamas. \u201cYou\u2019re not going out there,\u201d said his wife, Esther. \u201cNot again. Just let it go.\u201d … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-1191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-linwood-barclay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}