easy enough to manage when she was properly shod, but the damp grass was slippery under her bare feet. Jane stepped forward, bending to grab at a tuft of springy bracken. She used it to haul herself up a step, then reached for another. This time she gripped a lump of cowslip, and the shallow roots gave way as she pulled. Jane lost her footing, tried frantically to scrabble further up the banking, but it was to no avail. She slipped, tumbling backwards to land with a splash in the chilly waters of the lake.
Jane's last conscious thought as she sank below the surface was that she would not now get to see her husband's face when she told him she wanted him to fuck her arse.
Chapter Three
New York
July 2011
The screen flickered, the rows and columns of figures dancing before his eyes. Ged Twyfford leaned back in his chair, his vivid blue eyes narrowing as he perused the data before him. He needed to do something, and fast, if he was to stave off the potential losses from yet another economic collapse. Although worst of the recession was well behind him and he hadn't been as badly affected as many investors, occasional dips did still occur. It was no big deal, but he should take some action to protect his investment. This time it was a construction company in Indonesia which had taken the hit, and it would be wise to offload his shares before the full ramifications sank in and the markets started to respond. Ged leaned forward, brought up another tab on the screen, and keyed in his commands. Ten minutes later he was the richer by seven hundred thousand dollars, and less one failing corporation in Asia.
His shares would have been worth three times what he had just managed to get for them had he sold six months ago, but such were the vagaries of international trading. Some you win, some you lose. In fairness, Ged Twyfford rarely lost.
Stretching cramped muscles, he stood, rolled his stiff shoulders and strode across the room to stand against the floor to ceiling window. He gazed through the darkened glass, absently taking in the Manhattan skyline which stretched before him. At four in the morning the scene lacked the frenetic buzz more usually associated with the busiest commercial district on the globe, but this was Ged's favourite time to admire this stunning vista. Even now, the rooftops were illuminated, the jagged contours of the jungle of high-rise buildings set off in sharp contrast to the blackness of the velvet sky beyond. The environmental warriors could protest all they liked, Ged found light pollution to be a perfectly lovely phenomenon. Still, he had always been a perverse devil.
He returned to his desk to further contemplate the financial data before him. Apart from anything else, he had seven hundred thousand dollars to re-invest, and he knew just where it was destined to go. He channeled the bulk of the funds into his major commercial project, Roseworth Pharmaceuticals. The remaining two hundred thousand he donated to his pet good cause, a wildlife rescue centre and anti-poaching charity in central Africa.
Ged loathed hunters with a passion, and had eluded enough of them in his time to know what he was talking about. He understood at first hand what it was to be an endangered species, but unlike the rhino or mountain gorilla, he had been able to fight back. He had done so on many occasions and with murderous effect. He had survived, though he sometimes wondered how on earth he had accomplished that feat. These days his life was calmer, more secure, so Ged was happy to play his part in protecting other species. His donations to the Mbinka Park and Wildlife Reserve were always anonymous, but his money had funded the purchase of thousands of hectares of plains grassland as well as the employment of a small army of wildlife patrols, vets, educators, and armed security when needed.
Yes, he did his bit for conservation so what was the harm in a little nocturnal light-show?
He propped his feet on the open
Jane's last conscious thought as she sank below the surface was that she would not now get to see her husband's face when she told him she wanted him to fuck her arse.
Chapter Three
New York
July 2011
The screen flickered, the rows and columns of figures dancing before his eyes. Ged Twyfford leaned back in his chair, his vivid blue eyes narrowing as he perused the data before him. He needed to do something, and fast, if he was to stave off the potential losses from yet another economic collapse. Although worst of the recession was well behind him and he hadn't been as badly affected as many investors, occasional dips did still occur. It was no big deal, but he should take some action to protect his investment. This time it was a construction company in Indonesia which had taken the hit, and it would be wise to offload his shares before the full ramifications sank in and the markets started to respond. Ged leaned forward, brought up another tab on the screen, and keyed in his commands. Ten minutes later he was the richer by seven hundred thousand dollars, and less one failing corporation in Asia.
His shares would have been worth three times what he had just managed to get for them had he sold six months ago, but such were the vagaries of international trading. Some you win, some you lose. In fairness, Ged Twyfford rarely lost.
Stretching cramped muscles, he stood, rolled his stiff shoulders and strode across the room to stand against the floor to ceiling window. He gazed through the darkened glass, absently taking in the Manhattan skyline which stretched before him. At four in the morning the scene lacked the frenetic buzz more usually associated with the busiest commercial district on the globe, but this was Ged's favourite time to admire this stunning vista. Even now, the rooftops were illuminated, the jagged contours of the jungle of high-rise buildings set off in sharp contrast to the blackness of the velvet sky beyond. The environmental warriors could protest all they liked, Ged found light pollution to be a perfectly lovely phenomenon. Still, he had always been a perverse devil.
He returned to his desk to further contemplate the financial data before him. Apart from anything else, he had seven hundred thousand dollars to re-invest, and he knew just where it was destined to go. He channeled the bulk of the funds into his major commercial project, Roseworth Pharmaceuticals. The remaining two hundred thousand he donated to his pet good cause, a wildlife rescue centre and anti-poaching charity in central Africa.
Ged loathed hunters with a passion, and had eluded enough of them in his time to know what he was talking about. He understood at first hand what it was to be an endangered species, but unlike the rhino or mountain gorilla, he had been able to fight back. He had done so on many occasions and with murderous effect. He had survived, though he sometimes wondered how on earth he had accomplished that feat. These days his life was calmer, more secure, so Ged was happy to play his part in protecting other species. His donations to the Mbinka Park and Wildlife Reserve were always anonymous, but his money had funded the purchase of thousands of hectares of plains grassland as well as the employment of a small army of wildlife patrols, vets, educators, and armed security when needed.
Yes, he did his bit for conservation so what was the harm in a little nocturnal light-show?
He propped his feet on the open
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