Title Details

A puncture wound in the arm of a local journalist found dead in his home gives testimony to his death by lethal injection, and the cryptic note by his side—“no more”—suggests suicide. To DI Tom Mariner, however, there is something a little too staged about events, especially given that just that evening Mariner had witnessed the journalist—Edward Barham—pick up a prostitute in a bar. As the police investigate the house further, they discover another witness to the events: Barham's younger brother, Jamie, is found in a cupboard under the stairs. It seems likely that Jamie witnessed his brother's death, but his severe autism has left him without the means to communicate. Mariner is determined to build enough of a relationship with Jamie to get to the truth. He supposes that Barham's death is related to his recent investigations into a local crime lord, but there may also be a hidden factor that only Jamie can reveal.