Blackout - By Tom Barber Page 0,104

at the police station, the Armed Response Unit, his home for over two years. He smiled and took a deep breath of fresh air. He felt good.

Ready.

Excited.

Then he turned on his heel and started walking through the parking lot towards the exit. Suddenly, he heard a voice call after him.

'Your girl never did meet someone else, did she?'

He turned and saw Chalky back at the front door.

Archer looked at him for a moment.

He grinned.

Chalky shook his head.

‘You always were a bad liar,’ he called. ‘Ask her if she has any hot friends.’

Archer smiled and waved. Then he turned and walked across the parking lot. He turned right down the street, and headed off into the morning London sunlight.

His bag slung over his shoulder and his eyes looking straight ahead.

THE END

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About the author:

Born in Sydney, Australia and raised in England and Brunei, Tom Barber has always had a passion for writing and story-telling. It took him to Nottingham University, England, where he graduated in 2009 with a 2:1 BA Hons in English Studies. Post-graduation, Tom moved to New York City and completed the 2 Year Meisner Acting training programme at The William Esper Studio, furthering his love of acting and screen-writing.

Upon his return to the UK in late 2011, Tom set to work on his debut novel, Nine Lives, which has since become a five-star rated Amazon UK Kindle thriller. The sequel, The Getaway, has been equally successful, garnering five-star reviews in the U.S and the UK.

Blackout is the third novel in the Sam Archer series.

For updates on all new releases, follow @TomBarberBooks.

Read an extract from

Silent Night

By

Tom Barber

The new Sam Archer thriller.

Now available on Amazon Kindle.

*****

ONE

No one was in Central Park to see the man die.

It was Friday 17 December, a week before Christmas. New York City was a majestic place during the summer but it was equally captivating in the winter. Festive cheer was everywhere. Shop windows were adorned with imaginative seasonal displays, each store trying to outdo the other. Bars served strong punch containing warming liquor, fruit and spices. Speakers were rigged up on lampposts in several neighbourhoods in the outer boroughs through which familiar carols were played during the day. And saplings planted in small soil patches on the sidewalks all over Manhattan were decorated with lights, contributing to the red and golden hue the city adopted every twelfth month of the year.

With soft snow powdering the grass and golden lights sprinkled in trees all over its 843 acres, Central Park epitomised the feel-good seasonal ambience of the city. During the day and early evening, the ice-skating rinks in the Park were in constant use. People could either rent skates or wear their own, some gliding around the ice gracefully, others wobbling their way round far less confidently, treating each completed lap as a small victory. There was the constant click-clock of horse’s hooves as they pulled carriages along the roads, tourists or couples sitting in the back, taking photographs or enjoying a romantic tour. Small two or three-piece brass bands took up positions beside the paths and worked their way through a repertoire of Christmas songs. And amongst all this, there was a constant stream of people just exploring the sights and admiring the scenery around them. Thirty five million people made their way into Central Park each year and a significant portion of that number came during the winter months.

Nevertheless, once the sun went down the Park started to quieten. A few remaining horse-drawn carriages trundled past, but the activity from earlier in the day quickly decreased as the air grew colder and the night got darker. The Park was open until 1am, but it had been a chilly December and that particular Friday evening was the coldest of the month so far. People were not inclined to hang around.

Coming up to 10pm, the lamp post-lit paths and sidewalks were now eerily quiet.

Snow had just started drifting down from the sky again, adding an extra layer to the white powder that had already blanketed the grass and naked branches on the trees.

During the summer one of the most popular areas in the Park was Sheep Meadow, located to the West between 66 and 69 Street. Fifteen acres in total, the large field hosted hundreds of people every day from early May to the end of September, but apart from the paths running around the perimeter it was shut off during the autumn and winter months to protect the ground and preserve the grass. That night the