Despite Izzy’s encouragement, I’m afraid I still don’t feel ready to write my memoirs. Instead, I’ve decided to try my hand at fiction. The prospect of a novel seemed a little overwhelming so I decided to have a go at some – very – short stories. I figured that after years of working as a detective inspector I’ve got plenty of good material. So I trawled my memory of some of my oddest cases as inspiration. After all, they do say that truth is stranger than fiction.

 

I showed the first one I wrote, ‘The Camera Never Lies,’ to Izzy. ‘It’s very short,’ I said. ‘I think they call it “flash fiction.”’

‘You do know that “flash fiction” doesn’t just refer to stories about cameras, don’t you?’ she said.

 

Honestly, sometimes she talks to me like I’m a complete idiot.