From the Diary of a Retired Detective

It seemed as if one minute Gary Farrow was heading his force's CID and the next he'd fallen victim to the latest round of spending cuts and was packing the contents of his desk into a brown cardboard box. Thrust into unplanned retirement Gary had no notion of how the next phase of his life would work out. The 'phone stopped ringing at all hours of the day and night and there was suddenly no-one banging his door demanding that he attend another complicated crime scene. Suddenly ex...
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It seemed as if one minute Gary Farrow was heading his force's CID and the next he'd fallen victim to the latest round of spending cuts and was packing the contents of his desk into a brown cardboard box. Thrust into unplanned retirement Gary had no notion of how the next phase of his life would work out. The 'phone stopped ringing at all hours of the day and night and there was suddenly no-one banging his door demanding that he attend another complicated crime scene. Suddenly ex Detective Superintendent Gary Farrow found himself shuffling round in dressing gown and slippers, force-fed on a diet of monotonous, mind-numbing daytime TV. As he gazed at the TV screen it seemed to Gary that every other programme involved someone making money from antiques and collectibles and he decided that if they could do it, so could he. Fortunately he had a good friend, the well-heeled and even more well connected Mark Foster-Blythe, already a successful and reputable dealer of many years standing. Mark gladly agreed to take Gary under his wing as an associate to his trade. However, business took a nasty turn when Mark's friend, Henry Snape, a ruthless antique dealer, was murdered in his own home. Gary's old team were soon on the job chasing an unidentified vicious robber. Gary, though, wasn't convinced and dragging Mark along with him, commenced enquiries of his own, leading to an energetic conclusion north of the English border.So began the intertwining of Gary's new career with his old. Murder, kidnap and missing persons seemed to be strewn across the path to 'civvie' street, drawing him back to his investigative roots at every turn. It seemed the more he tried to move away from his detective roots the more he became embroiled in puzzling mysteries that presented themselves to him at every turn. Gary quickly gained a reputation for being someone to turn to in times of crisis, invariably drawing his reluctant friend Mark into each strange adventure, straining Mark's fragile nerves and the very fabric of their friendship in the process.Gary recounts five of these intriguing adventures, drawn from his diaries, showing that retirement from the British police detective branch can become a full time occupation before you know it!