Barking Mad

Why did pet shop owner Mark Malone die in a hail of bullets in May, 2015? Gus Freeman and the Crime Review Team who investigate cold cases are faced with many questions but few answers.

Mark Malone’s BMW had tinted windows, a lowered suspension, and a loud car stereo. He drove it at speed along the Beckhampton road late at night back in 2015. That wasn’t unusual. It was hard to resist speeding on that stretch of road, and hundreds of drivers have been caught speeding there every year. Several died in high-speed accidents.

What made the Malone incident different was that, fifteen minutes earlier, he had stopped at a garage on the A4 in Bath Road, outside Marlborough. A grey 7-series BMW stopped behind him, and the two drivers appeared to argue. As Malone reached the outskirts of Devizes, someone fired six shots with a handgun. Malone lost control of his car and hit several parked vehicles before ending up in a garden. He got hit twice in the head and died in the hospital later that morning.

The attack might have been a case of road rage or mistaken identity. Killer Ricky Gardiner is on the run from the police. Who will catch up with him first?