Read Online The Broken Shore by Catriona King - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Catriona King
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Ads: Link
powerful stuff. The Bann’s like diet soda to us.”
Andy made a weak attempt at laughter then held his head and stared out at the sea. The hotel had views of the Donegal Peninsula and glimpses of Scotland as well. The whole area was stunning, including the beach where they’d found Lissy. It was known locally as the Strand, but whatever you called it, it was beautiful. Miles of pale clean sand dotted with people taking an early morning stroll. In the distance a few adventurous surfers were braving the North Atlantic’s unpredictable moods.
John was staring out the window as well, but he wasn’t admiring the shoreline. He was thinking of any forensics the C.S.I.s might have missed. Craig contrasted his focus with Liam and Andy’s morning craic, wondering who had it right. After ten minutes of coffee, toast and banter, he pulled them all back to work.
“OK. Liam, did you get anywhere with Lissy Trainor’s movements yesterday.”
Liam pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flicked to a page near the back. He shook his head slowly as he spoke.
“Saturday was a hard one to pin people down. All her classmates went home after they graduated from Uni in July, so that only left the local ones. I also went to the street where she lives with her Mum and Dad.”
He gave a long whistle and Andy covered his ears, wincing. “It’s up on the cliff near the convent, and man, you should see the house. Big as a barracks. That cost a fortune, you can bet on it. There was a boat in the drive and all.”
Craig interjected. “Did you knock at the Trainor’s house or just the neighbours?”
He already knew the answer. Liam was too long in the tooth to foul the path this soon.
Liam shot him a wry look. “Neighbours. I’ll leave the Mr and Mrs for another day. Anyway… the girl next door is called Billy Munroe, and...”
“Billy?” Andy was staring at him confused.
“God, you’re as old fashioned as Davy.” He ignored their questioning looks and carried on with a superior tone. “Billy’s her nickname. It’s cool for girls to take boys name these days, apparently. Mind you, her real name is Wilhelmina so you can understand why.”
Craig waved him on, as amused as Andy now. Liam could turn a simple report into an episode of Have I Got News For You. Sometimes it drove him mad but it was just what they needed today in their hung-over haze.
“Well, Billy says that Lissy hated her Mum but loved her dad and he was the only reason she stayed living at home. But she was planning to move in with her boyfriend in a couple of weeks. Excited about it too, then all of a sudden it was all off and there were tears every day. Billy had no idea why but she did say the boyfriend had been a bit of player at school.”
“Isn’t everyone a player at sixteen?”
They turned towards the question and saw John with a smile on his face. Craig had been to school with him and John was the sort who’d worshipped girls from afar, but if he wanted to pretend he’d been a player, who was he to ‘out’ him? Andy was staring wistfully into space, remembering.
Liam sniffed and moved on. He’d been too busy working on his parent’s farm at sixteen to play around, then he’d put on the suit and started getting shot at, met Danni and that was the end of that. Although he liked to practice flirting with Nicky to prevent rusting up.
Craig interjected. “OK Liam, keep going with the friends and get the boyfriend in for a chat. Let’s have him in at the station, it’ll focus his mind. John, anything more on the ’83 case?”
John shook his head. “The M.O. was slightly different. Ronni Jarvis was beaten then strangled before she was buried in the sand. I’ve a call out for any hair and sand fibres they had back then, but as you said yesterday, the case was thin. The bruises led them towards a punishment killing, but if they hadn’t been there it could have been put down as an ordinary murder. She wasn’t a small woman and she was
Andy made a weak attempt at laughter then held his head and stared out at the sea. The hotel had views of the Donegal Peninsula and glimpses of Scotland as well. The whole area was stunning, including the beach where they’d found Lissy. It was known locally as the Strand, but whatever you called it, it was beautiful. Miles of pale clean sand dotted with people taking an early morning stroll. In the distance a few adventurous surfers were braving the North Atlantic’s unpredictable moods.
John was staring out the window as well, but he wasn’t admiring the shoreline. He was thinking of any forensics the C.S.I.s might have missed. Craig contrasted his focus with Liam and Andy’s morning craic, wondering who had it right. After ten minutes of coffee, toast and banter, he pulled them all back to work.
“OK. Liam, did you get anywhere with Lissy Trainor’s movements yesterday.”
Liam pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flicked to a page near the back. He shook his head slowly as he spoke.
“Saturday was a hard one to pin people down. All her classmates went home after they graduated from Uni in July, so that only left the local ones. I also went to the street where she lives with her Mum and Dad.”
He gave a long whistle and Andy covered his ears, wincing. “It’s up on the cliff near the convent, and man, you should see the house. Big as a barracks. That cost a fortune, you can bet on it. There was a boat in the drive and all.”
Craig interjected. “Did you knock at the Trainor’s house or just the neighbours?”
He already knew the answer. Liam was too long in the tooth to foul the path this soon.
Liam shot him a wry look. “Neighbours. I’ll leave the Mr and Mrs for another day. Anyway… the girl next door is called Billy Munroe, and...”
“Billy?” Andy was staring at him confused.
“God, you’re as old fashioned as Davy.” He ignored their questioning looks and carried on with a superior tone. “Billy’s her nickname. It’s cool for girls to take boys name these days, apparently. Mind you, her real name is Wilhelmina so you can understand why.”
Craig waved him on, as amused as Andy now. Liam could turn a simple report into an episode of Have I Got News For You. Sometimes it drove him mad but it was just what they needed today in their hung-over haze.
“Well, Billy says that Lissy hated her Mum but loved her dad and he was the only reason she stayed living at home. But she was planning to move in with her boyfriend in a couple of weeks. Excited about it too, then all of a sudden it was all off and there were tears every day. Billy had no idea why but she did say the boyfriend had been a bit of player at school.”
“Isn’t everyone a player at sixteen?”
They turned towards the question and saw John with a smile on his face. Craig had been to school with him and John was the sort who’d worshipped girls from afar, but if he wanted to pretend he’d been a player, who was he to ‘out’ him? Andy was staring wistfully into space, remembering.
Liam sniffed and moved on. He’d been too busy working on his parent’s farm at sixteen to play around, then he’d put on the suit and started getting shot at, met Danni and that was the end of that. Although he liked to practice flirting with Nicky to prevent rusting up.
Craig interjected. “OK Liam, keep going with the friends and get the boyfriend in for a chat. Let’s have him in at the station, it’ll focus his mind. John, anything more on the ’83 case?”
John shook his head. “The M.O. was slightly different. Ronni Jarvis was beaten then strangled before she was buried in the sand. I’ve a call out for any hair and sand fibres they had back then, but as you said yesterday, the case was thin. The bruises led them towards a punishment killing, but if they hadn’t been there it could have been put down as an ordinary murder. She wasn’t a small woman and she was
Similar Books
