Perfect Dead: A gripping crime thriller that will keep you hooked

‘He seemed all right,’ said Farrell. ‘Bit full of himself but probably an occupational hazard for an art critic.’

‘I thought he was a pretentious poser, but DI Moore certainly seems to rate him,’ said Mhairi.

Farrell visibly relaxed.

‘Oh well then, he must be fairly sound. I trust her judgement,’ said Farrell.

Honestly, for a smart bloke he could be so dense at times, thought Mhairi. Well she wasn’t going to spell it out for him. He’d only take her head off. DI Moore could take care of herself.

‘Are we going to see The Collective now?’ she asked.

‘No, I reckon we’ll hold that over until tomorrow. I want to check back in with the team. These artists. Quite an intense lot, aren’t they?’

‘You can say that again! When all’s said and done, it’s only splashing a bit of paint around, isn’t it?’

‘I’d keep that view to yourself in Kirkcudbright or they’ll run you out of town,’ said Farrell.

The radio crackled into life. The remains of a body had been discovered on Dundrennan Firing Range just a few miles from Kirkcudbright. They were to attend the scene and secure it at once.

‘I don’t believe it,’ Farrell muttered as, glancing at his mirror, he swung the car around in a U turn.

Chapter Fifteen (#ulink_61cad89a-8479-564b-a51a-ff90d75c5c31)

Back in Dumfries, Lind sighed and, with a heavy heart, picked up the phone. The remains might not be those of Ailish, but he knew that her sister Maureen would want to be told of the grisly find at the earliest opportunity.

‘Hello, can I speak to Maureen Kerrigan, please?’

‘Detective Lind, is that you?’ asked the soft lilting voice. ‘Dear God, have they found her? Is she …?’

‘We’ve found the remains of a body. There’s nothing to say it’s your sister yet, but I wanted you to hear it from me first.’

‘I see,’ she said with a catch in her voice. ‘You’ll keep me in the loop?’

‘Always,’ he said and heard the tears start to come as she replaced the receiver.

He had been the officer in charge of the investigation into her disappearance over three years ago. Given the kind of life she had been living back then, the most likely explanation was that she had simply run off after a tiff with her boyfriend. However, when her elder sister, Maureen, had come over from Ireland to report her missing, he had thought that theory did not sit very well with the text Ailish had sent the morning she disappeared. He had persuaded the Super to let him launch an investigation that had turned up precisely nothing. As with all missing person cases, there had been a number of alleged sightings, but none had turned out to be concrete. He had been left with a niggling feeling of failure. Beyond the bare fact of her disappearance, there had been no evidence then or since to suggest that she had come to any harm. Of course, it might not even be her.

His mobile rang. It was Laura. There was a time not so long ago when unexpectedly hearing her voice lifted his spirits. These days, he was so perplexed and unsettled by her behaviour that his stomach would flip with dread. He accepted the call and frowned as Laura’s voice announced that she was unable to collect the children from school as something had come up. He could hear laughter and music in the background. Her speech was slurred.

‘Laura, I can’t simply drop everything.’

‘But you expect me to?’ she snapped.

‘A body has been found,’ he said, attempting to remonstrate with her.

‘So? If it’s dead, what’s the hurry?’

‘Have you been drinking?’

‘And what if I have?’

He could tell this was an argument he wasn’t going to win. Someone was egging her on in the background. Probably that new so-called friend of hers.

‘Fine. I’ll pick them up,’ he said and terminated the call, feeling the first opening salvo of a killer headache.

At least he knew that Farrell was en route to the new crime scene. He could rely on him not to stuff things up. It wasn’t the first time recently that Laura had phoned him out of the blue to collect the kids from school and nursery. He had a feeling she was pushing the self-destruct button. Ever since she had lost the baby last year, she had been various versions of the person he married, but never the same one. He had hoped that the worst was behind them but since she had met that woman at her support group things had deteriorated.

He glanced at his watch. There was a scheduled briefing for the Monro Stevenson case at 4 p.m. He would need to take that in Farrell’s absence, which would still give him time to collect the kids and deposit them somewhere. But where? They were too young to come into the station.

As if in answer to his prayers, DI Moore popped her head around his door. There were deep shadows under her eyes. She looked exhausted.

‘Kate! Shouldn’t you have been away hours ago?’

‘I’m just heading off, John. Been going through the forgery case files forwarded by Glasgow with a fine-tooth comb, but we have so little to go on. I’m still trying to get hold of the CCTV footage from Broughton House. DC Thomson’s idea. Smart lad.’

‘Yes, he’s shaping up nicely. Actually, Kate, I don’t suppose? No forget it. You get along.’

‘John, if you need me to do something, get to the point. I can always say no,’ she said.

‘It’s more in the nature of a personal favour,’ he said.

‘Go on,’ she said.

‘Could you possibly pick up the kids from school and nursery?’

‘I would LOVE to!’ She beamed, looking suddenly less tired.

‘Really? You honestly don’t mind?’

‘Your kids are adorable, John. It’s hardly a hardship.’

Only to their mother, thought Lind.

‘Brilliant! I owe you one, Kate. I’ll give the nursery a ring to let them know you’ll be collecting them.’

‘What about car seats and whatnot?’ she asked.

‘Both Laura and I have them, and I’m insured for any driver,’ he said, handing her his car keys. ‘I’ll get back as soon as I can.’

‘Take your time. I’m not due on until the morning.’

‘I need to cover the briefing at 4 p.m. then I should be able to relieve you and work from home for a bit.’

‘Is Laura all right? She’s not unwell, is she?’

‘No,’ said Lind. ‘Maybe … to be honest I don’t really know,’ he sighed.

‘Give it time, she’s been through a lot.’