the ledge to see further into the distance but the view had no appeal. Brennan turned away and sighed. He knew Lorraine had every right to feel angry with him: she had stood by him, helped him straighten things out with the review board and with Galloway. She had even offered to resign her job so they could formalise their relationship, and he’d rewarded her how? By treating her like a tart. And now she was carrying his child. He had felt something for her, genuinely. He may not have known just what it was but there was a definite connection. Had it passed? Was it just another phase he was going through that made him think he had no more time for Lorraine? He didn’t know. All he did know was the situation had suddenly got more complicated than ever.
Brennan rubbed the stubble on his chin. So, there was more than one difficult situation that needed his attention, but they would all have to wait. Until he had that young girl’s killer before the courts, everything would have to wait. He headed out.
In the car park Brennan lit a Silk Cut and waited for McGuire to work out that he was waiting to be collected from the front of the building. He got three or four good pelts out of the cigarette before the silver Cavalier drew up beside him. He let McGuire sit with the engine running for a moment or two as he took short draws on the filter tip. He still couldn’t get a decent smoke out of the Silk Cut but he persisted. Life was all about perseverance, wasn’t it?
In the car Brennan opened the file and looked through some of the notes that had been made by Galloway that morning. She had scribbled some inane remarks about the pathologist’s preliminary report and double- underlined instructions to make the kind of checks even the most wet behind the ears on the squad would do without thinking. The woman infuriated him. She was completely unaware of her own unsuitability for a life in the force and seemed to be in full receipt of the kind of arrogance that made her stupidity even more galling to all those who noticed it. She was, however, racing up the ranks. She obviously had her protectors and backers and it wouldn’t be wise to get on the wrong side of her. Certainly not in a probationary period.
Brennan was first to break the silence in the car. ‘Where are they staying?’
‘The Travelodge, sir.’
‘Which one?’
‘The new one… Out at Cameron Toll.’ Brennan felt relieved — there was also a Travelodge on the same street as the morgue; staying there would have been more than a little odd.
‘You say they’re a bit… strange?’
McGuire spun the wheel through his hands. ‘A bit, yeah, you could say that.’
‘Well, you did. So explain it.’
The DC took a lower gear, rode the clutch a little. ‘Well, if it was me, and I’d lost a daughter like that, I’d be ropeable, but he just dragged his wife away and, well, seemed to want to shut her up, really.’
Brennan sized up the DC’s response. ‘But that’s you, Stevie. Different strokes for different folks.’
McGuire smiled, started to work his way back up the gears as the road cleared. ‘Yeah, I know. I guess you had to be there. It was all very odd, that’s all I’m saying. I had this gut feeling that the bloke had something to hide.’
Brennan went for broke. ‘Do you think he killed his daughter?’
‘Christ Almighty.’
He pressed, ‘Well, do you?’
McGuire was braking for a traffic light. He paused before he brought the car to a halt. ‘Are you asking me do I think he did it?’
Brennan shrugged.
‘I can’t make a wild guess like that, sir. I mean, I just can’t. But if you were asking do you think he was a possible, at this stage, going on what I’d seen of him I’d say he’s definitely suspicious enough.’
The lights changed. McGuire overrevved; the engine nearly cut out. He cursed as he found first again and heard the gears bite.
For a moment or two, Brennan replayed what he’d just heard from the DC. It did seem a bit odd, for sure, but weren’t all religious types a bit odd? And then they were from the north — stranger still. There was nothing solid to go on. Brennan had seen parents so shocked at the loss of a child that they entered a virtual state of catatonia upon hearing the news. There was no standard way of dealing with that kind of blow. He knew he would have to reserve judgement until he’d thoroughly quizzed the parents.
Brennan spoke: ‘Did either of them seem surprised to discover their daughter in Edinburgh?’
‘No. Not really… In fact, I can’t say there was a flicker. Why?’
Brennan frowned. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
This was a test — McGuire appeared to know it. He squinted, seemed to be searching the recesses of his mind for the answer. None came. ‘Not to me, sir.’
‘Well, where did you say they were staying?’
‘Travelodge.’
‘Not with friends, then?’
‘No.’
‘Well, could be because they don’t know anyone here… In that case, what the hell’s their daughter doing this far away from home, in a strange city, where the family has no connections?’
McGuire’s eyes flickered. ‘I see. I didn’t think of that.’
‘Get the boys back at the office to check out any schoolmates, boyfriends or the like that have left her hometown recently. Anyone that the girl might have had a connection to, or reason to want to tie in with down here.’
‘Yes, boss.’
McGuire drove to the car park for the shopping centre at Cameron Toll and pulled up outside the front entrance. As they got out he pointed to the hotel across the road. It was the first time Brennan had seen the place; the last time he had been up this way it was a half-derelict building. It seemed like the city was changing everywhere he went. If you strayed into an area where you hadn’t been for some months, or weeks even, the chances were that you wouldn’t recognise the topography.
At the hotel Brennan left the formalities to McGuire. He listened as he spoke to the receptionist, requested she call the minister’s room. There was no answer.
‘Perhaps they’ve gone out,’ said the receptionist. She had a heavy Eastern European accent.
‘Have they dropped off a key?’ said Brennan.
The girl looked under the counter. ‘One moment, please.’
Brennan gave one of his looks to McGuire. It was a look that said: If you’ve lost the pair of them already then I’m putting your arse in a sling. The DC drummed his fingers repeatedly on the front desk.
‘Erm, no… they haven’t dropped off the keys. They might be at breakfast. I’ll check, if you’d like to wait.’
‘We’ll wait in the lounge.’
‘Yes, that’s fine,’ said the receptionist. ‘Would you like some tea?’
McGuire nodded, smiled.
‘No, thank you,’ said Brennan. ‘We’ll be fine as we are.’
The DI strode off.
Chapter 21
Brennan looked around the new hotel, sneered at the fittings. These places all looked the same to him. He was glad he wasn’t a travelling salesman, or someone who had to spend any length of time in places like this. They were soulless. What was the point in travelling around the country, the world, when you stayed in joints like this? You’d be as well staying at home, saving the money.
It had been some time since Brennan and his family had been on holiday. Sophie was too old for that kind of thing. In the last few months she had turned into a small adult. It just occurred, almost overnight. She woke up and suddenly she was no longer his little girl. It scared Brennan how alike they were: at Sophie’s age he had been just as wrapped up in himself. He’d wanted to make a difference, hadn’t wanted to be like everyone else. The idea of the nine-to-five existence had terrified him. He couldn’t see himself poring over the minutiae of business in some
