“Uh… Aye, I am… Uh… Just, don’t know if I’ve got the right house.”
“Then maybe you should move on…”
The boy chuckles nervously, before realising that McNally’s being serious.
“Er… Do ye know if that’s the Parker’s house?”
McNally narrows his eyes at the lad. Lanky, with piercing green eyes and brown hair just about noticeable under his hood. Despite being roughly the same age, his baggy jeans are way off what Ritchie is wearing in the house, which look like they are painted on.
“Who’s asking?”
“Erm… I heard what happened, and I wanted to come pay my condolences… I… I used… Well, I used to a lot of things,” he laughs again.
“Spit it out, boy.”
“I used to be friends with Ritchie, and I’m Danielle’s ex.”
Nodding, McNally takes the boy in once more.
“Chris?”
The boy’s eyes expand dramatically, and he takes a step back, nearly tripping over the pavement.
“Er… Aye, how’d ye know that?”
“You’re on my list.”
McNally steps out of the car and extends his hand.
“Detective Inspector Liam McNally, PSNI.”
He feels the shakes of Chris’s body as he takes his limp hand in his. What would anyone ever see in a weedy lad like him?
“Was actually looking to speak to you in a while about the night Aaron Parker went missing.”
“Why? What happened Quigley?”
“He’s moved on to greener pastures.” The look of unrecognition on his face almost makes McNally roll his eyes. “Belfast.”
“Ohhh,” Chris nods.
“Anyway, what are you doing sulking around here?”
“Like I said… Just wantin’ to pay my respects, but I didn’t know if I had the right house. I haven’t seen them since they left the house on the Glenshane Road.”
Nodding, McNally hears the hum of a car approaching behind. Turning, he sees it’s Ferguson pulling up.
“Grand… Are you planning on staying a while?”
“I… I d-“
“We’ll be back in an hour or so, maybe we can get a good chat then?”
The boy looks alarmed as McNally nods at him before falling into the passenger seat.
“Is that your man… Danielle’s ex-boyfriend?” Ferguson looks after him as he sulks towards the front door of the Parker’s house.
“Chris Hewitt… Aye.”
“Why does he look like he’s just shit himself?”
The two burst into laughter.
“I’m not sure… Police presence, maybe? Or because he’s not spoken to the family since they moved… Might still have a thing for the daughter. Who knows? We’ll find out after speaking to Boyle anyway.”
Ferguson does a three-point turn at the end of the road. By the time they drive past the Parker’s again, Chris has vanished.
Chapter Thirty-One:
Standing at the front door, Chris blows out in apprehension. Have they really lived here all this time? Only down the road from him? He was shocked when Dave told him, but not as shocked as he was to hear what else he had to say. He has to tell them. That detective had spooked him, even more so than that old Quigley guy, but he’s glad he’s left. It’s better to come from him now, with no police breathing down his neck. He can take his time, at his own pace. Decide what to tell and what to leave out. And he’d rather Danielle and her family hear it from him, not the police.
He raises a wrist to knock, before he halts. Had he imagined it? A hissing sound? Shaking his head, he curls his hand into a fist again, only to be met with the same noise.
“Psssssssssst.”
Cocking his head to the left, the source of the noise, he sees a mop of blonde hair curling itself around from the side of the house. Steph? Trudging over, he sees he’s right, it is her.
“What are ye-“
But quicker than he’d ever seen her move, she jolts forward and grabs him by the scruff of the neck, dragging him around the side of the house. When they reach the bins by the back garden, she shoves him to the side, making him bang clumsily against the ivy-covered wall, wrenching his top back into place.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Me? What’re ye doin’ here?”
“I’m her best friend, Chris. And I’m not gonna let you ruin that. Not now, Jesus Christ this is the last thing she needs.”
“I’m not fuckin’ stupid, Steph. I know what I’m doin’.”
“No, you don’t. She doesn’t miss you, Chris. I asked her a few weeks ago when we were out one night. She says she’s moved on. Has even started seeing someone she’s working with over in England.”
Chris stares at her dumbfounded, feeling a hollow pain in his chest.
“It’s just a few dates, nothing serious, but still… It’s progress. You broke her heart!”
“I fuckin’ know what I did, Steph. I think about it every single day. It might be over for her… But it isn’t for me. Not yet, anyway. And besides, I’m not here for that. I have to-“
“Oh, she’s right. You really are an inconsiderate prick, you know, Chris? Spill your guts to her fuckin’ best friend, why don’t you? What the hell has the past week been, then? A way to slither back into her life?”
“What? No, I-“
“I have no idea why I even bothered. Well, I know why it started… Completely plastered and vulnerable and upset… Just how you managed to wangle your way into her life too.”
Chris’s mouth falls open. Is this really what they think of him? Sure, Danielle was drunk… But she wasn’t vulnerable or upset. He was pissed too. And it was only a kiss. It isn’t like he fucking raped her. But he has no leg to stand on with Steph. After all, she kissed him. She climbed on top of him. She… Initiated things. But how would that stand up in court? Or put forward to Danielle or any of their friends? He decides he isn’t going to open that can of worms. Not tonight. He came for one reason and one reason only.
“Let’s not get into that right now, Steph. Like I’ve been try-“
“Chris?”
Jerking their heads to the back door, they see Danielle standing peering through the crack. When she
