“And what has any of this got to do with what happened with Mr Parker?”
Taylor sighs and looks down at his fingers. Rubbing his thumb off one of them, he lazily looks up at them.
“Mr Taylor, the best thing you can do now is to comply. We have a warrant to search your house, which officers are currently already combing through. What will we find there? We’ve also found out who the stolen car belonged to. We have even managed to track down the number plate and have ploughed through CCTV to see it crossing the Foyle Bridge shortly after midnight, with four men in the seats. It was then seen entering the Bay Road area, where it stayed for some time. An hour later, it is seen driving over to the Waterside towards the Ardmore Road, where it is ultimately lost. You have a property on the Ardmore Road, I believe? A derelict farmhouse… The perfect place to take someone for a slither of privacy.”
Taylor stares at them, his eyes bouncing between them. Before finally, lifting a hand and scratching his unshaven chin, he pouts.
“What do you want to know?”
“Well… As you can tell, we know everything, Taylor… We want to hear you tell us what happened, in your own words.”
Sighing once more, Taylor glances at his solicitor, his only moment of weakness, who nods.
“You don’t know everything. You have the wrong end of the stick… Like I told you last night, only a fool wouldn’t have been worried about Parker’s party. Ardóimid and Boyle might tell you different… But I know they were. I could see they were getting nervous. And that’s what spurred me on. I know Parker was a protestant, and although his wife is a catholic, and their kids went to the catholic grammars, that didn’t concern me. We could’ve been a great team, I think. Move this country forward. You’re right, I didn’t like taking no for an answer that night, but show me someone who does. So, I think he needed a little… Persuasion.”
McNally almost snorts audibly.
“You’re right, I did get some lads to pick him up and take him to the Bay Road. There, they were asked to convince him that it was in his best interest whilst I mingled with the party. One eye on my phone.”
“And Parker’s phone?”
McNally almost stomps on Ferguson’s foot for interrupting him.
“What about it?”
“Is it true that you stole it?”
Taylor raises a brow.
“Yes, but giving the light of the conversation and the fact that I’ve been arrested for murder, I didn’t think that was an issue.”
“Just wanting to know how it came to appear in the surrounding bushes of the Waterfoot Hotel.”
“I planted it there after stealing it.”
Ferguson nods as McNally glares at him.
“As you were saying, Mr Taylor.”
Taylor rolls his eyes and coughs, leaning back and fidgeting with his shirt.
“Yes, well… Where was I?”
“You were still at the party.”
“Aye, so… They rang and said that he still wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t agree to join us. So, as I’m sure you’re both aware, I asked them to move him to my farmhouse.”
He goes quiet, pursing his lips.
“And then?”
“I must say, gentlemen. What I’m about to disclose next will almost indefinitely incriminate me, but I must urge you to keep an open mind. I arrived, drunk and annoyed. I requested that they leave me alone with him. At first, we started out just talking. Discussing politics… As you do. He was trying to establish that we would never agree on anything if we were to join. We had different views on religion. On abortion. On the LGBT community,” he air quotes the latter. “It seems I wasn’t getting through to him. His job was not to agree with my terms. It was to just do as I say. Get the people interested and voting for him. Therefore, voting for me!”
The frustration in his voice is obvious, as he clears his throat in an attempt to calm himself down.
“When he refused time and time again, I do admit… I did do something I’m still not very proud of…”
They sit forward. Eager to await his confession.
“I cracked up… And I… Threw a bottle at the wall. It smashed, showering us in glass. I marched over and I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Bellowing in his face that if he didn’t join me… That I was a very powerful man. I knew people. And I knew where he lived. I knew he had a son and two daughters. And a wife… I’m not proud of it, detectives… But I threatened the life of his family. That’s when he finally caved… He agreed.
“Shortly after that, I threw him into the back of my car. Off a back road, I tossed him out, freeing him and drove off. But I swear, detectives, when I looked in my rear-view mirror as I sped off, I saw him standing up and brushing himself off. Glaring after my car and turning in the direction of the Glenshane Road and, ultimately, his home.”
The detectives stare at him. Unconvinced.
“And then what?” McNally scrunches up his face.
“I went home and I went to bed. The next day, I saw on the news that he went missing. It’s the truth!”
Both McNally and Ferguson shuffle defiantly in their seats.
“So, what do you suggest happened to him, then?” McNally shakes his head.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumours about me. Not all of them are true. And I didn’t kill that man. Why would I want to kill him after he agreed to join forces with me? With both of us, we could’ve knocked Ardóimid out of the race. We could’ve gone on to become massive political figures in Northern Irish history. Think about it!”
Chapter Fifty-Eight:
Is that… It is. It’s her. Chris trots across the car park, reaching for the passenger-side door handle just as
