Hurt (DS Lucy Black) (35 page)

When he saw her, Eoghan Harkin stood and moved across to the fence between the shops and the road.

Lucy rolled down the window as she pulled abreast where he stood.

‘Have you no home to go to?’ Harkin asked. ‘It’s Christmas.’

‘I could say the same,’ Lucy said.

‘Someone needs to keep an eye on this crowd. Give them some direction. Now that there’s a vacancy in the area, what with Jackie Logue in the wind.’

‘Not any more. They found his body on the railway tracks last night.’

‘Did they now?’ Harkin asked. ‘Imagine that.’

He smiled at her, his grin feral. Lucy tried to ignore the sickness gnawing at her guts.

‘So what about Alan Cunningham? Any rumours on his whereabouts?’ Lucy asked.

Harkin straightened, looking across the top of her car a second, drawing a final pull on his cigarette. ‘I wouldn’t know anything about that, now,’ he said. ‘Though wherever he tries to go from here onwards, he’ll be getting a cold reception. He’ll have no more bolt-holes. He’ll have to resurface eventually. When he does, you’ll need to be ready to grab him, Sergeant.’

Suddenly, two figures stepped out onto the road from the pavement opposite and passed in front of her. Gavin, his arm wrapped protectively around Elena’s shoulder, his head held high, crossed in front of Lucy’s car while she waited, staring in at her as he did so. Lucy held his stare until finally the boy had to turn away to step up onto the pavement where Harkin stood. At his arrival, the group of youths, who had been at the shop, moved towards him, their voices raised in greeting, as if to welcome a returning conqueror, encircling him the way they had once done for Tony.

Harkin smiled and raised his voice to be heard above the noise of the youths. ‘That’s the thing about your bad deeds. They’ll always resurface eventually,’ he added. ‘You take care for now, Lucy Black. I’ll be seeing you again.’

Lucy watched as he turned to lead the gang back to the shops, Gavin by his side, the youths trailing in his wake.

‘I can promise you that,’ she said.

Thanks to Finbar Madden and all my friends and colleagues in St Columb’s College for their continuing support, and to Bob McKimm and James Johnston for their invaluable advice.

Thanks to all the team at Constable & Robinson, particularly James Gurbutt, Lucy Zilberkweit, Clive Hebard, Sandra Ferguson and Martin Palmer, and to Jenny Hewson of RCW and Emily Hickman of The Agency.

Continued thanks to the McGilloways, Dohertys, O’Neills and Kerlins for their support, especially Carmel, Joe and Dermot, and my parents, Laurence and Katrina, to whom this book is dedicated.

Finally, my love and thanks to my wife, Tanya, and our children, Ben, Tom, David and Lucy.

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1974, and teaches English at St Columb’s College, Derry. He lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and four children.

For more information, visit
www.brianmcgilloway.com
.