01. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

Author:Ann Cleeves
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2006-07-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Perez met Roy Taylor for lunch in the bar of the hotel where the Inverness boys were staying. Taylor had suggested it. 'Just a chat; he'd said. 'You can fill me in on your meeting with Hunter. We can think where we want to go from here.' Perez didn't mind. Sunday was his mother's day for a long phone call and he still didn't have an answer for her. He stuck his head round the door of the Incident Room on his way through town.

Taylor had done the news conference and the phones had been ringing ever since. There was nothing useful though. Not at this stage. Mostly it was people reporting cars they didn't recognize on the road south from Lerwick on the night of the 4th. Some people who'd seen Catherine at the party at the Haa.

The bar was full of people eating Sunday lunch. Most of them recognized Perez, but they could see he was busy and didn't bother him. Taylor seemed depressed. He listened to Perez's story of the interview with Duncan Hunter in silence. He'd bought drinks as soon as they'd come in, but most of his pint was left untouched. They were sitting in a gloomy corner where no one could overhear them.

'I've phoned Mr Ross and asked him to find the camera for us,' Perez said. 'If Catherine was filming the party we might be able to identify more of the people there.'

Taylor looked up from his beer. 'I thought we'd have made more progress by today. I'd hoped it would all be cleared up by this weekend. It's turned out to be more complicated than I'd hoped.'

Perez saw the Englishman had come to Shetland thinking it would be a simple case that he'd sort it quickly and return home in glory.

Taylor took a quick gulp from his pint. 'Is there anything we've missed?'

'Alex Henry; Perez said. 'The teacher's husband. We got a statement from him because he was second person on the scene, but nobody's really talked to him. If we are linking the murder of Catherine Ross with Catriona Bruce's disappearance, maybe we should. He stays right beside the house where both girls lived.'

'He was living there when Catriona went missing?'

'Margaret Henry has been teacher at Ravenswick for years. She taught the girl. There's a statement in the file.

She might even have been the last person to see her before she vanished. She claimed to see Catriona run up the track towards Hillhead that afternoon. It was a Saturday. No school.'

'Was he interviewed at the time too?'

'Only briefly. Everyone was convinced Magnus Tait was the killer.'

'Tell me about him.'

'There's not a lot to tell. He's a scientist. Conservation Officer for Shetland Islands Council. It's his job to monitor the natural history, consider planning applications. The post was created with oil money originally. He seems conscientious. He's made a few enemies - you know the sort of thing. Objecting to house building on the grounds that a marsh with rare plants in it would be drained.

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