BENEATH LOST GROUND by G.D. Higgins

Author:G.D. Higgins [Higgins, G.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Monday morning brought no relief from the heat, and humidity levels were at a point Brophy had only experienced once, on a trip to Thailand, courtesy of the county board for winning the Munster Final in ‘01. Mixed with his displeasure was the fact that he’d barely managed three hours sleep the night before, the chaos of the last few days playing hard on his mind. He wore a black polo-neck to offset the brightness of the beige linen pants he put on, the lightest item of clothing in his possession.

He arrived at Glencairn Industrial Estate at a little after nine. The car park of the one-storey flat-roofed white building was all but full. Business as usual. McCall had called him a while earlier to say she’d be running late and pleaded with him to wait until she arrived to question the employees. In his foul mood, he begrudgingly agreed to hold off on the second interview with the board member, David Hughes. But first, he’d interview the receptionist by himself.

The lobby was more like that of a hospital; one of the very expensive private ones like where he was taken if he had an injury during the inter-county championship. The walls were white and adorned in places with white PVC panelling, the name of the company spattered here and there in blue letters. At first, he thought there was no one at the reception desk but as he drew closer, heard sniffling coming from behind it. He leaned over and saw a young lady with her head rested on her crossed arms on the desk.

“Am, excuse me? Are you Clíodhna Devlin?”

She raised her head from her arms, and her face was all puffy and streaked with make-up infused tears like she’d been crying for days. “Yes,” she said in a trembling voice. “Who are you?”

“I’m Detective Brophy. I’m investigating the death of your boss, Jordan Walters.” Her face quivered, and he anticipated an explosion of grief. However, she managed to hold it together.

“Oh, yes. I was expecting someone at some stage today. I just thought it’d be more than one person, and they’d be wearing uniforms, is all.” She dabbed at the tears with a red hankie, and for a brief second, he saw what Walters must have been attracted to. Although not conventionally beautiful, her big blue eyes and doll-like face gave her a hidden magnetism most men would find difficult to deflect.

“Do you think we’d be able to go somewhere to have a chat, Ms Devlin?”

“Of course,” she said, braving an attempt at a smile, revealing yet more of her strange allure. “We can go to the waiting lounge across the hall there.” She got up and walked around the desk, and in a business-like manner, ushered him across the lobby to a room beside the security doors, leading into the labs. Brophy sat on a two-seater sofa facing the door, and she sat on a swivel chair across from him.

“Firstly, I’m very sorry for your loss.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.