The Corpse at the Haworth Tandoori by Robert Barnard

Author:Robert Barnard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner

12

BOYS TOGETHER

They faxed the Gardai in Rathdrum that night, and had a reply on their desks when they got back to West Yorkshire Police headquarters in the morning.

There was a family that answered the description they had sent in a village called Donclody. The father, now dead, had been a violent man, both outside and inside his family circle, not otherwise criminal but brutal and stupid. The eldest boy, Patrick, was a tearaway with minor convictions, but nothing was known against the second son, Declan, or against anyone else in the immediate family. The message helpfully added the name and telephone number of the Donclody parish priest. Charlie wondered cynically if they were in the habit of unloading awkward jobs on to the nearest available priest, in this case Father Baillie.

He sounded an elderly, compassionate man when they got him on the line after early morning Mass.

“The O’Hearns? Oh, yes, Patrick is the eldest, then Declan, and Mary is the third. Mrs. O’Hearn’s done a fine job, on the whole, and against the odds, from all I hear. . . . No, I’ve only been here two years. . . . Well, I wouldn’t want to be speaking ill of the dead, but the father by all accounts was a bit of a drunken brute, God rest his soul.”

Mike Oddie began to explain the situation, but was soon interrupted.

“Not Declan! You’re not saying Declan has been murdered. Oh, but it’ll break the poor mother’s heart! I tell you, you couldn’t have wished to find a nicer boy. And he had a brain too, a good, sharp brain, but with it all he was as willing and helpful as you could find in a year of looking. Oh, dear, oh, dear.”

“We’ve no certain identification as yet,” admitted Oddie. “We’re hoping the mother might come over—”

“Oh, dear, is that necessary? The poor woman will be suffering so sorely at the loss.”

“We do find it is helpful to the survivors, as well as to us,” said Oddie. It was special pleading but it struck home.

“I can see that,” admitted Father Baillie. “Sometimes they have fantasies that it was never him at all, I suppose. You want me to talk to poor Eileen, don’t you?”

“We’d be very grateful. And if you could persuade her to come over as soon as possible.”

“That might be difficult. I’m guessing that Rathdrum is as far as she’s been in her life. And she’ll certainly never have flown or been on water.”

“Persuade her, please. It’s not only identification we need, but background too. Things such as, is there anything that we need to look into over there or can we concentrate on the young lad’s life since he came to this area?”

“I can see that. I promise I’ll do my best. If she wants me to I’ll take her to the airport myself and do all that’s necessary. Is it Manchester she should fly to?”

“Manchester or Leeds/Bradford. If you’ll just phone and let us know we’ll pick her up ourselves.

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