Broken Ground by Val McDermid

Author:Val McDermid [McDermid, Val]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780802146939
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Published: 2018-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

37

2018 – Edinburgh

Willow hadn’t been the only one giving a performance in that interview room, Karen thought as she walked down the Pleasance towards the Cowgate. Her parting shot had been empty bluster. They’d be bloody lucky to find forensic evidence that would definitively contradict the story they’d been fed on the record.

Jimmy had been more sanguine about it. ‘It all depends on whether the husband pulls through. If he tells a story that fits the forensics better than hers, we’ll be in business. If he doesn’t? Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’ Karen had opened her mouth to protest, but he cut across her. ‘The one thing I know for certain in this case is that it is not your fault. None of it.’

‘So what now?’

‘While we’re waiting on news from the Royal, I’ve sent Jacqui out to talk to Edward Muir.’

‘The grieving husband?’

‘Aye. And he is genuinely grieving. They’ve got two teenage kids boarding at Gordonstoun. One of the teachers is driving them back. So Jacqui’s got a wee window of having him to herself. See whether Dandy said anything about the Hendersons in the last few days. And if not, we want a list of her best buddies. The women she’d tell things to in the strictest confidence.’

Karen managed a tired smile. ‘You know how that works, right? When you get told something in strictest confidence, you can only legally tell your other two best friends. As opposed to everybody in your Facebook friends.’

‘See when you say stuff like that? It makes me realise I am never going to understand women. Anyway, if she told anybody, I’d put my money on Jacqui finding it out. She’s very different from Phil, but she still gets results.’

Karen had tried her best to look pleased but felt sure she’d failed. ‘That’s good. Because I’m going to have to disappear into the undergrowth on this one, Jimmy. The Dog Biscuit is dying to get something solid on me, and taking an active part in this investigation is exactly the kind of thing she’d love to beat me up with.’

‘I get that, Karen. But you can still make a valuable contribution from behind the scenes. Gonnae let me keep you up to speed, pick your brains when I need to?’

They’d parted outside St Leonard’s with Karen reluctantly agreeing to lurk in the shadows of Jimmy’s case. She turned right on the Royal Mile, edging through the hapless knots of tourists who blocked its pavements all year round these days, fascinated by the endless parade of shops selling tartan knickknacks, shortbread in every conceivable shape and overpriced whisky. There were times when she thought people should have a walking licence. Like a driving licence only with stricter penalties for bad behaviour.

She dodged a pair of Japanese teenagers oblivious to anything except the music on their earphones and cut down New Street. It was like time-shifting into a different city, one whose streets were available only to the natives. Her

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