The Depths by Catriona King

Author:Catriona King [King, Catriona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hamilton-Crean Publishing
Published: 2019-06-18T22:00:00+00:00

****

Belfast. 4.50p.m.

As it happened, Craig was saved from returning to ‘burial by paperwork’ in his office by an instant message on his phone, an innovation introduced just weeks before by the Chief Constable to do away with the unnecessarily long phone calls it often took to inform someone of a simple fact such as lab results being ready or an arrest having been made. His message was more cryptic and informed him that he had a ‘delivery at High Street’ that he knew could only be his prisoner from Armagh.

He signalled Liam to divert to the station, expecting to be shown one prisoner when he entered but instead finding Jack Harris bent over his custody desk muttering about, “Being dumped with two.”

Craig greeted the disgruntled sergeant cheerfully. “Hello, Jack. I’m here to see my delivery.”

When the sergeant lifted his eyes far too slowly from his registration book both detectives knew that he wasn’t amused.

“I was told there’d only be one prisoner.”

“There is. Ben Frampton from Mahon Prison.”

“No, there isn’t, there are two! Some bloke called Arthur Norris has just been brought in by your lot as well, and it would have been polite if someone had let me know. I’ve rooms to clean and meals to sort out you know.”

He sounded like a boarding house landlady; all that was missing was a lament about his ‘housewife’s hands’.

But the detectives were genuinely confused about the second guest so Liam took a peek at the sergeant’s book.

“Who’s the heck’s Arthur Norris?”

Jack sniffed as he replied. “I’m damned if I know. Ask your boy Aidan, he brought him in from some place called Rownton.”

The penny dropped on the others at once.

“Hughesy’s found something for us, boss.”

“Norris must be the man who paid the girl to lie. Aidan mentioned something about him when he called earlier.”

Craig turned back to the custody sergeant. “What time did the prisoners arrive, Jack?”

“About ten minutes ago. I’m just booking them in.”

“Are Aidan and Ryan still here?”

A jerked thumb indicated the staff-room, so they’d showed themselves through to the back where the other two detectives were finally getting to eat their sandwiches in peace. A peace that was shattered by Liam storming in.

“Hello, hello, hello, what’s all this slacking then?”

As Ryan went to retort Craig shook his head. “Ignore him, he’s just winding you up. Stick the kettle on, Liam. Mine’s a black coffee.”

He stared at his D.S. curiously. “Who gave you the shiner, Ryan?”

The answer came in an embarrassed mutter, “Rio Rey-” that was cut off by Liam’s guffaw.

“A girl! You got a black eye from a girl?”

“Yeh, well, she was a real wildcat!”

Aidan’s quick snort of derision was a betrayal worthy of Brutus, but Craig decided to prevent what looked like it was about to be a noisy exchange by taking the seat opposite the D.C.I.

“Right, Aidan. This Arthur Norris. He’s the man who paid the Reynolds girl to lie?”

Aidan could only nod, his mouth now full of tuna and onion, so Ryan gave the answer.

“Norris turned

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