The Dublin Murder Mysteries: Books one to three by Valerie Keogh

Author:Valerie Keogh [Keogh, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

18

‘So that’s the story,’ Andrews finished. ‘Our Mr McGrath is a piece of work.’

West sat in his usual position, chair balanced on its back legs, rocking pensively back and forth. ‘Blackmail is a nasty business, Peter.’

‘Yes, I think we’ll have to look very closely at McGrath. He has secrets. Maybe Roberts found them out.’

‘And he killed him, his own brother-in-law?’ West didn’t sound convinced. ‘I don’t know, Pete. It sounds like this blackmail business was reactive. He panicked when he was caught in a compromising situation, used what he knew to redress the balance.’

‘You make it sound perfectly acceptable.’

‘Just the reaction of a stupid man. You saw McGrath in the graveyard. If he hadn’t come to us, we’d never have thought to look closer at him. It was an idiotic thing to do. But Gerard Roberts’ murder is a different story. Cleverly planned and vicious.’ He dropped his chair onto its four legs with a bang. ‘But let’s not rule him out. Have a look at his finances. If he could blackmail the school head, maybe he’s done it before, and you’ll find regular deposits from some nefarious character. Roberts found out, threatened to expose him and McGrath had him killed. We’ll arrest him, and that will be that.’

‘It happens that way in films,’ Andrews said with a shrug.

‘And in the best novels,’ West added.

‘McGrath is a nasty piece of work,’ Andrews said, rubbing a hand over his head.

West cocked an eyebrow. He heard the tone of voice, Andrews wanted something done. ‘You liked this Tom Reilly?’

‘He’s a decent man who loves his job, and his partner,’ he said. ‘The likes of Greg McGrath shouldn’t be allowed to wreck any of that.’

Life wasn’t usually that simple. Andrews tended to be a bit black and white, but there were a lot of grey shades in between. Blackmail, however, was a foul game – time to call a halt to it. ‘I think we should seize his home computer,’ West said, seeing an immediate look of satisfaction cross Andrews’ face. ‘We need to find out precisely what kind of porn he’s into. We’ll have no problem getting a warrant, all we have to do is put the words pornography and school in the same sentence.’

‘Tomorrow?’ Andrews asked.

‘We need to be considerate of the family’s grief. Mrs Robert’s sister looked distraught. It might be best to contact McGrath directly, once you have the warrant.’ West reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card. ‘He was kind enough to give us his number, after all, let’s use it.’

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