Chapters (67)
- Cover
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
He had kept an open mind while she had been talking, as to whether this was a likely ID for the dead junkie or a false alarm, but at this moment, he had a gut feeling that they had the right man – not that they had been inundated with likely prospects.
She blew her nose, and took the cup of water Simon held out. ‘What happens now?’
‘We have a number of photos of the person you think is your brother, Liam.’
‘It is him.’
‘And I don’t want you to have to see more than absolutely necessary because I know this is extremely distressing, but a dead body can look different from different angles, so I’m asking if you would be able to view just a couple more, so that you’re absolutely confident. If you find you’re not quite as sure after all, then it won’t be in any way your fault. OK, do you think you can do it?’
She nodded. Her tears had gone and he knew they would not come back. Not now. Not yet.
‘Thank you. Right, these were all taken by a forensic photographer and –’
‘It’s OK, I get it, they weren’t done to make him look pretty.’
‘Sorry. I’m going to show them to you on my laptop so that they are as clear as possible, but before I do, can you confirm one thing? That so far as you know, nobody reported to us that your brother was missing, at any time since you last saw him alive?’
‘I’m certain nobody did and I’d have known, unless it was one of his mates, only they’d never have thought of doing it, and definitely not before they’d checked with home first. Like I said, he’d been coming and going, he’d disappear for weeks and then just turn up so nobody exactly thought of him as – well, missing.’
‘Fine. Here we go then. You just have to look at these, as carefully as you can bear to.’ Simon clicked quickly through the first photos, of the flat exterior, then the room.
‘Is that – my God, was he living there?’
‘We’re not sure yet. Possibly. Now, take your time . . . deep breath.’
‘I’m OK.’
He showed pictures of the man’s head. Chest. Left arm.
‘Oh God.’
‘Take a moment . . . look away if you need to.’
‘It’s him. That’s Liam. That’s Liam dead, only he looks like he did that last time . . . except he wasn’t that colour, he was, like, ashy white . . . doughy, I said. That’s his tattoo.’
‘I don’t think you need to look at any more.’ Serrailler closed the file.
‘Is that it?’
‘No. There is something else, I’m afraid, but it doesn’t have to be you, it can be another family member.’