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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

‘Forensics didn’t support your theory of the distance the bullet had travelled prior to striking Edmund.’

‘I read the report.’

‘So?’

‘So? Scientists have to go by the rules so naturally they didn’t discount that it could have been three or four times that distance. They cover their arses. If it ends up in court and they stated a fixed distance, they could be made to look stupid real quick by another “expert”.’

‘But you could be wrong?’

‘Yep.’

‘I’m chasing ghosts,’ Cardilini said, exasperated.

‘Better than them chasing you.’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

‘Anytime.’

Cardilini considered Braun’s reaction. Maybe he was just trying to cover up the complaints against Edmund. Maybe that was the only reason he was so bloody cagey. Maybe Carmody was just protecting kids who Edmund had got to, protecting them from exposure, and there were never any boots or rifle left. Maybe all that. But his gut still told him Edmund was murdered.

Forty-Three

FORTY-THREE

Day 19

St Nicholas College

3.45 p.m. Thursday, 12th November 1965

The boy stood in the corridor outside the sixth form common room waiting for Carmody. One hand was in his pocket clutching the bullet, the pressure and sharpness of it bringing a smile to his face. Across the corridor, a third form boy they called Binder stood on a chair. Twine was his surname. The boy knew Binder well, Binder had hit him square in the middle of the back for no reason, and he’d had a sharp pain there for weeks. He didn’t know how to explain it to the nurse, so he’d just hoped it would go away. Which it did.

Binder was standing on the chair as punishment. A prefect would be punishing him, or maybe just a sixth former. While standing on the chair anyone passing was at liberty to say what he thought of you. ‘Dickhead’, ‘wanker’ or ‘durr’, most of the lower school students would say. But if they were second formers that said anything, Binder would hunt them down and bash them later. The boy thought that worse than a bashing would be the sixth formers looking through him.

Binder didn’t seem very happy. When the boy looked at him, he threatened him with a fist.

‘Harper.’

The boy turned, a sixth former was standing in the doorway signalling to him. The boy walked to him, not taking his eyes off the floor.

‘Your name Harper?’

The boy nodded.

‘Stand inside the door.’

The boy stepped through the doorway. He pushed the heels of his shoes against the skirting. A few pairs of shoes left, then gradually the room quietened and the common room door was closed. The boy didn’t dare look up, but he felt comfortable, he had heard Carmody’s voice.