‘Drunk driving. Coming up for eight years ago. Knocked a woman down on a dark road.’

‘Oh wait, is he the lad with the famous sister?’

‘That’s him.’

‘I remember him, now. Don’t think he came back for another stint. What do you want to know?’

‘He was shot dead on Saturday morning. Sniper rifle.’

‘Sheesh.’

‘Quite. So, I need to know who he associated with when he was inside. Anyone he rubbed up the wrong way, particularly anyone in for firearms offences. Think you can help?’

‘Aye. Might take a bit of time but I’ll get onto it. If you could send through a formal request?’

‘Will do. But if it’s possible to rush it, meantime.’

Colin laughed. ‘It’s always the same with you lot, isn’t it? Leave it with me, Clare. I’ll see what I can do.’

Chapter 13

Nita looked up as Clare entered the incident room. ‘Mark Mooney, your security guard,’ she said, ‘he checks out. No precons. Fully licensed for security work. Regularly does jobs like this one.’

‘Okay, Nita. Thanks. Anything on Russell Fox’s social media? Or phone records?’

‘Checking them now,’ Janey said. ‘Nothing much so far.’

Clare thanked them and wandered back out to the front office. She spotted Zoe, the Admin Assistant, at her desk. She’d been so busy earlier she hadn’t noticed Zoe, maybe because there was something different about her. But, distracted by the murder investigation, she couldn’t think what it was. ‘You’ve had your hair done,’ she said, tentatively.

Zoe put a hand up and patted her curls, piled up on top with a couple of clips. ‘Time for a change,’ she said. Then she glanced across to the incident room door and lowered her voice. ‘Fancy a cake?’ She reached down under her desk and produced a Tupperware container. ‘I made some strawberry blondies last night but I didn’t know all these other folk would be here and there’s not enough to go round.’

‘What’s a blondie?’

Zoe rolled her eyes. ‘Like a brownie only not chocolate.’ She removed the lid and held the tub out for Clare to see. ‘I stirred a strawberry compote through the top before baking.’

‘Oh Zoe! You are not good for my waistline.’

‘Ach, rubbish,’ Zoe said. ‘As my mum says, it’s the belly that keeps the back up.’

‘I like the sound of your mum,’ Clare said, selecting a sticky piece of strawberry blondie. She took this into her office and sat down at the desk. For some reason she was finding it hard to think clearly about this case. Was it because she’d been away at the wedding? Missed those crucial first few hours? Whatever the reason, she had to get a handle on it.