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Chapters (70)
  1. Cover
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  3. Map of Rutland
  4. Map of Oakham
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
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  10. 6
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  45. 41
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  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. On Borrowed Time
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. Adam Croft

‘With a friend you vaguely knew from church?’ Walsh didn’t answer. ‘Or is there a bit more to it than that?’

‘You know damn well there is.’

‘I know nothing until you tell me, Patrick. And from where I’m sitting it seems like a very good idea for you to start telling me, because right now you’re on the verge of being charged with the murder of Roger Clifton.’

He looked at Caroline again. ‘I didn’t kill Roger. End of.’

‘No, it’s not “end of”. This is very much the beginning. If you want anything ended, you’ll need to tell us everything.’

Walsh seemed to consider this for a moment. Then he answered.

‘I’m saying nothing. I want a lawyer.’

41

Caroline left the interview room feeling more frustrated than ever. She was almost certain she’d been on the verge of getting a confession out of Patrick Walsh, but now that seemed a million miles away.

Part of her felt worried at having let the custody clock run down so far. They were now more than halfway through, and she’d been left in the position of trying to get hold of a duty solicitor at gone midnight. She privately wondered whether that had been Walsh’s plan all along. But then why admit the affair? None of it made any sense to her. She was tired. Knackered. Very little was going to make sense when her mind was like this.

She wondered if she might be able to grab an hour’s kip somewhere — in her office, perhaps. She didn’t do well with naps. She tended to wake up rattier than before, but it was the only option she had. There was no way she was going to get home before lunchtime. There was always a good chance, too, the custody clock could be extended if her superiors agreed a little more time was needed. It was an option that was only available in the most serious of cases, and there weren’t many more serious than murder.

Caroline made her way back to the incident room, ready to update Sara and Aidan on their progress — or lack thereof — in Walsh’s second interview. But before she could do so, the door flew open and Sara bundled out into the corridor.

‘Oh! There you are. I was just coming down to find you.’

‘Yeah yeah, alright,’ Caroline said. ‘I told you we’d be up when we were finished.’

‘No, I wasn’t chasing. I was coming to give you an update. There’s been a development. A massive one.’

‘What is it?’ Caroline asked, narrowing her eyebrows as she felt the dull thud of exhaustion in her temples.

‘It’s Arthur Clifton — Roger’s brother.’

‘What about him, Sara? Spit it out.’

‘He’s been murdered.’

42

Sara’s words hit Caroline like an icy bolt.

‘What? How? Tell me,’ she said, ushering Sara back into the incident room.