Val McDermid - The Distant Echo

A soft mewing noise came from Mrs Duff. ‘That cannae be right,’ Mr Duff protested.

Janice forced herself to continue. ‘Earlier tonight, the body of a young woman was found on Hallow Hill.’

‘There’s been some mistake,’ Archie Duff said stubbornly.

‘I’m afraid not. Some of the officers at the scene recognized Rosie. They knew her from the Lammas Bar. I’m very sorry to have to tell you that your daughter is dead.’

Janice had delivered the blow often enough to know that most people fell into one of two reactions. Denial, like Archie Duff. And overwhelming grief that hit the surviving relatives like an elemental force of nature. Eileen Duff threw her head back and roared her pain at the ceiling, her hands twisting and wringing in her lap, her whole body possessed by anguish. Her husband stared at her as if she were a stranger, his brows drawn down in a firm refusal to acknowledge what was happening.

Janice stood there, letting the first wave break over her like a spring tide on the West Sands. Shaw shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to say next.

Suddenly there were heavy footfalls on the stairs that led off one end of the room. Legs clad in pyjama bottoms appeared, followed by a naked torso then a sleepy face topped with a shock of tousled dark hair. The young man stopped a couple of steps from the bottom and surveyed the scene. ‘What the hell’s going on?’ he grunted.

Without turning his head, Archie said, ‘Your sister’s dead, Colin.’

Colin Duff’s mouth fell open. ‘What?’

Janice stepped into the breach again. ‘I’m very sorry, Colin. But your sister’s body was found a short while ago.’

‘Where about? What happened? What do you mean, her body was found?’ The words tumbled out as his legs gave way and he crumpled on to the bottom tread of the stairs.

‘She was found on Hallow Hill.’ Janice took a deep breath. ‘We believe that Rosie was murdered.’

Colin dropped his head into his hands. ‘Oh Jesus,’ he whispered over and over again.

Shaw leaned forward. ‘We’re going to need to ask you some questions, Mr Duff. Could we maybe go through to the kitchen?’

Eileen’s first paroxysm of grief was easing now. She’d stopped wailing and turned her tear-streaked face to Archie. ‘Bide here. I’m no’ a bairn that needs to be kept from the truth,’ she gulped.

‘Have you got some brandy?’ Janice asked. Archie looked blank. ‘Or some whisky?’

Colin stumbled to his feet. ‘There’s a bottle in the scullery. I’ll get it.’

Eileen turned her swollen eyes to Janice. ‘What happened to my Rosie?’

‘We can’t be certain yet. It appears that she was stabbed. But we’ll need to wait for the doctor before we can be sure.’

At her words, Eileen recoiled as if she herself had been struck. ‘Who would do a thing like that to Rosie? Her that wouldnae hurt a fly.’

‘We don’t know that yet either,’ Shaw chipped in. ‘But we’ll find him, Mrs Duff. We’ll find him. I know this is the worst time in the world to be asking you questions, but the sooner we get the information we need, the quicker we can make progress.’

‘Can I see her?’ Eileen asked.

‘We’ll arrange for that later today,’ Janice said. She crouched down beside Eileen and put a comforting hand on her arm. ‘What time did Rosie usually come in?’

Colin emerged from the kitchen carrying a bottle of Bells and three glasses. ‘The Lammas has last orders at half-past ten. Most nights, she was in by quarter-past eleven.’ He put the glasses down on the coffee table and poured three stiff measures.

‘But some nights she was later?’ Shaw asked.

Colin handed his parents a whisky each. Archie downed half of his in one gulp. Eileen clutched the glass but didn’t put it to her lips. ‘Aye. If she was going to a party or something.’

‘And last night?’

Colin swallowed some whisky. ‘I don’t know. Mum? Did she say anything to you?’

Eileen looked up at him, her expression dazed and lost. ‘She said she was meeting some friends. She didnae say who, and I didnae ask. She’s got a right to her own life.’ There was a defensive tone in her voice that told Janice this had been a bone of contention, probably with Archie.

‘How did Rosie usually get home?’ Janice asked.

‘If me or Brian was in the town, we’d stop by at closing time and give her a lift. One of the other barmaids, Maureen, she’d drop her off if they were on the same shift. If she couldn’t get a lift, she’d get a taxi.’

‘Where’s Brian?’ Eileen said suddenly, anxious for her chicks.

Colin shrugged. ‘He’s not come home. He must have stayed down in the town.’

‘He should be here. He shouldnae hear this from strangers.’

‘He’ll be back for his breakfast,’ Archie said roughly. ‘He needs to get ready for his work.’

‘Was Rosie seeing anybody? Did she have a boyfriend?’ Shaw let his eagerness to be away take over and shunt the interview back on the track he wanted.

Archie scowled. ‘She was never short of boyfriends.’

‘Was there anyone in particular?’

Eileen took a tiny sip of whisky. ‘She’s been going out with somebody lately. But she wouldnae tell me anything about him. I asked her, but she said she’d tell me in her own good time.’

Colin snorted. ‘Some married man, by the sounds of it.’

Archie glared at his son. ‘You keep a civil tongue in your heid when you talk about your sister, you hear me?’

‘Well, why else would she keep it secret?’ The young man’s jaw jutted out defiantly.

‘Maybe she didnae want you and your brother sticking your oar in again,’ Archie retorted. He turned to Janice. ‘They once gave a laddie a battering because they thought he wasnae treating Rosie right.’

‘Who was that?’

Archie’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘That was years ago. It’s got nothing to do with this. The laddie doesnae even live here any more. He moved down to England not long after it happened.’

‘We’ll still want his name,’ Shaw insisted.

‘John Stobie,’ Colin said mutinously. ‘His dad’s a greenkeeper at the Old Course. Like Dad says, he wouldnae dare go near Rosie.’

‘It’s not a married man,’ Eileen said. ‘I asked her. She said she wouldnae bring trouble like that to our door.’

Colin shook his head and turned away, nursing his whisky. ‘I never saw her with anybody lately,’ he said. ‘But she liked her secrets, did Rosie.’

‘We’ll need to take a look at her room,’ Shaw said. ‘Not just now. But later today. So if you could avoid moving anything in there, that would be helpful.’ He cleared his throat. ‘If you’d like, WPC Hogg can stay with you?’

Archie shook his head. ‘We’ll manage.’

‘You might get reporters coming to the door,’ Shaw said. ‘It would be easier for you if you had an officer here.’

‘You heard my dad. We’re better left to ourselves,’ Colin said.

‘When can I see Rosie?’ Eileen asked.

‘We’ll send a car up for you later. I’ll make sure somebody calls you to arrange it. And if you remember anything Rosie said about where she was going tonight, or who she was seeing, please let us know. It would be helpful if you could make a list of her friends. Especially anyone who might know where she was last night and who she was with. Can you do that for us?’ Shaw was gentle now he could see his escape route clear.

Archie nodded and got to his feet. ‘Later. We’ll do it.’

Janice stood up, her knees complaining at their prolonged crouch. ‘We’ll see ourselves out.’

She followed Shaw to the door. The misery in the room felt like a tangible substance, filling the air and making it hard to breathe. It was always the same. The melancholy seemed to grow incrementally in those first hours after the news arrived.