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"What? We’re sitting doing cat’s cradle in the vehicle all night?"
"I didn’t say that Next door to the courthouse building we’ve the run of terraced cottages, half a dozen of them, all offices, then the war s which are being renovated"
"There’s scaffolding and the frontage is covered in plastic He could hole out there without ot a rifle with telescopics--he doesn’t need to be that close"
"What if he isn’t using his rifle? He could be walking about with a handgun Very difficult to suss that out in the sort of croe get at the fair, especially after dark," Clive Rowley said
Bronze Co away This guy’s not a nutter who shoots to give his have been in places where he’s made pretty sure there’d be no witnesses and he could etaway That just wouldn’t be possible here even without all of us OK, let’s go back to the plan There will be our two ARVs and Bevha us one for backup Here …"
Clive sat back and watched the pointer go over this entrance and that exit, this danger point and that Steve Mason had slipped down into his seat and looked as if he was asleep with his eyes open
"That’s it We’ll have another briefing in here nine aet that plan in your head Brood on it Coht idea, shout You’re the sniper Think like hiot to be cleverer"
Tenout for refs In an hour they would be on the way to the airfield for a training session It was drizzling outside
"What do you reckon?" Steve said, standing in the queue
"Nothing’ll happen Too obvious"
"I’m not so sure He could causeat randos I reckon they’re personal"
"Large tea, bacon and torudges then Don’t think forensics have established any links, have they?"
"Coe rolls onto his plate, "no way are these random There has to be links"
"I don’t see it I don’t see any of it, to be honest I can’t get a handle on this guy" Clive set his tray down andhalf the county force onto the Jug Fair is a waste of resources He’s not going to show"
"A fiver says he will"
"You’re on," Clive said, taking a swig of tea "That fiver’s got ht-duty reception Lois, pleased to see her and ready with a warht her expression "I’o"
Jane sat down She felt tired, cold and frustrated The stor that she was here at ten when she should have made it by five
"Come into the kitchen, I’ll ry I should go and see her"
"Have this first No hurry now"
No No hurry Karin had waited for her as long as she could but Jane had let her down It was not her fault, of course it was not, but she felt guilty nevertheless
The fluorescent lights hummed as Lois switched the "
"I wanted to be with her She wanted ive out false co of tea and a plate of biscuits "Dunk one," she said, "I know you said you weren’t hungry but sooes down"
It was true Jane followed her out to the reception foyer From the far end of the corridor she heard ht A door closed
"Do you know about Dr Deerbon?" Lois asked, back behind her co to see her but I can’t very well go up to the farht"
"I should think you of all people probably could Why don’t you ring now?"
Jane hesitated
"She lad of it, you know"
"Has she heard about Karin?"
"Nother"
Jane wondered what she could say to Cat, out of the blue, at ten thirty at night Looked at Lois Lois nodded
"Look, go into the relatives’ rooh"
It was picked up on the second ring
"It’s Jane," she said "I’ beside Karin McCafferty The nurses had not yet e pump and drip stand had been taken away The lamp was on They had closed the door
Karin looked like a moth under the bedclothes, her skin fine, and almost transparent over the bones, her hair brushed and tied back, lying on the slightly raised pillows Jane took her cool hand and put it to her own cheek
"I know you won’t blame me, but I should have been here I wish I had been I’m sorry" Karin’s eyelids were faintly blue, like those of a newborn baby She was beautiful in death, as she had been in life, but re and the newly dead and had had a powerful sense of their presence But not now Karin was as far away as it was possible to be and had left no trace of herself behind
Half an hour later, she was sitting with Cat beside a low fire in the farainst the s
Cat was leaning back, eyes closed, her face drained of everything but exhaustion
"A patient as nursing her mother at hoet worse It’s like lying dohile someone rains blows on you but somehow each blow hurts in a different way"
"How are the children?"
Cat shook her head "The saving grace there is Judith Connolly My father has been seeing her and she is aot the measure of him perfectly and fantastic with all three of the children She’s fast beco of her whisky "Absence? But I saw him on the television news"