‘Is there anything in particular you wanted? Or is this purely social?’
‘Elaine’s a good friend of mine,’ said Maplethorpe.
‘I know that.’
‘I was best man at their wedding.’
‘I know that, too.’
Maplethorpe’s eyes narrowed. ‘How?’
Shepherd had made the cardinal error of an undercover agent – he had revealed that he knew something his character shouldn’t. He knew that Maplethorpe had been Robbie Carter’s best man because he’d seen the wedding photographs in the trunk in Elaine’s attic. ‘Elaine mentioned it,’ he said. He cursed himself because now he’d been forced to tell a direct lie – which Maplethorpe could check.
‘Robbie was like a brother to me,’ said Maplethorpe.
‘And Elaine?’
‘What do you mean?’ said Maplethorpe, leaning forward.
‘You obviously care a lot about her. That’s why you’re here, right?’
‘There’s something not right about you.’
Shepherd’s mind was racing. What had he done to make the detective suspicious? ‘Specifically?’
‘That’s the thing, Jamie,’ said Maplethorpe. ‘There’s nothing I can put my finger on. Bit by bit everything makes sense. Education, work record, no criminal offences. You’re a model citizen.’
‘You checked me out? Isn’t that against the Data Protection Act?’
‘Elaine’s a good friend of mine, and I want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.’
‘I’m a good guy, John,’ said Shepherd.
‘That’s what the stats say,’ agreed Maplethorpe. ‘But it’s a sum-of-the-parts thing. It doesn’t add up.’ He winced and put a hand to his temple.
‘Are you okay?’
‘It’s nothing,’ said Maplethorpe. ‘Headache.’
‘Do you want an aspirin or a paracetamol?’
Maplethorpe fumbled in his pocket, brought out a small plastic bottle containing white tablets and shook out a couple. He swallowed them and washed them down with whiskey.
‘Sure you’re supposed to take painkillers that way?’ said Shepherd.
‘Yeah, well, you’re a website designer, not a doctor.’ Maplethorpe put the bottle away. ‘Are you with MI5, Jamie?’
Shepherd laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘There’s something about you that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I don’t think you’re a serial killer or a paedophile, but I don’t think you’re a computer geek either.’ He swirled his whiskey in his glass as he studied Shepherd with hard eyes.
‘I could show you my CV.’
‘If you were a spook, your CV would be perfect. Which it is.’
‘I swear to you I don’t work for MI5,’ said Shepherd. ‘But if I did, why would that concern you? I’m hardly likely to be spying on Elaine, am I?’
‘It’s a question of honesty, Jamie. I don’t think you’re bad, but I don’t think you’re being honest with her. And I don’t want Elaine hurt. She’s taken to you. She’s not exactly been celibate since Robbie was killed, but she’s very selective, and the few relationships she’s had haven’t lasted long.’
‘I’m not surprised, if you paid her boyfriends a visit like this,’ said Shepherd.
‘I’m looking out for her,’ said Maplethorpe.
‘Are you sure that’s all it is?’
Maplethorpe thrust out his chin. ‘What are you getting at?’
‘Are you married, John?’
Maplethorpe scowled at him. ‘You want to be careful, Jamie,’ he said. ‘You shouldn’t believe all the PR crap about Belfast being a changed city. It’s still a very dangerous place to have a cop mad at you.’
‘And are you?’ asked Shepherd. ‘Mad at me?’
Maplethorpe gave Shepherd a long, hard look. ‘Not yet,’ he said.
‘That’s a relief,’ said Shepherd.
‘You see, that’s what worries me, Jamie,’ said Maplethorpe. ‘You’re not intimidated by me, are you? I mean, you pretend to be, but under that soft exterior you’re as hard as fucking nails, aren’t you?’
‘Wanna arm-wrestle? Or slap dicks on the table and see which of us has the biggest?’
Maplethorpe put his glass on the coffee-table and stood up. ‘I’ll be off,’ he said.
‘You’re not drinking and driving, are you?’
Maplethorpe ignored him. ‘Let me leave you with one thought,’ he said. ‘If you are up to something, if you have some agenda I’m not aware of, then leave Elaine out of it. Because if you cause her any pain, any pain at all, it will be revisited on you a thousandfold.’
‘Message received and understood,’ said Shepherd.
‘I’ll let myself out,’ said Maplethorpe, heading for the front door.
Shepherd watched him drive away. His mobile rang. ‘What the hell was that about?’ Button asked.
‘Marking his territory, maybe,’ said Shepherd.
‘There’s no suggestion there was anything between him and Elaine Carter, is there?’
‘I haven’t picked up on it from her.’
‘And if there was, you would, right?’
Shepherd frowned. Did Button know how close he and Elaine had become? ‘She talks about him but always as a friend.’
‘So maybe he’s just looking out for a friend.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Any idea what set him off?’
‘He’s a senior police officer. You don’t get to be a detective superintendent without being a good reader of people.’
‘Suspicions are all he can have because your legend’s watertight,’ said Button.
‘It had better be,’ said Shepherd. ‘He’s right about what he said. If I fall foul of the cops here I’ll have to get out sharpish.’
‘If he was sure of anything, he wouldn’t have come round for a chat,’ said Button.
‘That’s true,’ agreed Shepherd. ‘Look, can you check on why he’s taking early retirement? He said it was because he was fed up with the job, but he has bad headaches.’
‘You think he’s got a medical problem?’
‘It’s possible.’
‘I’ll get on it.’
Liam frowned at the book in front of him and chewed the end of his biro. Billy Bradford was sitting on the other side of the kitchen table, munching a bacon sandwich. Liam smiled hopefully at him. ‘Do you know about factor trees?’
‘I was never any good at biology,’ said Bradford.
‘It’s maths,’ said Liam, scornfully.
‘I knew that,’ said Bradford.
Katra put a mug of black coffee in front of him, then went to the sink and began to load dirty plates into the dishwasher.
‘Did you used to work with my dad?’ Liam asked Bradford.
‘Me and Jack joined just as he left.’ Bradford sipped his coffee. ‘He was a bit of a legend, your dad.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Because of his nickname, Spider. He ate a tarantula when he was on a jungle training exercise.’
‘A tarantula?’ Katra queried.
‘It’s a big hairy spider,’ said Bradford. He used his free hand to mime a spider scurrying across the table. ‘They still talk about what a mad bastard he was.’ He grinned apologetically at Liam. ‘Sorry.’
‘My dad’s a mad bastard?’ said Liam in mock-horror.
Suddenly Bradford was serious. ‘Don’t ever tell him I said that.’
‘Your secret’s safe with me, Billy,’ said Liam. He pushed his exercise book across the table towards Bradford. ‘If you help me with my homework.’
‘Let’s wait for Jack,’ said Bradford. ‘He’s the smart one.’
‘I thought you were the smart one,’ said Katra.
Bradford shook his head. ‘Nah, I’m the good-looking one,’ he said. Headlights flashed across the hall window. ‘Speak of the devil.’
Tariq watched through his binoculars as the black Range Rover drove up in front of the house and parked. He hadn’t seen it before and the dark green CRV and the BMW SUV were parked in front of the garage. A man in a padded jacket climbed out and headed for the front door. It was Shepherd, Tariq realised. The man looked round, then slotted a key into the lock and let himself in. Tariq grinned. He’d made the right decision in waiting for it to get dark. While he’d been showering and praying in the motel, Shepherd must have left the house and just returned. If Tariq had gone straight in he’d have missed him. But now he was there, with the boy and the girl. The dashboard clock told him it was just before nine. His heart began to pound and he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. A light went on in the front bedroom, and a few minutes later, it went off. The boy was going to bed. Tomorrow was a school day so he’d be up early. Except that tomorrow he wouldn’t wake up. He’d be dead like his father.