Harbour Street

Chapter Forty-Five

It was midday and they’d finished for the holiday. Stuart Booth had come to collect Kate Dewar. Vera wondered what sort of Christmas there’d be in that house, and if the relationship would survive beyond Boxing Day. Stuart had colluded with Kate to tell her what she wanted to hear: that Ryan wasn’t such a bad lad; the boy was misguided and had got caught up with the wrong crowd, but he was sound really. Had anyone in school seen the bullying and the drug-dealing, the petty cruelties? But perhaps nobody had wanted to see. Ryan came from a respectable family, his mam was Katie Guthrie, who had once been famous and would be guaranteed to pull in crowds at the summer fair. Only Margaret Krukowski was anxious, reminded of another cocky young man who’d thought himself above the law. And finally it was the parallel with Ricky Butt that had helped Vera and Joe to find the murderer too.

They stood in the car park outside the station. Vera, Joe and Holly. ‘Let me buy you a drink,’ Vera said. ‘To celebrate. Or come back to mine. I’ll shout the cabs to get you home.’

Holly looked shocked. Vera had never invited her to her house before. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m spending Christmas with my folks. It’s a long drive and they were expecting me yesterday.’

‘Ah.’ Vera was pleased really. She suspected Holly would disapprove of the state of her home. ‘Joe?’

‘Sorry! Sal’s got plans.’ He raised his hands, a gesture of apology. And to show that he’d have liked to come back with her to talk through the case, but Sal would really go ape if he came back pissed, today of all days.

‘Course she has,’ Vera said. ‘Wish the family happy Christmas for me.’

It was only as Holly got into her car that Vera remembered something. She chased after her, waving. Holly pressed a button and the driver’s window opened.

‘Shit, Hol, we never did that Secret Santa thing.’

‘Nah,’ Holly said. ‘Never mind. It was never going to work, was it?’

Vera got into Hector’s Land Rover and set off alone for the hills.