Rachel stared at her. ‘Cue the violins.’
‘Harsh,’ Janet said. ‘So where has he been since Bury in 1999? What was he doing on Manorclough?’
‘Rick!’ Rachel exclaimed, making Janet jump out of her skin.
‘What?’ she said.
‘Hang on.’ Rachel looked back through her notes, eyes running across the pages, flipping paper over then back. ‘Not written it down.’
Janet tutted. ‘Naughty.’ Write it down, a mantra the boss drummed into them.
‘Can we stop on Manorclough?’ Rachel said. ‘Something the woman at the newsagent’s said. A tramp they gave handouts to, called Rick.’
‘Brilliant,’ Janet smiled. ‘Let’s go see, shall we?’
The misty rain at the coast had turned to a steady downpour back in the Pennines. The shop was busy, a bunch of rowdy kids in uniform, buying sweets and fizzy drinks. The air peppered with ‘fucks’ and ‘knobs’ and ‘slags’.
‘Ten Lambert & Butler,’ one of the kids said. Liam Kelly’s eyes flicked towards Rachel.
‘Proof of age?’ he said.
‘Come on, Liam,’ the lad complained.
Liam Kelly simply shook his head. The lad wheeled round, arms raised in exasperation.
‘One twenty-nine,’ Liam Kelly said, pointing to the snacks.
‘I need some fags.’
‘Against the law, I could be prosecuted,’ Liam Kelly said. ‘That’s right, isn’t it, DC Bailey?’ The kids looked at Rachel and Janet. The hubbub quietened.
‘That’s right,’ Rachel said. ‘And this is DC Scott.’
‘Aah!’ the lad who’d been refused service groaned. ‘The dibble.’
‘Cagney and Lacey,’ someone called out.
‘Is it about the murder?’ said a girl with teeth covered in braces and a narrow face like a shrew’s. ‘That fella what was shot and burned alive?’
‘If he was shot, he wouldn’t be alive, thicko,’ the first lad said.
‘Depends where they shot him,’ she snapped back, shoving the boy for good measure.
‘It is about the murder,’ Rachel said, ‘and if anyone here knows anything that might help, you can call at the mobile incident unit up the road. In complete confidence,’ she added.
‘Not very confidential if everyone can see who’s going in,’ piped up a very small boy with a brutally shaved head. He had a point.
‘You can ring in,’ Rachel said.
‘You ever shot anyone?’ This from the shrew girl.
‘Don’t tempt me,’ Rachel said. ‘You’re not armed,’ said the small lad. ‘Only special units carry guns.’
‘Now we’d like a word with Mr Kelly…’ Janet said.
‘Ooh!’ a voice called out.
‘A threesome, eh?’ the shrew girl said.
A bout of laughter.
‘Who’s got the handcuffs?’ More laughter as they spilled out on to the streets.
Liam Kelly raised his eyebrows, shook his head.
‘Your partner,’ Rachel said, ‘she mentioned someone yesterday, hadn’t been round for his food parcel?’