Summoning the Dead (DI Bob Valentine #3)(13)

‘Have you nothing to say, Garry?’

A grey tongue touched his dry lips. ‘Well, no, not really.’ He paused, moving his head slightly to the side but keeping his gaze on the officers. ‘To tell you the truth, I’m a bit flabbergasted.’

‘It’s a lot to absorb,’ said McCormack. ‘Take your time.’

‘I don’t mean that,’ he snapped. ‘I mean I’m bloody stunned you got me in here thinking I’d have anything to do with putting young ones in a barrel, sealing it up and burying it in the ground. Do I look like an idiot?’

Valentine shifted in his seat; he was aware of McCormack regarding his reaction. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, Mr Keirns, that’s a very callous response to the news I’ve just given you.’

Keirns leaned forward, jutting out of his chair. He showed his hands again; this time he was pointing fingers. ‘Don’t try and twist this.’

‘We’re not in the business of twisting things,’ said McCormack. ‘The point the detective inspector is trying to make is that the bodies of two children have been recovered from your former property today and your main point of attention seems to be on your own grievance.’

The fingers were retracted; he patted the tabletop whilst he spoke. ‘I’m not saying that, of course it’s very sad. I feel for the families, I really do, but it is nothing whatsoever to do with me. Now do you get that bit? Nothing to do with me.’

‘I think we understand what you’re saying,’ said the DI.

‘Grand.’ Keirns rose from the table and moved away from it. ‘Then can I go now?’

‘You’re not under arrest, Mr Keirns; you’re free to leave at your own choosing. But there are one or two aspects we’d like you to clarify for us.’

Keirns stepped back to the table and eased the chair out once more. As he sat down Valentine removed a sheaf of paper and presented it to him.

‘What’s this?’

‘I believe it’s what you call a deed of sale. Or should I say, a photocopy.’

‘Yes, well, what of it?’

‘Can I draw your attention to the date of the exchange of contracts, Mr Keirns?’

He rustled the paper in exaggerated fashion. ‘It says . . . 2014.’

‘But Sandy Thompson only passed away last week.’

‘That’s right.’

‘How did you acquire the deeds to his property as far back as 2014 then?’

Keirns pushed away the paper. ‘What has this got to do with anything?’

DS McCormack addressed Keirns. ‘We’re merely trying to establish the facts surrounding ownership of the crime scene. This is standard practice, sir.’

He inflated his cheeks and ran his small fingers through his hair. ‘Look, I . . . I . . . Sandy was like a father to me and, well, when he started to get on, he had nobody. I didn’t pressurise him to give me the farm in any way if that’s what you’re getting at.’

‘No one is suggesting anything of the sort,’ said McCormack.

‘The farm hadn’t been paying its way for a long time. Jesus, Sandy was winding the place down when I started labouring there in the eighties.’

‘Winding down?’ said Valentine.

‘The farm had been around for generations, had been big, much bigger, but land got sold along the way – not just by Sandy but before him. It was all tied up with the Columba House folk too. That’s what kept it going longer than it should have been a working farm.’

‘Columba House has been closed for years.’

‘Yeah, it was 1989 or something they shut up.’

‘There was an investigation at the time.’

‘I was long gone from the place by then.’

Valentine removed the piece of paper and quietly inserted it back in the blue folder it had came from.

‘You were one of the Columba House boys?’

‘Yes. I was, for my sins.’

‘What sins were they?’

‘It’s a figure of speech.’

‘What dates were you there, Mr Keirns?’

‘I don’t know. I was a kid; late seventies to eighty-two I think I started at the farm. They’ll have records you can check. I’ve nothing to hide.’

‘From 1982 to 2014 is a long time to work a farm that was, as you say, winding down.’

‘We got by. I was mainly Sandy’s carer by the time Columba closed. Look, is this questioning going anywhere? I’m getting a bit tired of it now.’

‘We’re nearly finished. I just wanted to ask you about this unusual deal you struck with Blairgowan Construction. How did it come about?’

‘They wanted the land, they approached me.’

‘What did they want the land for?’

‘Posh houses and a new road – can’t you ask them?’

‘And they were happy to wait till Sandy passed away?’

‘They didn’t want the property to go somewhere else, I guess. It suited us, it suited Sandy – he got to stay there right to the end. Is that everything?’

‘Just one more, Mr Keirns: where are you living now?’

‘Ayr. I live in Ayr.’

Valentine stood up and collected his folder. ‘Give your address to DS McCormack please. We’ll be in touch, so I’d appreciate it if you let us know your movements, especially if you intend to leave town.’