Page 71 of The Guilty Girl

As Terry filled the glass, Sergio said, ‘May I use the bathroom before we go?’

‘It’s at the end of the corridor.’ Terry placed the glass on the counter and looked pointedly at Boyd. ‘I hope you get whoever did this to Lucy. She didn’t deserve to die at the hands of a murderer.’

‘No one does,’ Boyd said.

‘Listen, I know you detectives will find some people who will be only too happy to speak ill of Lucy McAllister – even her own mother. Albert told me Lucy was troubled. I saw something of myself in her the few times I met her. The younger me. Don’t be too quick to judge her character.

Boyd shivered under the black stare and was about to press Terry further when Sergio breezed back into the room.

‘Can we go now?’ the boy said.

‘Yes.’ He’d try to follow up with Terry about Lucy again.

‘Nice to meet you, Mr Starr,’ Sergio said.

‘You too,’ Terry said. He gave Boyd a half-smile. ‘He’s a bright kid.’

‘He is that.’

Boyd followed his son, with Terry behind them. On the landing, he waited until he heard the door click shut.

Stepping outside into the searing heat, he wondered if he’d missed an opportunity to learn something significant. But he was off duty and there was only so much he could ask with his son around. He put out his hand for Sergio’s.

‘What have you got under your T-shirt, squirt?’

The boy smiled brightly, his teeth worthy of a Colgate advert. He lifted his shirt and extracted a toothbrush from his waistband. ‘You can get DNA from this.’

Boyd was dumbfounded. ‘You can’t just steal it. You need a warrant, or permission from the owner.’

‘But Terry would never give you permission.’ Sergio smiled from ear to ear. ‘I’ll make a good detective. I might even be better than you, Papá.’

‘How do you know this is Terry’s?’

‘It was in a bag with his electric razor.’

Boyd took the toothbrush from the small outstretched hand. First thought, should he go back with it? Second thought, where could he quickly find a bag to store it? Third and most stressful thought, if he had anything to do with Sergio’s future, there was no way on earth he’d allow the boy to follow in his footsteps. Then again, it might be a better option than following in his mother’s, wherever the hell she’d taken herself. He had to admit, he really didn’t want to know anything about her.

Walking hand in hand with his son, he couldn’t shake off the feeling he’d had earlier.

Someone was watching him.

* * *

Feathers keep birds warm, and I am suffocating. My black and white world is no longer a comfort. I need something softer and newer to soothe me. I touched her with my claws and drew the skin from the flesh, taking away the part of me that she had stolen. I hadn’t believed I could feel so elated, but I need to be sated once again. I crave the glow of the untouched. I want to be the first to suck the life from it.

I have decided who will be next, and once I am done, I will savour the memory for a long time. I want to conquer the innocent flesh and keep it for myself.

Tired but refreshed, I want to fly up high to capture and protect what will be mine.

No one is watching me.

No one is watching my prey.

I am free to take it all as my own.

33

After pulling on forensic clothing, Lottie entered the cutting room. She’d taken the call as she and Kirby arrived back at the station after meeting Richie Harrison. Kirby had cried off attending the post-mortem, so she’d headed to Tullamore alone.