Free Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves

He cried like a baby throughout the service, could hardly spit out the words when he was talking to me.’
    ‘Was his mam there?’
    ‘Big blonde lass? Aye. Thomas had talked about her too, said how good she was to him. I thanked her.’
    ‘You were inside then, when Thomas died?’
    ‘On remand.’
    ‘But you must have tried to find out what happened.’
    ‘I talked to a few people.’
    ‘And?’
    ‘For once your lot got it right. The lads had been drinking, horsing around. Thomas fell in. Like I said, an accident.’ He paused. ‘I wish there was someone to blame. But there isn’t.’
    ‘Did Thomas have any other friends?’
    ‘Not really. There were kids he played with when he was younger, an older lad in the street who looked out for him, but Luke Armstrong was his only real mate just before he died.’
    They sat for a moment in silence. Outside the officer must have shifted on the uncomfortable chair. They could hear the keys on his belt clinking.
    ‘Is that it?’ Sharp said at last.
    ‘Have you any idea who might have wanted Luke Armstrong dead?’
    He shook his head. ‘No one I know would strangle a boy.’ Vera knew that wasn’t true but let it pass.
    ‘He wasn’t working for you? I mean, you weren’t using the boys?’ She was thinking something menial; maybe he’d given them a few quid to run messages.
    ‘I told you, I’d never met Luke Armstrong until I saw him at my son’s funeral and I didn’t want Thomas caught up in my business. Besides, I wouldn’t trust either of them. Not even to fetch me a bag of chips. Too unreliable.’
    ‘Just seems a coincidence. Both of them dead. Couldn’t be someone’s trying to send you a message?’
    ‘Coincidences happen,’ he said grimly.
    She looked at him sharply, tried to tell if there was anything behind the words, but his face was impassive.
    ‘You could put the word out,’ she said. ‘Let people know you’ve got an interest.’
    At first it was as if she’d not spoken. He continued to stare ahead of him. Then he gave an almost imperceptible nod. ‘I’ll do that.’
    ‘And you’ll let me know if you hear anything?’
    He nodded again.
    She felt she was missing something, that there was one question still to ask. They sat for a moment looking at each other. She wondered if she should mention the flowers scattered on the bath water where Luke had been found – might that have some meaning for him? But they’d managed to keep that out of the news and she didn’t want it to become public knowledge. At last she pushed the packet of cigarettes across the table to him without a word. She waited until he’d slipped them into the pocket of his jeans, then opened the door and called to the officer.
    ‘OK. We’re finished here.’
    While she was waiting at the gate to be signed out, she tried to picture Sharp’s face, some expression she should have picked up, some message he might be trying to convey. But she couldn’t do it. In her memory the features were a blur. She wasn’t even sure if she’d select him out of an identity parade.
    She’d switched off her mobile before handing it over to the gate officer. Walking back to the car, she turned it on. No messages. No missed calls. They were no further forward than the night Luke had died. She’d parked the car in the shade and the sun was lower now. She switched off the air conditioning and opened the windows. Away from the coast the roads were quiet and as she climbed into the hills she felt her spirits lift. At home there was a fridge full of beer and tomorrow she’d come to the investigation fresh and rested.
    Her phone rang just as she’d parked outside the old station master’s house. She didn’t hear it at first, because the Edinburgh train was roaring north. Virgin not GNER. A flash of red. It rang again when the train had passed.

 
Chapter Ten
     
    James loved chess. Clive, one of Peter’s friends, had taught him, and perhaps because he considered it an adult pastime