pockets more in hope than expectation.
But it wasnât Pete the inspector had come to see. âDid Mr. Sperrin go with them?â
âNo. He may be in the library. Itâs this way ⦠I think.â¦â
Detective Inspector Norris, who was famed for his observational powers, noticed how the big, dark, shambling man hesitated in the hallway but the white dog, stretching unhurriedly as it climbed off the sofa, padded past him and up the stairs. At the top they all turned left, and the first door they came to was open. Inside was a world of books.
âShall I leave you?â asked Ash.
âNot on my account.â The archaeologist glowered. Taking that as the closest Sperrin was likely to come to asking for moral support, Ash lowered himself onto one of the leather benches lining the walls and busied himself with stroking his dogâs ears.
âIâve just come from your house,â said Norris. âI couldnât get a reply.â
âItâs not my house, itâs my motherâs. Sheâs probably out.â
âHer car is there.â
Sperrin shrugged. âShe may have walked to the shop. Or sheâs painting. She wouldnât notice nuclear war breaking out if sheâs painting.â
âI need to speak to her. Will you let me in?â
âI donât have a key.â The policeman said nothing that could be interpreted as surprise, but Sperrin somehow felt the need to explain. âWhy would I? I havenât lived there for fifteen years. While Iâm working here, I stay at Byrfield.â
âFair enough,â said Norris, although he looked a little puzzled at the manâs vehemence. âMaybe you can help me anyway. Weâve got a bit more information on the body you found. Not the full autopsy results, but a couple of things to help narrow the search. The age and sex of the child, the age of the burialâgive or take a few yearsâand a couple of other things. So the next thing we do is compare those facts with records for the periodâsee what children were reported missing in this area at around that time.â
âAnd you came up with my brother, James,â said Sperrin shortly. âWell done. Except he didnât go missingâhe was taken to Ireland by our father. He and my mother had split up, it all got a bit acrimonious, sometime later he came back and took Jamie, leaving my mother chasing his car down the road in her bare feet.â
âYou remember this, do you, sir?â
Sperrin elevated an eyebrow at him. âSince I was five years old at the time, my recollection is a bit sketchy. I know what my mother told me. I know losing Jamie blighted her life. She expected you to bring him back. She went on expecting it for years, but you never did.â
âSo if you were five,â said Norris, doing sums, âthis wasâ¦?â
âThirty years ago, give or take.â
âAnd your brother would have beenâ¦â
âTen. Inspector, none of this is relevant to your investigation. I know where Jamie isâheâs in Ireland.â
âYou have an address for him?â
It was a rerun of the conversation over breakfast. Ash found himself tensing in anticipation of Sperrinâs loss of temper.
âNo, I donât have an address for him! Theyâre travelersâthey could be anywhere. They could be in England. If youâre that desperate to talk to him, ask the Gardaà to find him.â
âWe asked them once before. They didnât manage to find him then. Or your father.â
âInspector, were you ever in rural Ireland in the 1980s? The Guards didnât have the facilities that the quietest two-man part-time police station in England had. At the start of the Troubles, the authorities in Northern Ireland were furious that they werenât getting better cooperation from the police across the border. Then they found out that half the time they