Free Hold Hands in the Dark by Katherine Pathak Page A

shame.’
                  ‘Dale became a detective in my department in Richmond, Virginia. He was killed during a routine call out a couple of weeks back.’ Sam shifted in his seat. ‘Have you seen the news over the last few days?’
                  Rob’s expression was cautious. ‘Should I have done?’
                  ‘A woman was murdered the other evening in her Glasgow home, Mr Shepherd. She was known as Vicki Kendrick, maiden name Faulkner,’ Andy explained.
                  The manager dropped the picture as if it were suddenly on fire. ‘Jeez, was that Vicki Faulkner ? I had no idea. And Dale killed too?’ He appeared genuinely confused and upset.
                  ‘What can you tell us about the family? There seems hardly anyone left to ask.’ Andy shifted forward, shovelling beans into his mouth to allow the man to talk.
                  ‘My parents ran the hotel here before I did. They took some of their supplies from the Faulkners up at Crosbie Farm – eggs, milk, that kind of thing. I remember one winter very well. It was during the seventies and the workers were all out on strike. My Da’ always said it was the best business he ever did. Whenever the power went out, folk came in here to the pub where we had the log fires burning and we had our own generator out back. The alcohol helped too.’
                  Sam chuckled. ‘What year would that have been, sir?’
                  ‘1974 was the era of the three-day week. Do you think that’s when it might have been?’ Andy offered.
                  Rob nodded. ‘Aye, that would have made me about ten years old, which certainly fits. Anyways, we saw a lot of the Faulkners that year because there were shortages of all kinds of goods in the shops. So folk went direct to the local farms and bought food. It was like going back to the war, I suppose, although I’m too young to remember that! It made my parents pals with the Faulkners; brought the whole community together, in fact.’
                  ‘It was two years after that when Dale’s Mom and Dad sold up and shipped out to the States. Do you know why they made such a big move?’
                  ‘We were very surprised,’ Rob said. ‘It was something that Magnus would have been up for, I’m sure, but the mum, Sue, was a quiet woman. I expect she was persuaded to go along with it. Magnus probably hoped to make his fortune out there.’
                  ‘What did you think of the fact that Vicki stayed behind with her Gran? Did your parents ever comment on it?’ Andy watched his face closely.
                  Rob frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
                  ‘Vicki never went to Richmond with her folks,’ Sam continued. ‘She was about to start at a decent school in the city where she was given a music scholarship. The girl lived with her maternal grandmother in Glasgow.’
                  Rob was wide-eyed. ‘Well, I’ll be damned. I suppose we simply assumed the girl had gone to America with her folks. But the Faulkners never told us otherwise. My parents had no idea Vicki remained in Scotland, I’d swear to that. Otherwise, they’d have kept in touch with her, had her back here in Portencross to stay.’
                  Sam observed the man’s body language, he was hugging his arms across his chest and the American was sure he could see Rob’s eyes glistening.
                  ‘I’m sorry, this news has come as a shock. It’s bad enough to discover the kids are both dead, but to know that Vicki was just up the road from here all those years and Magnus and Sue left her behind. Well, it’s simply heart-breaking.’
     

Chapter 16
     
     
    ‘A ll the neighbours have been questioned, Ma’am.’ Alice Mann took the chair in front of Dani’s desk. ‘The interiors are