Free The Slowest Cut by Catriona King

that Eileen Carragher had been attacked, and more, that he hadn’t done it. But his fear said that the reasons behind her attack might apply to him as well.
    “HOW?”
    The word was shouted so loudly that Liam jumped, anticipating a flying fist. It didn’t come. Instead Gerry Warner’s eyes were frantic. He was desperate for an answer.
    “A woman’s body was found, with severe injuries. The location and items found lead us to believe it may have been Mrs Carragher. We’re still waiting for a formal identification, but…”
    “You can’t tell from her face? Why can’t you tell from her face?”
    Warner’s voice rose in volume as he repeated the question in differing permutations, until finally Craig shook his head. She had no face. Warner slumped back in his chair like he’d been punched in the chest and put his head in his hands, saying “my God” again and again.
    Craig asked him several more questions without success, nodding Liam to try the same, but they’d got all they were going to get from Gerry Warner for today. Craig called Jack Harris to put him back in a cell and get the on-call doctor to check him out. The last thing they needed was Warner topping himself in the station. They wandered into the staff-room and Liam put the kettle on to boil.
    “Well, that was useless, boss.”
    Craig shook his head. “Not completely. We know that he saw her on Saturday, but my money says she was alive when they parted, whatever time that was. He was too shocked by her death to have had anything to do with it.” He paused, remembering Gerry Warner’s reaction. “Did you see how frightened he was?”
    “Aye. What was that all about?”
    “Whatever the reason was for Eileen Carragher being killed, Warner’s afraid that it applies to him as well. He thinks he’s next and he’s scared stiff.”

Chapter Eight
     
    The moment Craig and Liam walked onto the squad-room floor, Jake beckoned them over to his desk. He started speaking before they had time to say hello.
    “I went to see Ian Carragher. Ask me what I found out?”
    Liam humoured him. “What did you find out?”
    “He’s expecting the worst to happen to him. He’s expecting the same fate as his wife.”
    Craig pulled up a chair. “What makes you think that, Jake?”
    “Something he said. ‘It’s the price you pay.’ So I thought; the price you pay for what?”
    Liam looked puzzled, but Craig could see where Jake was heading. He waved him on.
    “People who say that usually work in risky jobs, or take risks somewhere else in life. Yes?”
    Craig nodded.
    “Well Carragher’s a house surveyor, so there’s no risk there, is there? I suppose he could indulge in high-risk pastimes outside work, like gambling or bungee-jumping, but he doesn’t seem the type. And he said it when I warned him he could be in danger linked to his wife’s death, so...”
    Liam finished the sentence. “So you reckon that whatever got the wife killed was high risk and he was part of it?”
    Jake glared at him; put-out that Liam had stolen his punch line. His sunny demeanour returned quickly and he nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it. I think that whatever got his wife killed, he was part of it as well.”
    Craig smiled. Jake was as good as he’d thought he was when they’d met on the Ackerman case. It had been his initiative then that had helped them make essential links.
    “So what have you been doing with your theory?”
    Jake pointed to a pile of print-outs and beckoned Davy over from his desk. “Davy kindly ran a whole host of background checks for me on Ian and Eileen Carragher, separately and together. Something very interesting has come up.”
    Davy ambled over holding his computer tablet and Craig hoped it would have Jake’s print-outs collated in one neat table. He wasn’t disappointed. Davy tapped the screen and a table popped up, showing everything relevant in the Carragher’s lives.
    They didn’t gamble, they didn’t even have credit cards. If