Valentine stood up to face him, motioned McCormack to the door. ‘Don’t go straying far, Brogan. I might want a word with you again.’
Outside the building, Valentine looked up to the flat they had just came from. Kyle Brogan was standing at the window, a yellowing net curtain pulled back. He made brief eye contact with the officers then removed his cigarette and nodded.
‘What do you think?’ said McCormack.
‘He’s a lying little scrote. That’s what I think.’
‘You think he made that up about the fight?’
‘No. I don’t think he’s got the imagination for that. I think that was instinctual on his part, he just gave us something to get rid of us. There’s more inside that manky little skull of his, though.’
The sound of the window opening drew the officers’ gaze to Brogan, he was leaning onto the ledge now, said, ‘And I hope you’ll tell your wee pal what I told you as well … I’m playing nice like he said.’
Valentine nodded once to McCormack then sprung back to Brogan. ‘You just stay right where you are, boyo!’
The officers started back for the door of the flats.
40
Darry Millar was the last person Fin expected to call on Jade’s mobile phone. The messages from Leask had mounted to such a ridiculous level that he’d ditched his previous phone and taken a new number. It had been his intention to let Darry have the new number, eventually, but his first priority had been to Jade. The girl had always had more than her fair share of problems but the situation she now found herself in was as bad as it got. It shouldn’t have happened, not after all he knew about Tulloch.
‘Hello, Darry,’ he said.
‘You thought it was Jade.’
‘I … I did yeah.’
There was a prolonged silence between them. ‘Why’s my sister got your new number and I haven’t?’
‘I was going to give you it, but it’s been a bit crazy of late.’
‘I’ve noticed, Fin. You might not think it but there’s a lot I’ve noticed lately.’ Darry’s voice hid an accusation.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
He didn’t answer the question. ‘Jade’s fine. She’s here, with me.’
‘That’s good. I’m glad.’
‘Are you?’
Fin’s voice rose. ‘Of course it’s good. Jesus, if she wasn’t with you she’d be in the same spot as your mum now.’
‘You’re talking about my mum now? She’s in some state, I don’t think she’ll ever be making the finals of Mastermind, her brain’s scrambled.’
The raised voice subsided. ‘I hear she’s in hospital, best place for her I suppose.’
‘Better than where Niall is.’
‘I suppose.’
The sound of a ferry’s horn blared in the background. ‘Fin, tell me what happened, I mean in your words.’
Fin looked out of the guest house window, the passenger boat was docking at Brodick pier. He tried to think what to say to his friend but couldn’t locate the words. He paced the room, looked at the bed, the rucksack, the pile of money.
‘Fin, what the hell happened?’
‘Well, what did Jade say?’ he sounded coy.
‘She hasn’t said much that makes any sense.’
‘Well what makes you think I can add to that?’
‘She said that Tulloch got what he deserved.’
Fin lowered himself onto the bed, the room was too warm and the over-complicated pattern on the wallpaper blurred. ‘Did she tell you about …’
‘What?’
‘About the … Christ, I have no right telling anyone. Ask her, God Almighty, man, this has been hard enough for me, I don’t need this from you too!’
Darry’s voice came slow and calm. ‘She told me she’s pregnant, if that’s what you mean?’
‘It should never have happened.’
‘No, it shouldn’t, Fin. You were supposed to be minding her. I was still on tour, I couldn’t get home even if I wanted to. I trusted you, you were my friend and what was it you said, I’ll look out for her, I’ll keep an eye on her.’
‘Darry, if you only knew what I’ve been through for her, for you too.’
A laugh, deep and guttural. ‘My heart bleeds for you, mate.’
‘It wasn’t meant to be like this.’
‘Oh, no. I bet it wasn’t. I misjudged you, I thought you would never let me down but it turns out I never knew you at all. I’m wondering now what I should read into those stories you told me about what Tulloch did in Helmand.’
Fin spat, ‘Stories. You think I made that up?’
‘How am I to know? Maybe the army knew something the rest of us didn’t when they dumped you both.’
‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this. You were there when I spoke out, you saw the mess I was in. Bloody hell, Darry, they flung me out the army for reporting him, for speaking out against what he did. Do you really think I could make that up?’
‘I don’t know what’s true and what’s false anymore, Fin. All I know is my sister is up the pike, her young life ruined, and my mother is looking at the rest of her life in a padded cell because you brought that bastard to our home.’
Fin flared, ‘He trailed me home, came looking for me, I never brought him. He was a psychopath, he wanted to make me pay. Jesus, he blamed me for ruining his career, his life.’
‘Then why did he ruin mine?’
‘I don’t know. Because you were the closest I had to family, because he wanted to see me burn, because he could. Because he was nuts.’ As he stopped screaming into the phone, Fin realised he was brushing away tears.
‘That’s not going to help you, crying.’
‘Darry, if you knew the things I’d done for you … and Jade.’
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
‘I mean it. I put my neck on the block to give her a clean break after Tulloch …’
‘After Tulloch what?’
The phone line fell to silence.
For a moment, Fin stared at the screen willing himself to end the call but something stopped him. Darry needed to know, too. ‘After … he raped her.’
They’d been friends for a long time, they’d grown up together, joined the army together. His mind was awash with memories of when they were children, the fights, the football, the girls. He returned to the phone, panic rising. ‘I have money, lots of money. I took it for Jade, to y’know, help her get it sorted, you can have it.’
Darry stalled, the gap between them widening. ‘We don’t want your money.’
‘Don’t be stupid, think about what you’re saying.’
‘There’s something I need more.’
‘What, revenge? Is that it? Well you can’t have it, he’s gone, dead.’
‘He might be, but you’re not. Not yet anyway.’
‘Darry, talk sense, man, please.’
‘I’m perfectly sensible.’
‘Come on, stop this …’
‘Goodbye, Fin.’
The line died.
‘Darry … Darry …’
41
DI Bob Valentine didn’t bother to knock on Kyle Brogan’s door this time, he merely turned the handle and walked in. DS McCormack closed the door behind them as Brogan appeared in the hallway, hands up like he was pleading with them not to shoot. He retreated two steps for every one the detectives took, talking all the while, without any coherence.
‘Come on, Bob, I mean you’re all in this together aren’t you?’ he said.
‘I’m going to let you sit down and gather your thoughts before I say much more, Brogan.’
‘What? I thought we were cool. I thought we’d sorted this out, I don’t get this.’
McCormack had lost patience with Brogan too. ‘Sit down and shut up. You’ll speak when you’re spoken to and if you don’t say what we want to hear it’ll be the last words you speak this side of a prison wall.’