White Nights

Perez had switched off the phone and was waiting for Taylor to ask about the call.

‘Well?’ Taylor asked.

‘He wants another look at the body. Imagination going into overdrive if you ask me. He thinks it could be his brother.’ Perez paused, corrected himself. He always liked to get things right. ‘No, he doesn’t think it could be him. Wants to check that it isn’t.’

‘Wouldn’t he know his own brother?’

‘He left to go travelling. Hasn’t been back in years. And Ke

‘I thought you said the victim was English.’

Perez shrugged. ‘People’s voices change. They put on an act.’

‘What did you tell him?’

‘That he can come and have a look this afternoon, before the body goes south on the ferry for the postmortem.’

Taylor felt a thrill of excitement. This was his first chance to engage with the case. He’d never been a hands-off manager.

‘I’ll be there too,’ he said. ‘You don’t mind?’

Perez didn’t answer. He knew it wasn’t really a question.

Chapter Seventeen

Ke

They sat in a dark little waiting room. In one corner there was a bowl of silk flowers. There was a heavy, kind of floral smell in the air. It couldn’t come from the silk, of course, and he wondered what was making it.

He was thinking about that when Perez introduced the English detective, so he still wasn’t sure of his name and what his rank was.

‘What’s all this about then, Ke

‘It’s probably nothing,’ Ke

‘Tell us a bit about Lawrence,’ Perez said. ‘Just while we’re waiting.’

And Ke

‘Why did he go? Was it for work?’

Then Ke

‘He had work here,’ he said. ‘Plenty of work. He wasn’t so interested in the croft. He didn’t really have the patience for it. He was more one for quick results. He was a fine builder. He started off working for Jerry Stout and learned the trade from him, then when Jerry died he took over the business. He and Jerry put a new roof on the Manse when Bella moved in. Then Lawrence converted the Herring House. Eve Eunson drew up the plans, but he did all the work on it. More of a labour of love. That’s what he called it. He was down there more than twelve hours a day, getting it ready for the opening. I did some labouring for him when I could. Bella didn’t pay him what he was due. Once the gallery was finished he had offers of work from all over Scotland. He didn’t need to live away. He could have stayed in Shetland and just travelled for the work.’

‘Why did he go?’

Ke

‘When was this, Ke

‘It was that summer I was in Fair Isle working on the harbour. They’d asked Lawrence to do it, but he was tied up with the last finish on the Herring House and he put the work my way. He knew I was looking to expand the croft and the money would be useful. I never had the chance to say goodbye to him.’

‘He didn’t ask your advice about leaving?’

Ke

‘What did he intend to do this time?’

‘I think maybe the Merchant Navy. He was always talking about that. The way to travel and get paid for it. He was always easy in a boat. You know the kids in Biddista, they’re out in a dinghy almost as soon as they can walk. It was natural for him.’ Ke

Perez looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

‘Besides,’ Ke

‘When did you last hear from him?’

‘I never have. He left a message with Bella to say he was leaving and he was never in touch with us again.’ He turned to Perez. ‘He could have phoned me at the hostel, couldn’t he? To say goodbye. We didn’t have mobiles then, but he could have tracked me down somewhere. Maybe he was frightened I’d persuade him to stay.’

‘Will you recognize him, do you think?’ Perez asked.

‘I’ve been thinking about that. I got out some photos.’ There’d been one of him, Lawrence, Edith and Bella standing on the jetty gri

‘All the same, it’s been a long time. And people look different when they’re dead.’

‘He had a birthmark on his right shoulder,’ Ke

‘We could check that for you. If you don’t want to look at the body again.’

But Ke

Then, it seemed, it was time to look at the body. Ke

The body was lying on a steel table. There was no one else in the room. Perez stood by the table and prepared to lift back a sheet so Ke