Red Bones

‘Evelyn Wilson. Sandy’s mother.’ Ronald shot a quick look at his cousin, almost asleep on his feet, slumped against the workbench.

‘Where was your shotgun during this time?’

‘Locked in the cupboard in A

‘And the key?’

‘In the drawer in A

‘How long did Mrs Wilson stay?’

‘I made her a cup of tea,’ A

‘She sees you as a natural ally?’

‘Yes,’ A

She looked across at her husband. Perez supposed this was something they had in common, but Ronald showed little enthusiasm for the archaeology now. His face was still blank and grey.

‘Evelyn was here for about half an hour?’ Perez asked.

‘Something like that.’ A

‘You were fond of Mima?’

There was a pause. ‘I’m not sure she liked me. But of course I’m sorry she’s dead.’

Perez thought this was a strangely careful and honest description of the relationship. After a sudden death many people pretended to a closeness that didn’t exist.

‘Coffee would be brilliant,’ Perez said. ‘Black for me. You’ll know how Sandy takes his. So much sugar it’s like treacle.’

They waited in silence while A

‘So what time was it that Mrs Wilson left?’

‘Nine o’clock perhaps.’ A

‘What did you two do then?’

‘We had a row,’ A

‘He seems incapable,’ she went on, ‘of going a single night without a drink.’ From the corner of the room, Sandy caught Perez’s eye and looked suddenly sheepish. There would be lots of Shetland men who would find it hard to keep off the booze for a night. ‘I suggested that just for once he should try. We eat healthily, take plenty of exercise. Now we’ve got the baby to think about.’

‘A couple of cans,’ Ronald said. A repeated mantra. He looked at both men in the room for support.

‘But then to take out your gun,’ she said. Perez could tell she was almost losing control. ‘Just to spite me because I asked you to stay in. I’d been in all day and I wanted some company. Was that too much to ask? Can’t you see what you’ve done? You’ll go to court, maybe to prison. If you weren’t working with your family you’d almost certainly lose your job. And you know what it’s like here. Wherever we go there’ll be people whispering behind our backs. There’s that fool that shot Mima Wilson. I don’t think I can bear it.’ She caught her breath at the start of a sob.

Ronald looked wretched. He got up and put his arms around her, tentatively at first. For a brief moment she allowed herself to rest her head on his shoulder.

From another room came the wail of a baby. It was piercing and relentless and Perez had to stop himself covering his ears to shut it out. How could you live with a noise like that? A

There was an awkward silence. Perez could hear a ringed plover calling from the shore. He thought A

Perez took a sip of the coffee. Instant but strong and hot. ‘What time did you go out last night?’

‘Ten o’clock. A bit later maybe. It was eleven-thirty when I got in. A

‘Were you out on your own?’

‘Yes, I was on my own!’ He looked directly at Perez. ‘Nobody else was out shooting last night. I’d have heard them. I’m not blaming anyone else. I don’t know how it happened. Some freak shot maybe. Or like you said I must have lost my bearings in the fog. What will happen now?’

‘We’ll need a statement,’ Perez said. ‘You’ll probably have to come into Lerwick. Not now. I’ll let you know.’

‘Will I be charged?’

‘Not my decision. That’s down to the Fiscal.’ Again Perez felt an impulse to reassure the man. One foolish action leading to terrible consequences which would haunt him for ever. Most likely it’ll go down as a dreadful accident. Although shooting in those conditions was crazy, reckless, there was no criminal intent. We can all see that. Everyone hates the rabbits. But there was nothing kind about making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. He really didn’t know what the outcome would be.

Perez stood up. ‘Stay here until we get in touch with you. Try to get some sleep.’

‘I’ll try, but I can’t get that picture of Mima out of my head. Such tiny bones. Like a snipe that’s been shot. That frail.’

On the way out of the room, Perez stopped so suddenly that Sandy, shuffling behind, almost bumped into him. He turned back towards Ronald. ‘Where did you meet your wife?’ In the end he couldn’t resist the question, which had been haunting him throughout the conversation.

Ronald answered immediately. ‘She came into Shetland on holiday. She’s always been interested in the traditional crafts and she came to Whalsay to talk to Evelyn about the island knitting. It has its own unique pattern, apparently, and Evelyn’s a kind of expert. We met in the Pier House Hotel one night and kept in touch. She came to visit a few times . . . Maybe she fell in love with the place and not the man.’

Sandy had described Ronald as intelligent. For the first time Perez caught a glimpse of that. The man turned away suddenly and put his head in his hands. Perez and Sandy saw themselves out.