L
iam walked into the Garda station and looked around. Callum was sitting at his desk on the phone, but he looked up and waved, then held up a finger. A few minutes later, he hung up the phone, pushed back his chair and made his way to the counter and buzzed him in.
“Good timing, boss. DI Elliott is out right now.”
“I hoped that was the case. Got a minute?”
“Sure. Come on in.”
Callum sat back down in his chair and Liam sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Callum smiled. “This feels strange, Liam. I’m usually sitting in front of your desk.”
Liam smiled. “I’m hoping you can give me some information on how the case is progressing. I’m going stir crazy.”
Callum laughed. “I wondered how long it would take you.”
“Since trying to keep Molly out of this is impossible, I’m trying to help as much as I can.”
“Hoping to keep her out of trouble? Good luck with that.” He laughed again.
“Aye. Did Fiona share with you the information she found out about the people paying Herb’s tabs at Shenanigan’s?”
He nodded. “I brought it up to DI Elliott, but he didn’t see any value in it, and told me to let it go.”
Liam smiled. “So, of course you’ve dug into it, right?”
He grinned. “Of course. But I’ve found little more than Fiona did.” He pulled out some pages from a stack of paper on his desk. “I found out Otis Smith is in a wheelchair. Nasty accident, so I doubt he killed him.”
“I just came from Bud Tyson’s garage. That man is big and angry. I could see him killing Herb. Did you find anything else out on him?”
“I did. As far as his father’s death, Bud had an alibi. He was out of town that day. However, I found something else. When I put his name in the system, there is an open case out of the drug squad in Ballyquicken.”
Liam’s eyebrows rose.
“According to the file, there have been reports that Bud’s son Ewan is running drugs through the garage. They’ve had a few tips, but nothing has panned out. Maybe Herb got wind of it, and was blackmailing him for that.”
“And Bud, not knowing the police are already on to him, pays Herb off. But why kill him?”
Callum shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t want to pay any longer.”
Liam sat up. “Or, if the police do figure it out, Herb has evidence he could turn over to us.” He sat back. “I have a friend on the drug squad. I’ll have to call him.” He pulled out his notebook and made some notes. “Did you find anything on Victor Hall?”
Callum shook his head. “He’s an old guy, works here part time cleaning the place up. He keeps himself to himself. I don’t see what Herb could have on him.”
“I don’t think he’d be paying Herb’s bar bill without a reason.” Liam reminded him.
“True. He comes in at three. I’ll have a talk with him then.”
“What about Herb’s financials?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. But if Herb was asking for favors rather than cash, that would make sense.”
“And his will?”
He lifted an envelope from his desk. “I have the warrant right here. I’m going to see his solicitor this afternoon.”
Liam left the Garda station and pulled out his mobile. He found the number he was looking for and hit send. He got his friend’s voice mail, so he left a message. On his way back to Rose Cottage, he stopped at Reanna’s bakery and picked up dessert.