Dan parked close to Pat’s house. What was usually a tranquil setting seemed to have got darker, with the hills around more brooding. He was there to support Eileen and to find out what she knew, but he had to steel himself first. Pat had been his mentor, his boss, his colleague. He brought colour into the office with his courtroom anecdotes and witticisms. He couldn’t cope with the thought of that no longer being there.
Before she’d left, Murdoch had told him that Pat’s car had been found in the car park of Greencroft railway station, a small country stop on the Highford to Langton line. The station was unstaffed, and police officers were looking through CCTV from the local trains. Dan knew that once Eileen told the police about Pat’s cancer, and how he’d been making preparations for the day that would come too soon, they’d start wondering if he’d brought that day forward.
But Pat was a showman. He wouldn’t go out with so little pizzazz. He wanted a send-off, an audience. And he’d told Dan that he wanted to spend whatever time he had left with Eileen. There was no way he would bring it to an end so quickly. Nor would he have jumped on a train and gone away without her.
Dan had requested an adjournment for personal reasons, which the judge had allowed, although he suspected it was mainly to allow Francesca and Murdoch more time to look into the list of cases he’d produced. Dan was grateful anyway, because he would have had trouble concentrating.
There was a police car outside Pat and Eileen’s house, as well as a couple of other cars he didn’t recognise. The police would be tactful, aware that Eileen was desperate with worry, but would also need to find out why Pat had gone out without telling her. They’d want to search the house and work out whether Eileen might be involved in his disappearance.
Dan wanted to go in, but he couldn’t move. He needed to know what was happening but he was afraid of knowing.
If he stayed in his car, he wouldn’t have to confront Pat’s disappearance. He could put up his mental barrier and stay the emotional rock he tried to be. Finding out that Pat was dead could get behind that barrier, and he wasn’t ready for that.
A car drew to a slow halt behind him. Dan checked his mirror, but he didn’t recognise it. He went back to staring ahead and then jumped at a small tap on the passenger window.
It was Murdoch.
Dan thought about ignoring her, wanting to be alone, but his need to know more about Pat made him press the unlock button.
‘Any sign of him?’ Dan said, staring straight, his jaw clenched as Murdoch climbed in.
‘Not yet. I need to know if I should treat his wife as a suspect.’
Dan shook his head. ‘No. Not Eileen. I saw her this morning and she was worried about where he was. She told me he went out last night without telling her. She thought he’d gone to a police station, but he never came home. He was dying. He had cancer and didn’t have much time left.’
Murdoch nodded to herself. ‘I didn’t know that. Thank you.’
‘Is this your case?’
‘We don’t know if there is a case yet, but a missing lawyer attracts the media so we’re making sure to stay on top if it.’ She looked towards the house. ‘One thing though, before I go down there to talk to her.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Pat was a defence lawyer, just like you, and that involves knowing a lot of bad stuff about a lot of bad people. You lawyers don’t like to talk about your clients, but if you tell me now, I promise no one will know it came from you. Give me a steer, are there any threats from anywhere that his wife might not know about?’
There was an uncomfortable silence as Dan wondered what to say. His own thoughts were running too fast. Eventually, he said, ‘Sean Martin.’
‘What about him?’
‘Timing is important. It’s Peter’s trial this week. Pat told me to look into the Rosie Smith case, and now he’s missing.’
‘You mentioned that case today in court, to do with this ridiculous serial killer theory you’re talking about? Come on, Dan, you’re better than that.’
‘Pat came to see me on Sunday. He was worried about Sean Martin. Pat helped get him released but, once he got out, Sean told him a secret.’
‘What?’
Dan hoped that this was the conversation Pat had wanted him to have. ‘Sean told him where the murder weapon was hidden.’
Murdoch’s mouth opened, but a few seconds passed before she spoke. ‘So, he was guilty?’
‘Sean might have been winding him up, a sick joke.’
‘Did Pat Molloy think that?’
‘No, he didn’t.’
‘Why did he tell you?’
‘He wanted to die with a clear conscience.’ He could see that Murdoch was about to say something, possibly a wisecrack about lawyers having a conscience, but his glare stopped her. ‘I went to see Sean Martin on Sunday.’
‘What were you hoping he’d do?’
‘Break cover, if he thought Pat had told me.’
‘If he did, is this how you wanted him to do it?’
Dan was about to snap at her, but he realised that she had pinpointed what he’d been thinking. It accounted for the feeling of nausea, the knowledge that his own actions might have put Pat in danger. Could he live with that?
‘Did Pat tell you where the weapon was hidden?’
‘Sean had been too vague to be sure. He told Pat that it was by the western corner, below the mason’s mark, an itch he couldn’t scratch.’
‘The western corner of what?’
‘That’s the point, he didn’t know, but don’t you think it’s odd that within a couple of days of Pat talking about Sean Martin, he’s gone missing?’
Murdoch pondered that for a few moments before reaching into her jacket pocket and handing over a business card. ‘Contact me if you think of anything else.’
Dan took it and tapped it against the steering wheel as Murdoch got out.
Murdoch was just about to close the door when she leaned in and said, ‘Be careful, Dan. If Pat Molloy was attacked because he went out alone, it means he was followed. And if he thinks you know, that puts you in danger too, and anyone else who might know about it.’
As she walked towards the house, his thoughts went to Jayne and he remembered that Sean Martin knew about her involvement, had liked her Facebook page. His nausea escalated into a cold sweat. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.
He called her. When she answered, he asked, ‘Are you all right? No one’s following you or anything like that?’
‘Dan, slow down. What’s wrong?’
‘Pat’s gone missing.’
‘Missing? What do you mean?’
‘Like it sounds, and it’s all too coincidental. I’m worried about you too.’
She paused before replying, ‘I’m fine. I don’t need a man to look after me.’
‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘Good. I’ve got a couple more things to follow up and then I’ll come to yours.’
‘Just be careful.’
‘As ever,’ and then she hung up.
He threw the phone onto the passenger seat and closed his eyes. He couldn’t deal with this.