The girl’s expression lingers in my mind. She looked so young and innocent earlier, playing on the beach, but up close her face is troubled. I don’t know why that bothers me. Plenty of people come to Scilly for a new life, far from the mainland, but the past can be hard to shake off. She’s still in my head while Eddie grabs a sandwich from the tray.
‘Food at last, boss. I’m starving.’ My deputy has been busy, scribbling reams of notes on his A4 pad.
I watch Tom Kinsella loading his black coffee with sugar and feel a twinge of relief. Perhaps my chaperone is human after all.
‘At least we’ve learned the truth about Louis Hayle. He left at least one victim and a witness too scared to talk, until his death. There could be others on Bryher who are too afraid to blow the whistle even now he’s dead. They might be unwilling to rake up the past.’ I glance at my phone, but no new messages have arrived. ‘Did you find anything else on New Venture, Eddie?’
‘The company shifted their account to New York, but it closed years ago. I can’t see who withdrew Hayle’s money.’
‘It could have been a tax fiddle he set up. He travelled the world when his company was at its height. Maybe he copied a sample of Hugh Porthcawl’s handwriting to fake those letters home to his family then.’
‘That doesn’t explain where his money went. The only thing I found is New Venture’s company logo.’ He points at the letters NV in Gothic script on his computer. It looks familiar, but I can’t place it. ‘The financial records have been wiped away.’
‘Hayle was great at sweeping things under the carpet.’
‘It’s unbelievable,’ Eddie says. ‘If he abused more than one kid, surely someone would have guessed?’
‘No one expects a Jimmy Savile in such a tiny community. They thought he was a hero.’
‘The fucking scumbag,’ Kinsella mutters.
My bodyguard appears to be settling in nicely, swearing and polluting his system with caffeine, like the rest of us. When I glance at Eddie again, his fresh-faced choirboy image has taken a pounding. He looks his age for once, his eyes red from screen-gazing.
‘Go to bed, Eddie. You’ve done twelve hours straight.’
He objects, but not for long, before heading for his room.
‘And you, Kinsella. I need to check one more thing before I hit the sack.’
‘I’ll stay, thanks,’ he insists. ‘I’m on guard duty till morning. Ken’s migraine’s knocked him out.’
‘You can’t skip a whole night’s sleep.’
‘Watch me. I just loaded up on caffeine and carbs.’
‘No one’s going to storm the building tonight.’
‘Better safe than sorry.’ His cool stare carries a warning. I suspect he’d happily sit by my door all week to prevent any more bloodshed; he’s seen enough human suffering to know that mistakes can be fatal.
I’d like to call Nina in private, but he’d only follow me outside. Her voice sounds tired but calm as she lets slip that the consultant’s keeping an eye on her blood pressure, which rose again today. If it goes any higher, they’ll induce her before the due date. I promise again to be at her side for the birth.
Anger wells up inside me when I drop my phone back into my pocket. I need to close this case fast and get over to the mainland, but the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle is missing.
‘I’m going up, Kinsella. You should rest too. This place is like Fort Knox; every door and window is locked.’
‘I’ll sleep when my shift ends, sir.’
‘Thanks for your hard work.’
Shadow follows me to my room, and my guard stations himself in the corridor on a folding chair. Kinsella’s eyes are wide open when I say goodnight, and I’m grateful for a break from invisible threats. I take off my shoes and lie down, falling asleep fully dressed.
Shadow wakes me after a few hours. He’s pawing at my arm, giving a high-pitched whine.
‘Shut up, you hell hound.’ The dog runs to the window and releases a howl. ‘There’s nothing out there.’
My brain is too overloaded for sleep to return. The New Venture logo enters my mind; an N entwined with a V. I’ve seen it somewhere before, then the truth clicks into place. It’s identical to one of the rings on Maeve Trenwith’s hand, the letters cast in silver.