Garnethill by Denise Mina Read Online Free PDF Page A

unnecessarily.
    "Yeah," said Maureen, puzzled by his crassness. "Except for this morning."
    "Now," said McEwan, "when you found the body this morning did you touch anything?"
    Maureen thought about it. "No," she said.
    "Did you go into the living room before you phoned us?"
    "No."
    "Did you go into the hall cupboard?"
    "The shoe cupboard?"
    "Yes," said McEwan. "The small cupboard in the hall, the one with the shoe box in it."
    "No, I didn't go in there. I saw the body and phoned you immediately."
    ' 'Immediately'? At the scene you told Detective Inspector Inness that you sat in the hall for a while."
    "Well, yeah, I saw the body and sat down in shock and as soon as I was able to stand up I got to the phone and called you."
    "How long were you sitting in the hall?"
    "I don't know, I was in shock."
    "One hour? Two hours?"
    "Ten minutes, maybe. Twenty minutes at the longest."
    "And where were you sitting in the hall?"
    "What difference does it make where I sat?" she said impatiently.
    "Just answer the question, Miss O'Donnell."
    "I was sitting directly across from the hall cupboard."
    "And the door to the cupboard was . . . ?"
    Joe McEwan seemed to be trying to prompt her toward some meaningful statement about the state of the cupboard but she wasn't sure what it was. She shrugged. "I dunno, what? Broken?"
    "Was it open?" asked McEwan. "Was it shut?"
    "Oh, right, no, it was shut."
    "Could you see into the living room from where you were sitting?"
    "I could see some footsteps."
    "How many footsteps could you see from there?"
    She thought about it for a moment. "Two," she said. "I could see two but there were seven altogether."
    McEwan looked at her suspiciously. "You seem very sure about that."
    "I remember them because they looked odd. They weren't shuffled, there were no scuffs of blood at the heel, but they were too close together. It looked odd. Like someone had been walking funny."
    "As if they were planked," said Inness quietly, looking at his notes.
    His comment annoyed McEwan for some reason: he turned and looked at Inness. Inness realized his mistake and eyed McEwan a subordinate's apology.
    "Why are you so interested in the hall cupboard?" asked Maureen. "Was there something in there?"
    McEwan was evasive. "Never you mind what was in there."
    Maureen ran her fingers through her greasy hair. "Would either of you have a cigarette I could blag?" she said.
    She had come out of shock minutes before and was desperate for a fag. Her packet was in her handbag, on the bedroom floor.
    Inness sighed and looked at McEwan as if to say Maureen was a chancer. McEwan didn't respond. With pronounced reluctance Inness took a packet of Silk Cut from his pocket and handed one to Maureen. He lit a match, holding it across the table. Maureen leaned over, sitting the cigarette in the flame. It crackled softly. She inhaled and felt the smoke curl warmly in her lungs, her fingers began to tingle. McEwan reached out suddenly, took a cigarette out of Inness's packet and leaned forward, lighting it from the ready flame. Inness seemed surprised. McEwan inhaled and grimaced. "Now," he said, looking at his cigarette accusingly, "I'm afraid we can't allow you to stay at your own house for a while. Is there anyone else you can stay with?"
    "Oh, aye," said Maureen, "loads of places."
    "I mean, we'll need the address you'll be staying at so we can find you if we need to."
    "I might be able to stay with a pal in Maryhill but I'd have to check with him first."
    "That would be handy," nodded Inness. "It's just up the road."
    "Yeah," said Maureen, wanting desperately to see Liam or Benny or Leslie, or anyone familiar and alive. "Can I nip up the road to ask him?"
    McEwan gave her a hard, determined look. "No," he said. "I'd prefer it if you stayed here."
    "I really want to leave for a while and come back."
    "I want you to stay. We'll be receiving information all the time and it may be important for me to check things out with you."
    "I want to go," she said