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problem ended in the murder of Keane? And his family?
    Gripping the can tightly and staring into the distance, Priest eventually said, ‘Flip Keane was a bloody good soldier, but the poor sod couldn’t handle women. I’ve not met a more selfish bitch than Starr, and you come across a few in this game. Flip and her were an item a few years back and she had a kid while he was in Iraq.’
    â€˜Keane’s?’
    â€˜So she reckoned. He’d never wanted to set up home with her, so if it was his it wasn’t meant to happen. Out in Iraq he took up with a nurse. Real serious, that was.’
    â€˜Was she called Brenda?’
    Frank managed a dry chuckle. ‘Tattoos on his arse? Should’ve been on his dick, he was that gone on her.’
    â€˜Yet he married Starr.’
    â€˜No, mate, Starr married him . Had the whole bloody family working on it. Two truckie brothers saw to him one night, and her mother . . . Christ, send her out there and she’d sort even Bin Laden! He didn’t have a hope in hell.’
    â€˜I get the picture,’ said Tom. ‘In addition he was getting grief from his company commander, and his career was in danger of going down the drain.’
    Priest’s dark eyes bored into Tom’s. ‘It was in the bloody balance, mate. Your blokes almost did for him in Iraq.’
    â€˜Say again.’
    â€˜That “friendly fire” balls-up.’
    â€˜Tell me about it,’ invited Tom, sensing an important revelation.
    â€˜Look up your records. It’ll be in there, including the withdrawal of the charge the following day. The target was a bloody raghead. But something like that doesn’t go away. Flip was real strung out over it for that last month of the tour. Had no ammo left to fight with when that woman waggled the kid at him outside his parents’ house, and shouted obscenities while her brothers made threatening gestures. Modern day shotgun wedding, it was. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down!’
    â€˜So Brenda was out of his life?’
    Priest nodded. ‘He reckoned he wasn’t good enough for her. Shows how low he was over that period. Should’ve made sergeant by now, but that’s all on his record.’ He crushed the beer can with his hand. ‘He’ll never make sergeant now, thanks to some pervert.’ He turned haunted eyes to Tom once more. ‘What’re you doing about getting who did for him?’
    â€˜We’re talking to people like you who knew him, garnering evidence that’ll eventually point us in the right direction,’ Tom told him quietly. ‘There’s another kid – a girl of eight months – so the marriage was working out, was it?’
    â€˜They must have been having sex; doesn’t mean the marriage was working. Just satisfying basic needs. Flip loved those kids. Always gassing about them.’ He appeared lost in thought for a moment or two. ‘Back at the start of the year Starr starts nagging him to quit the Army. In spite of what happened, it was Flip’s whole life. Only thing he wanted to do. So that bitch set about getting what she wanted. You know the drill. Headache most nights, dried-up corned beef and limp lettuce day after day, dirty washing piling up. When it came to soiled nappies being dumped on his kit, he had a chat with Captain Steele, who called the Welfare people. We were on standby for Afghanistan and the Company Commander wanted the situation sorted.’
    â€˜Would that be Ben Steele? Guy who got involved in the abduction of Major Kington, Defence Liaison Officer, a coupla years ago?’
    â€˜The same. Know him?’
    â€˜Oh, yes ,’ said Tom, recalling the young subaltern Max had dubbed the military Miss Marple.
    â€˜He defended our action in Iraq. Backed Flip to the hilt. He’s all right. The guys really rate him.’
    â€˜And Steele sorted Starr’s attempts to get Keane out