The Broken Shore Read Online Free PDF

were searching for something to hold. They stretched into activity until her loss hit her again and made them limp, then the cycle started again.
    The ACC was a pretty woman, somewhere in her fifties but looking two decades younger. She was small and dark, with large brown eyes that gazed out sadly from her face. Her hair was black and long, how long was hard to tell when it was wrapped in a chignon every day, but she still caught admiring glances wherever she walked. Craig remembered her from years before, always driven and working hard, but not loathe to using her pretty smile to get her way. He remembered her words from back then.
    “Whatever works, Craig. Whatever works.”
    He’d wondered then if she was hard or merely smart. She’d done whatever it had taken to succeed in a man’s world and found her own way of evening-up the scales. Some called her a pioneer, carving the way for the women who came in her wake. Others, manipulative and cold, Machiavellian in the extreme. He didn’t know. His jury was still out. But today she was none of that; today she was simply a woman who’d lost her child.
    The thoughts took less than a minute to race through his mind, a minute in which John watched her like a hawk. He’d never seen him so shaken by carrying out an I.D. but Melanie Trainor’s wails had chilled them all. Finally Craig broke the silence, his voice soft and kind. It reached across the table while his body remained upright, showing respect.
    “Ma’am. Is there anything we can do to help?”
    She raised her head and gazed at him, her eyes dry and her thoughts a million miles away. She didn’t answer for so long he wondered if she’d heard him, then she sighed. It was a deep soft sigh, a breath exhaled so slowly that it lingered, revealing everything and nothing and most of all despair. Her eyes were blank with the shock and he saw John nod, knowing that she wasn’t there. She sighed once more then stood and walked silently past them to the door, not seeing anyone but her daughter as her chauffeured car drove away.

Chapter Five
     
    1 p.m.
     
    Liam picked up a lettuce leaf in disgust then set it down at the side of his plate, taking a bite of burger.
    “I don’t know why they have to ruin a perfectly good burger with bits of grass.”
    “They’re trying to make it healthier.”
    Liam snorted and Craig laughed then cut into his steak. No matter how dark the case was or how depressing the mood, Liam could bring them back to earth. Craig glanced at Andy and John, nodding them on to eat, then started talking while they did.
    “OK. It’s clear we’re going to get nothing from ACC Trainor, at least for today. So let’s concentrate on other things. John, can you chase up the post-mortem results? Davy’s checking to see if anything similar has showed up before.”
    “You mean other than the case in ’83?”
    “Yes.”
    John nodded and turned his attention to his sausage. He was trying to go vegetarian with little success, but today wasn’t the day to beat himself up about it. Craig was still talking.
    “Andy, we need to re-interview anyone major from the case in ’83.”
    “Except ACC Trainor.”
    Craig nodded ruefully. “Except her. Let’s defer that experience for as long as we can.” He turned towards Liam then noticed something. He’d combed his hair!
    “Did you comb your hair, Liam?”
    Three pairs of eyes fixed on Liam’s head and he blushed under their scrutiny.
    “I did not comb my hair. Have you ever known me to comb my hair? Ever?”
    Craig watched as a patina of red covered Liam’s face. Andy joined in.
    “Boyso yes, you have too combed your hair. What did you use, hey? A combine harvester?”
    Craig and John laughed so loudly they nearly choked on their food. Liam stood up indignantly.
    “I’ll have you know I had red curls when I was a boy! Everyone admired them.”
    They laughed for so long that Craig saw a waiter approach. He waved Liam to sit down and forced his face into a