Dow shook his head, his eyes never leaving Falk’s. His shirt collar was ripe with sweat. ‘Mate, you can get stuffed. You did enough damage with Ellie. You’re not going to take down me and my uncle as well. This is a witch hunt.’
Raco cleared his throat before Falk could answer.
‘All right, Grant.’ His voice was calm. ‘We’re just trying to get some answers. So let’s make it as easy as we can. You’ve told officers from Clyde you were ditch-digging out along Eastway with your two workmates you’ve listed here. You stand by that?’
‘Yeah. I was. All day.’
‘And they’ll back that up, will they?’
‘They’d better. Seeing as it’s the truth.’ Dow managed to look them in the eyes as he said it. A fly droned in frantic circles around their heads as the silence stretched out.
‘Tell me, Grant, what will you do with the property when your uncle dies?’ Falk said.
Dow looked confused at the change of subject. ‘Eh?’
‘You’re all set to inherit, I heard.’
‘So what? I’ve earned it,’ he snapped.
‘For what, letting your uncle live in his own property while he’s old and sick? That takes a big man.’ Truthfully, Falk didn’t see any reason why Dow shouldn’t inherit, but the comment seemed to have hit a sore spot.
‘Little bit more than that, smartarse.’ Dow opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. He closed it before speaking again. ‘Anyway, why not? I’m his family.’
‘All that’s left of it since Ellie died, eh?’ Falk ploughed on as Dow sucked in a breath in outrage. ‘So you’ll sell the property when you can?’
‘Too right I will. I’m not about to try and farm it, am I? I’m not a fool. Not when there’s all those Chinese jumping out of their little yellow skins to buy land out here. Even shit land like ours.’
‘And like the Hadlers’?’
Dow paused. ‘I suppose.’
‘Baby Charlotte’s probably even less keen to lug around bags of fertiliser than you. I hear it’ll come up for sale sooner or later. Two properties side by side.’ Falk shrugged. ‘That’s a lot more attractive to overseas investors. Which is interesting in itself. But especially when the owner of one ended up shot in the head.’
For once Dow didn’t open his mouth to reply, and Falk knew he’d come to the same conclusion.
‘Let’s get back to Karen.’ Falk seized the advantage to change tack. ‘You ever try it on with her?’
‘What?’
‘Romantically? Sexually?’
Dow snorted. ‘Do me a favour. Right ice queen, that one. I wouldn’t waste me breath.’
‘You think she’d have knocked you back,’ Falk said. ‘That must have been annoying.’
‘I get plenty, thanks, mate, don’t you worry about me. The way you’re panting round town after Gretchen, you’ve got enough on your plate worrying about yourself.’
Falk ignored the comment. ‘Did Karen dent your ego? You argue with her about something? Things get a bit messy?’
‘What? No.’ Dow’s eyes flicked left and right.
‘But you fell out with her husband. Frequently, from what we’ve heard,’ Raco said.
‘So what? That was always about nothing. Just Luke being a prick. It had bugger all to do with his missus.’
There was a pause. When Falk spoke again, his voice was quiet.
‘Grant, we’re going to check your movements that day, and maybe your mates are going to back you up. The point is that some alibis are a bit like that plasterboard you work with. They hold up initially, but put them under pressure and they crumble pretty damn swiftly.’
