‘Why?’
‘What do you mean? It’s quite common when I’m on a split shift. Being on call early and late is exhausting. As you know well yourself, no doubt.’
Raco gave no reaction to the attempt at common ground.
‘Can anybody confirm this?’
Sullivan drove the short distance to town. He passed no-one on the country roads and only a handful of vehicles as he got nearer the centre. Before he hit the main street he took a sharp right, turning onto a small laneway behind the row of shops. He was being overcautious, he knew. No-one would think twice about seeing his car parked in town. But the sense of secrecy was stitched through him like a scar, and it was impossible now to override. On a wall overhead, a CCTV camera outside the pharmacy blinked as he drove past.
Dr Leigh leaned in, frowning. His long fingers picked at the corner of the Hadler folder, unsure whether to open it. ‘Seriously, what the hell is this about?’
‘If you could answer,’ Raco said. ‘Were you alone in the surgery flat that afternoon?’
Leigh looked from Raco to Falk and back again. ‘Should I call my lawyer? Does she need to be here?’ There was a challenge in his voice.
‘That,’ Raco said, ‘could be prudent.’
Dr Leigh pulled back from the table as though he’d been burned.
Sullivan parked his car in the garage that was always waiting empty and unlocked for him. He got out and pulled the roller door down to hide his vehicle from view, wincing at the scream of metal on metal as it closed. He waited a moment. Nothing reacted. The laneway was empty.
Sullivan went to the anonymous door next to the surgery’s supplies entrance and rang the bell. He glanced left and right. A moment later the door opened. Dr Leigh smiled at him. They waited until they were inside and the door was firmly shut before they kissed.
Leigh closed his eyes and rubbed his index finger along the bridge of his nose. His excellent posture had bent a fraction.
‘All right. I take it from all this you’ve been told the situation,’ he said. ‘Yes, then. I wasn’t in the flat alone that afternoon. I was with Jamie Sullivan.’
Raco made a noise that was half frustration, half satisfaction, and sat back in his chair. He shook his head in disbelief.
‘About time. Do you know how many hours we’ve spent –wasted– chasing Sullivan’s story?’
‘I know. I do.I’m sorry.’ The doctor sounded like he meant it.
‘You’re sorry? Three people died, mate. You were there with me. You saw the bodies. That poor kid. Six years old and his head shot off. How could you let us chase our tails? Who knows what damage you’ve done?’
The doctor swayed a little in the chair like he’d been hit by a physical force.
‘You’re right,’ Leigh said. He bit his thumbnail and looked close to tears. ‘Don’t you think I wanted to say something straight away? As soon as I found out you’d been at Jamie’s place asking questions? Of course, he should have told you then.Ishould have told you then. But we panicked, I suppose. We didn’t speak up immediately and then more time passed and by then I – we – didn’t know how.’
‘Well, I hope the delay was worth landing Jamie with a busted face last night,’ Raco said.
Leigh looked up, shocked.
‘Oh, didn’t you know?’ Raco went on. ‘Yeah, he was involved in a pub fight. It’s the only reason he told me what was going on. It was his head rather than his conscience that took a whack. You could’ve saved us all this trouble days ago. Shame on you both.’
The doctor put his hand over his eyes and stayed there for a long minute. Falk got up to get him a cup of water and he gulped it down gratefully. They waited.
‘So you felt you couldn’t tell us then. It’s time to tell us now,’ Falk said, not unkindly.
Leigh nodded.
‘Jamie and I have been together about eighteen months. Romantically. But – obviously – we’ve kept it quiet,’ he said. ‘It started when he began having to bring his grandmother in more often. She was getting worse and he was struggling on his own. He needed support and someone to talk to and it grew from there. I mean, I’d always suspected he might be gay, but around here –’ Leigh broke off and shook his head. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry, none of that matters. The day the Hadlers were killed I had open surgery until four o’clock and then had a break. Jamie sent me a text and I told him to come over. It was a fairly usual arrangement. He arrived, we chatted for a while. Had a cold drink. Then we went to bed.’
Sullivan was in the tiny bathroom drying himself off from the shower when the flat’s emergency phone rang. He heard Leigh pick up. The muffled conversation was brief and urgent. The doctor put his head around the bathroom door, his face clouded with worry.
‘I’ve got to go. There’s been a shooting accident.’
‘Oh shit, really?’
