THE LALLYBROCH MURDERS

CHAPTER 20

The ‘Oh Crap’ thought had to do with looking into her eyes and knowing that would be no help because she had been blessed with the most intoxicating deep green eyes he could ever remember having the pleasure of gazing into. He could feel by that all telling warm feeling starting to rise up from his stomach that he knew this would be hard.

Barry cleared his throat and poured himself a coffee with a splash of milk and one scoop of sugar. As he sat back, Katie had leaned forward to pour her own with exactly the same routine, a gentle splash of milk and one scoop of sugar.

As she was stirring, he noticed she was looking out of the corner of her eye. Wait, was she checking him out? He sure hoped so, this was an incredibly beautiful woman. Whatever it was, it’d had a positive impact as she sat back with a gentle satisfied sigh and the kind of smile that suggested she had seen something she had liked.

It was Katie who spoke first, ‘so then, what can I help you with, Barry?’ Even the way she said his name brought a smile to his face.

‘Ah yes,’ Barry answered regaining his composure.

‘We’re looking to follow up on the report you left with our helpline.’

‘Yes, I thought that may have been the case,’ Katie nodded.

Barry pulled out a picture of Clair Buchan from his brief case. ‘This is the woman you saw?’

‘Oh very much yes. That is the one detail I’m absolutely certain about,’ Katie said as she glanced down at the photo in his hand.

‘Excellent,’ Barry smiled.

‘Now the gentleman she was with,’ he said replacing the photo of Clair and withdrawing a folder, ‘don’t worry too much but have a look and see if any of these look familiar.’ Barry slowly started turning the pages of the file, watching for some kind of response.

‘Wait, go back one,’ she told him, tapping her nail against the mug.

‘This one?’ He asked her, flipping back to the previous picture.

‘Erm yeah,’ she said hesitantly. ‘I couldn’t be certain but… that one does look familiar …hmmm yeah that could be him,’ she said, looking closely at the photo, her brow crinkled in concentration.

Barry glanced down at the picture and rather incredibly the one she has stopped on was the one and only available picture he had of Campbell Stratton, the fifth victim.

‘Well done Ma’am, you’re doing brilliantly,’ he told her.

‘Now, now,’ she responded waving her finger at him like a naughty child, ‘If I am to address you as Barry, then please call me Katie, none of this ma’am crap. Makes me feel old and I don’t like it.

‘The smile she threw his way to take the sting out of her words had his heart tumbling even faster.

‘I do apologize ….Katie,’ he said emphasizing her name just as she had done for him earlier, to which they both gave out a little giggle. ‘Now then this next bit is a little more crucial so I need to think very carefully about this ok?’ Barry finally asked.

‘Ok,’ was her simple response, her trust in him clear as she leaned forward a bit more to listen to him.

‘The vehicle of which you saw them getting out of, can you remember any details about that?’

Katie sighed at that. ‘I knew you were going to ask me that so I’ve been racking my brains trying to picture it.’

‘Anything you can remember will be a big help,’ Barry reassured her.

‘Well, it was late and kind of Dark so I can’t be a hundred percent certain but I think it was a sort of blue - ishy colour.’

‘That’s good actually, anything else?’ he asked as he jotted down the note next to the other ones of her identifying both Clair and the victim without hesitation.

‘I wouldn’t swear by it, but I think it was a station wagon. It was a big and heavy looking thing.’

‘Ok, that’s brilliant, thank you. I’m pretty sure I know the answer to the next one but I have to ask anyway. I’m guessing you didn’t get a registration number?’

‘No I’m afraid not,’ Katie told him shaking her head as her lips pulled down into a small frown.

‘No problem, you’ve been a great help. Now then this coffee I must say it’s rather good.’

‘Yes I agree,’ she nodded.

‘I’ll definitely get some more of this I think. Probably wait until I get some from the stores though, a little cheaper that way. Work is handy but you do pay a little extra.’ Barry laughed at that.

‘You know, one of the senior detectives down at the station is a bit of a coffee fiend. He’d probably be quite jealous if he knew I was having something this delicious.

He’ll wish he came himself when I tell him,’ Barry began to laugh but Katie looked at him with a rather cheeky smile.

‘Well I must say I’m rather glad he didn’t,’ she replied giving him another look.

‘Me too,’ Barry told her quietly, ‘and not just for the coffee either.’ Wow did he really just say that? It had taken him a lot of work to get to where he was and he was pretty sure that flirting with a potential witness would carry no favours back at the station. If the big smile on Katie’s face didn’t put him at ease, though, her next comment certainly would do it.

‘Thank you. Maybe a little later we could meet up for something a little stronger perhaps?’ Barry was beaming now at that question.

‘Yes that would be wonderful. I’d like that very much,’ he told her to which she was now smiling widely also.

‘There’s a little BBQ restaurant and bar not far from here actually, maybe we could try that?’ Barry asked her.

‘Oh, I know it well,’ Katie told him. ‘The food in there is amazing.’

‘Really? Wow, in that case maybe we could get a bite to eat and stay for a few drinks after?’

Katie nodded her acceptance, a smile still on her lips. ‘That would be perfect. I’ll see you there about seven?’ She asked.

‘Works for me.’ Barry confirmed. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’