Read Hurt (DS Lucy Black) for Free Online Page A

especially the type of cutting that Karen did on herself, is a way of coping with life, a way of surviving. She did it to make life tolerable, not to end it.’
    ‘Why?’
    Lucy shrugged. ‘How else could she deal with adolescence and babysitting her alcoholic forty-year-old mother?’
    ‘Was there any history of alcohol abuse in the girl?’
    ‘The usual,’ Lucy said.
    ‘How did you come to know her so well?’ Burns asked.
    ‘I didn’t know her that well. I just met Karen at the residential unit a few times when I had to call up there about some of the other kids. We got on OK.’
    ‘Why?’
    Lucy considered the question. ‘I just got her.’
    Burns considered the response. ‘OK then, so who was she? Describe Karen Hughes to us. Help us better understand her.’
    Lucy shrugged. ‘She was nice. She was caring, looking after her mother. She was patient, putting up with all the crap that she dealt with. She had a weird sense of humour. But she was troubled. She had ... she had very low self-esteem.’
    ‘There’s a reason the ACC wanted you in PPU, obviously,’ Burns commented.
    Lucy silently reflected that there was more than one reason her mother had pushed her into the PPU, but she did not speak.
    ‘These hairs Forensics pulled from Karen’s clothes. I don’t suppose Social Services have a dog in the residential unit?’ Burns said.
    ‘No, sir.’
    ‘What about known sex offenders? Have you followed up on those?’
    ‘Inspector Fleming and I had already begun interviewing known sex offenders in the area as part of the search for Karen.’
    ‘How many are there?’
    ‘In the Foyle Command area alone we have sixty-six. We’d seen most.’
    ‘Any black dog owners?’ Burns asked, with a laugh.
    ‘Actually one of the offenders we’ve yet to see has,’ Lucy said.
    ‘Maybe make him a priority for a visit. What’s he called?’
    ‘Eugene Kay. He prefers Gene.’
    ‘Does he, now?’ Burns asked, noting the name. ‘If you and Tom could follow up on it and let me know your thoughts, I’d appreciate it. The ACC has already approved your working alongside us on this.’
    Lucy stood to leave, then stopped. ‘There’s something about the timing of the trains last night,’ she said. ‘The previous train passed there at ten, so the body would have been—’
    Burns raised a hand to stop her. ‘We’re already on top of that.’
    ‘There’s also the metal theft,’ she added. ‘There’s every chance that whoever was cutting those cables may have seen who brought Karen down to the tracks. Considering the timing of the trains. The previous train ran—’
    ‘We’re on that too,’ Burns commented, smiling. ‘We’re following it up.’
    ‘A gang robbed the cemetery the night before, too,’ Lucy said. ‘They could be the same people.’
    Burns looked at her. ‘
That
I didn’t know,’ he said. ‘But it could be useful. Tara, maybe you’d contact the local scrapyards and see if anyone’s been selling stuff they shouldn’t. Mickey, I want you to contact the school and see what you can find out about the girl from there. Ian, check if the CCTV system in the city centre picked up any activity around St Columb’s Park last night. OK?’
    There were general murmurs of agreement as the team got up to leave. Lucy could sense Tara’s annoyance as she shoved her seat under the table and left the room.
    Before leaving, Lucy approached Burns. ‘I’ll update Inspector Fleming, sir,’ she said.
    Burns smiled. ‘That’s fine.’
    Still she stood and did not leave.
    Burns’s smile faltered a little. ‘Is there something you want to ask me?’ he said, uncertainly.
    ‘I was wondering about the state of the Alan Cunningham investigation, sir,’ she said, finally.
    ‘Remind me,’ he said, his fingers interlinking, his joined hands resting on the notebook in front of him on the desk.
    ‘He set fire to his partner’s house in Foyle Springs last year. The parent, Catherine Quigg, and her daughter