Read White Nights for Free Online Page B

father, who was still alive. Kenny had mentioned Edith, but not with great affection. It couldn’t havebeen easy for her, Perez thought, looking after an old man who wasn’t even a relative. Kenny should have been more grateful.
    Then suddenly he remembered a party that had taken place in the Fair Isle hall. A return wedding: an island boy who’d gone away to marry a southerner in her own town, then brought her back to celebrate properly on the Isle, the lass wearing the long white wedding dress and carrying flowers just as she would have done in the English church. There’d been a meal in the hall, all the island invited, and afterwards a dance. Perez remembered Kenny dancing an eight-some reel with his mother, swinging and lifting her until she laughed out loud. His father, watching from the side, had seemed slightly put out. Perhaps Kenny had been a little drunk that night. Perez himself had been drinking too, so perhaps his memory was at fault. Soon after the party Kenny had returned to the Observatory to stay. When Perez had asked why, he’d been as unforthcoming as ever: ‘It suits me better just now.’
    When he came to the house, Perez knocked at the kitchen door. He stood for a moment. There was no answer and he was wondering if he should let himself in when Kenny came up behind him, a scruffy dog completely silent beside him.
    ‘I was looking out for you,’ Kenny said. ‘Sandy said he’d called you. But I thought I might as well get on with some work. We’re planning on clipping the sheep at the end of the week.’
    ‘Do you want to carry on? We can talk just the same.’
    ‘No, I was about ready for a coffee. You’ll join me?’
    The kitchen was tidier than most croft housesPerez had been in. Kenny stood at the door and unlaced his boots before walking inside with stockinged feet. Perez checked that his shoes were clean before following. The room was square with a table in the middle, a couple of easy chairs close to the Rayburn. The fitted cupboards and the fancy appliances all Kenny’s work, Perez thought, but chosen by Edith. A jug of campion stood on the windowsill, its deep pink matching a motif in the wall tiles. Everything planned and ordered. The breakfast things, still unwashed on the draining board, were the only items out of place.
    Kenny must have seen Perez looking at them. ‘I’ll have those done before Edith gets in,’ he said. ‘It only seems right when she’s been at work all day. Are you all right with instant? Edith likes the real stuff – Ingirid bought her a fancy machine for Christmas – but I’ve always thought it kind of bitter.’
    ‘Of course,’ Perez said. ‘Whatever you’re having.’ He could have done with a strong espresso, but knew it wouldn’t be right to ask.
    He waited until Kenny joined him at the kitchen table before starting the questions.
    ‘What time did you find him?’
    Kenny considered. Everything he did would be slow and deliberate. Except dancing, thought Perez, remembering the scene in the Fair Isle hall. He was a wild dancer.
    ‘It would have been about ten-past nine this morning. Edith had left for work around half-past eight and I was thinking about starting on the neeps; there aren’t many days like this, even in the summer.’ He smiled. ‘I was tempted by the fishing. Thought we might havea bit of a barbecue tonight if I got lucky and brought back some piltock or mackerel.’
    Perez nodded. ‘I know you didn’t see his face, but do you have any idea who the dead man might be? We need to identify him.’
    Another pause. ‘No. I’d never met him.’
    ‘But you might have some idea?’
    ‘Bella had one of her parties last night. The place was full of strangers.’
    Not so full.
    ‘You weren’t there yourself, Kenny. I thought she always asked Biddista folk to her openings. I thought you were the inspiration for her work.’
    Kenny’s face was brown and lined. It cracked into a brief mischievous smile. ‘That’s what she tells