Page 11 of Her Last Walk Home

‘What did you do after you hopped the wall?’ she asked gently. ‘After you saw her lying there?’

‘I backed up straight away and rushed over to the barrier. I nearly puked then, but I didn’t.’ He raised his head and eyed her shiftily. A dribble hung from the end of his nose. ‘I phoned 999 immediately.’

She wondered why he was suddenly looking defensive. ‘Did you?’

‘What do you mean?’

Lottie knew all about teenagers, and it was logical to conclude that the first thing Shane might do was whip out his phone, no matter how traumatic the scene. ‘Did you take photos?’

His cheeks coloured. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘Can I see your phone?’

‘No, why?’ He backed up, and the legs of his chair screeched.

Garda Lei put a hand on his arm. ‘Shane, it’s best to be truthful now rather than end up in a world of trouble later. I know if it was me, the first thing I’d do is take a snap of the scene.’

Lottie raised an eyebrow at him, and he gave her a quick shake of his head to let her know he was fibbing.

‘It’s not a crime, is it?’ Shane fished his phone out of his pocket and slid it towards her. ‘I was in shock when I found her, but I suppose I always have my phone in my hand and it was a reflex to take a pic.’

‘PIN code?’

He told her, and she opened up the phone, going directly to his photos. He had one photo of the body taken a little distance away. Lottie shook her head. ‘What were you going to do with it?’

‘Nothing. Delete it. I don’t know.’

Sure, she thought. ‘Did you send it to anyone? Post it anywhere?’

‘No. You can check my messages and social media. I just snapped the pic and ran.’

‘Did you walk around the body?’

‘No.’

‘Did you sit and look at her?’

‘What?’

‘Did you move the body?’

‘Are you joking me?’

‘Shane, I can guarantee you, joking is the furthest thing from my mind right now.’ She leaned closer to the boy. ‘This is a very serious situation. I have to tell that young woman’s family that she’s been murdered, and I need your help to find out what happened.’

‘Murdered? God, shit. No. I never touched her. Why did I have to find her?’

She handed him back his phone, along with her card containing her contact details. ‘Send me the photo, then delete it. Now.’

‘You can AirDrop it.’

‘What?’

‘You know…’ he began. ‘Never mind.’ With visibly trembling fingers, he did as she requested. ‘Done.’

‘We need to interview you formally at the station. We’ll have to take your fingerprints and a sample for DNA comparison. Okay?’

‘I told you, I didn’t touch her.’

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