Death to Pay Read Free Page B

and ushered Moira inside. The air was redolent with the smell of stale beer and fresh farts. Billy Rice had been in the cubicle only a few hours, but he had already established his own unique environment. Lying on the bed, he resembled something like Ayres Rock. His stomach, which had always been significant, had reached gargantuan proportions since Wilson had seen him last. Two large gauze circles covered his eyes, and a drip had been inserted in his right wrist.  There was a plaster on the side of his head.
    ‘It’s Detective Superintendent Wilson. How are you, Billy?’ Wilson said easing the curtain around the cubicle back into position.
    ‘Fuck you, how do ye think I am?’ Rice shouted while remaining immobile. ‘Lizzie’s dead. Some bastard caved her head in. That boy doesn’t know what they’ve done. Just wait till Sammy hears.’
    ‘What happened?’ Wilson asked.
    ‘Fucked if I know. I was watched the TV, don’t ask me what was on I never take a blind bit of notice of the damn thing. There’s a knock at the door, and I tell them to piss off but they’re not listening. So I get up and open the door. As soon as the door opened the bastard sprayed some shit in my eyes, the pain drove me up the wall. They pushed me back into the living room, and hit me with some electrical gizmo.’
    ‘So Lizzie wasn’t at home?’
    ‘Bingo, every Wednesday like clockwork. She normally gets home before ten.’
    ‘And what time did the doorbell go at?’
    Rice thought for a moment, and the effort seemed to tax him. ‘If I’d been payin’ closer attention to the TV I’d have a guess, but I was into the cans.’
    ‘How many were there?’
    ‘I have no idea. The minute I opened the door I was hit in the eyes. Then I was electrocuted or something, and everything went blank. It’s the fucking Taigs. Lizzie was a thorn in their side for years. You drag a few Taigs into the station and beat the shit out of them until they squeal. If you don’t Sammy will.’
    ‘Why didn’t they hurt you, Billy? You were heavily involved yourself.’
    ‘Hell if I know,’ some tears flowed out of Rice’s right eye.
    Wilson wondered if it was the result of the spray or was Rice crying for his dead wife. If he was a betting man, he would have chosen the spray.
    ‘So they targeted Lizzie. Any idea why?’
    ‘Who can tell with the Taigs? Bloody vermin.’
    ‘Sammy having any business problems these days?’ Wilson asked.
    ‘My son doesn’t have business problems for too long. He takes care of business problems.’
    ‘No reason why some of his associates would target Lizzie?’
    Billy Rice snorted. ‘Whoever did this is mad or crazy or both. You don’t bash in Lizzie Rice’s skull and make any long-term plans. The word’ll be out on this tomorrow, and the whole of the Shankill will be looking for the bastard. And when he’s found, we won’t be needing the help of the peelers.’
    ‘We’ll be in touch,’ Wilson said pulling back the curtain and allowing Moira to leave.
    ‘Piss right off.’
    ‘Just what we don’t need,’ Wilson said walking along the passageway between the cubicles. A load of idiots trying to ingratiate themselves with Sammy Rice by bringing him the head of some poor unfortunate who had nothing to do with murdering Lizzie. However, Billy is right on one count. Whoever killed Lizzie Rice is one crazy bugger. It was a high-risk murder right in the middle of a staunchly Protestant area of Belfast. It either took amazing guts or more than a little foolhardiness.’
    ‘What about the method?’ Moira said as they made their way to the car park. ‘Surely if someone wanted to kill her they could have used a knife or a gun.’
    ‘That’s been bothering me too. Lizzie’s head was smashed to a pulp. The question is why?’
     

CHAPTER 5
     
     
     
    Wilson’s in-head alarm clock woke him at seven thirty exactly. He managed five hours of fitful sleep and had only begun to sleep properly just as his brain told