Lingard148

140

"No, no, don't bother, Uncle Albert. You just stay here a in case
any of the wee ones should wake."

He would be asleep before she returned. As she left the kitchen
his eyelids were closing.

She ran all the way to the police station and arrived breathless.
She asked the sergeant on duty if she could speak to the officer who
had brought in her brother for questioning. At that moment the soldier
came out of a door. He^{room and} recognised Brede.

"Can I have a word with you?" asked Brede.

He nodded. He came over to her.

"It’s about Kate Malone^Kelly. I think you ought to know that she has
a grudge against my brother Kevin." Brede gulped and went on,"You
see, she's rather keen ^on him and he's given her the go-by. So I don't
think you could call her an unbiased witness."

The officer smiled fleetingly. "Perhaps not. As a matter of fact
I'd beg un to suspect something of the kind. I've been back to
talk to her. And your fat brother's stikcing to his statement that
he had nothing to do with it."

"I'm sure he had not," said Brede.

"You don't know who did?"

Brede shook her head.

"And if you did you wouldn't say, would you?"

"Well... I don't know. But since I don't know there's nothing
I could be telling you anyway. So you'll let my brother go then?"

"We can't keep him. ^{I think ...}