and if you’re anything like me you’ve been on the go all day. Head home, get some rest and try and leave the detective work to the detectives.’
Reilly smiled. Karen knew as well as Reilly did that this job was far from a nine-to-five. ‘Don’t worry, home is exactly where I’m going now. Believe it or not,’ she added mischievously, ‘I have a date.’
The city center was buzzing with after-work revellers as Chris and Kennedy crossed the Ha’penny bridge.
Taking in the surrounding landscape Chris noticed a group of seagulls occasionally dipping into the dark water for a tasty titbit and emerging with weeds on their beaks. It immediately reminded him of the algae found on the hit-and-run victim. Where had it come from and what did it mean? Happy as he was to have some trace material that might help with identifying the girl’s origins, right now it simply remained another enigma. Like her.
So for the moment, they’d decided to investigate a different aspect instead.
Continuing on over the bridge they passed through the archway that led to the cobbled streets of Temple Bar. They eventually saw the sign they were looking for. ‘Tiger Tattoos.’ Kennedy pushed open the door and they stepped inside.
It was a small store, the walls covered in various tattoo designs – gothic, Celtic, skulls, almost any style was available. In racks in front of the wall was book after book of even more designs, everything from puppy dogs to roses, death-metal logos to elegant flowing scripts.
‘Hello there. What can I do you for you two gentlemen?’ A thin man in his forties had emerged from the back and was looking at them with interest. He had a shaved head and thick, dark eyebrows, his arms covered in a maze of richly colored tattoos.
‘Are you the boss?’ Kennedy asked.
He nodded. ‘Yep. Jimmy Tiger. And I’m guessing you’re not here for a tattoo.’
They were both dressed in dark slacks, tieless shirts and light windbreaker jackets which screamed law enforcement to anybody with an ounce of street wisdom.
‘How did you guess?’ Chris flashed Jimmy his badge. ‘Detectives Delaney and Kennedy,’ he informed him. ‘I wonder if you could look at a few photographs for us, see if you might recognize the work?’
He nodded. ‘I’ll give it a go.’
Chris took the photos of the angel wings out of his inside pocket and spread them out on the counter. The tattooist slipped on a pair of black plastic framed glasses, and studied the images for a moment. ‘That’s good work…’ he murmured. He ran his finger across the lines. ‘And judging by the skin I’m guessing it’s a woman. She dead or something?’
‘We can’t comment on that,’ Kennedy told him.
‘I understand.’ He peered at the pictures again and moved closer to the doorway for some more natural light. ‘There’s only so much I can tell you without seeing it firsthand, but whoever did this has a pretty distinctive style – a lefty too, which is unusual.’
Chris looked up, interested. ‘You can tell something like that from the photo?’
‘Yep, from the direction the ink is going.’ He slid his glasses down to the end of his nose and looked from one detective to the other. ‘Don’t think it’s by anyone I know though. I’ve not seen this work before, and I’m familiar with the style of most artists around here.’
Chris nodded. He knew it was too much to hope that they would strike lucky straight away. ‘Well, thanks for looking.’ He slid the photos back into his pocket and turned towards the door.
‘But I’m probably not the person you need to be talking to,’ Jimmy added.
They stopped and looked at him enquiringly.
‘If I were you, I’d talk to Rasher,’ he said. ‘If there’s anyone who can identify these for you, it’s him. He’s a lefty too, only one I know.’
‘And where would we find this … Rasher?’
‘Well, let’s just say he doesn’t have a shop with
Reilly smiled. Karen knew as well as Reilly did that this job was far from a nine-to-five. ‘Don’t worry, home is exactly where I’m going now. Believe it or not,’ she added mischievously, ‘I have a date.’
The city center was buzzing with after-work revellers as Chris and Kennedy crossed the Ha’penny bridge.
Taking in the surrounding landscape Chris noticed a group of seagulls occasionally dipping into the dark water for a tasty titbit and emerging with weeds on their beaks. It immediately reminded him of the algae found on the hit-and-run victim. Where had it come from and what did it mean? Happy as he was to have some trace material that might help with identifying the girl’s origins, right now it simply remained another enigma. Like her.
So for the moment, they’d decided to investigate a different aspect instead.
Continuing on over the bridge they passed through the archway that led to the cobbled streets of Temple Bar. They eventually saw the sign they were looking for. ‘Tiger Tattoos.’ Kennedy pushed open the door and they stepped inside.
It was a small store, the walls covered in various tattoo designs – gothic, Celtic, skulls, almost any style was available. In racks in front of the wall was book after book of even more designs, everything from puppy dogs to roses, death-metal logos to elegant flowing scripts.
‘Hello there. What can I do you for you two gentlemen?’ A thin man in his forties had emerged from the back and was looking at them with interest. He had a shaved head and thick, dark eyebrows, his arms covered in a maze of richly colored tattoos.
‘Are you the boss?’ Kennedy asked.
He nodded. ‘Yep. Jimmy Tiger. And I’m guessing you’re not here for a tattoo.’
They were both dressed in dark slacks, tieless shirts and light windbreaker jackets which screamed law enforcement to anybody with an ounce of street wisdom.
‘How did you guess?’ Chris flashed Jimmy his badge. ‘Detectives Delaney and Kennedy,’ he informed him. ‘I wonder if you could look at a few photographs for us, see if you might recognize the work?’
He nodded. ‘I’ll give it a go.’
Chris took the photos of the angel wings out of his inside pocket and spread them out on the counter. The tattooist slipped on a pair of black plastic framed glasses, and studied the images for a moment. ‘That’s good work…’ he murmured. He ran his finger across the lines. ‘And judging by the skin I’m guessing it’s a woman. She dead or something?’
‘We can’t comment on that,’ Kennedy told him.
‘I understand.’ He peered at the pictures again and moved closer to the doorway for some more natural light. ‘There’s only so much I can tell you without seeing it firsthand, but whoever did this has a pretty distinctive style – a lefty too, which is unusual.’
Chris looked up, interested. ‘You can tell something like that from the photo?’
‘Yep, from the direction the ink is going.’ He slid his glasses down to the end of his nose and looked from one detective to the other. ‘Don’t think it’s by anyone I know though. I’ve not seen this work before, and I’m familiar with the style of most artists around here.’
Chris nodded. He knew it was too much to hope that they would strike lucky straight away. ‘Well, thanks for looking.’ He slid the photos back into his pocket and turned towards the door.
‘But I’m probably not the person you need to be talking to,’ Jimmy added.
They stopped and looked at him enquiringly.
‘If I were you, I’d talk to Rasher,’ he said. ‘If there’s anyone who can identify these for you, it’s him. He’s a lefty too, only one I know.’
‘And where would we find this … Rasher?’
‘Well, let’s just say he doesn’t have a shop with
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