Bill Murphy is returning on the 11th July in a new crime
novel, Missing Believed Dead, and it’s not that long ago he was interviewed by
the fabulous Peggy Stanton, so with Peggy’s permission I’m replicating the
interview here. It’ll give you a feel for Bill, if you haven’t already met him.
Peggy – Leaning
forward for a chaste kiss on the cheek – ‘Do sit down, I’ve ordered us a pot of
tea.’
Bill Murphy – Sitting
down in the chair opposite. ‘Thanks, Chris asked me to pop along here for an
interview.’
Peggy – ‘Chris,
she’s like me, one for words, mind I’m more for speaking them. Anyway, thanks
for coming along, Bill. You don’t mind if I call you Bill?’
Bill – Nodding a
smile. ‘That’s okay. I’ve been called worse.’
Peggy – ‘I’ve
been doing a bit of ferreting around and it seems you’re a Detective Sergeant.
So I take it no uniform then? Pity!’
Bill – ‘Hmm, no,
but you’re right, I’m a DS with the Dundee Police Force. That’s in Scotland,
in case you didn’t know.’
Peggy – ‘You’ll
not catch me out on my geography, we’re quite multi national here, Bill. We’ve
got writers and characters from lots of countries, down under, that’s Australia,
even across the pond, I can see you’re with me, yes it’s USA.’
Bill – Raising an
eyebrow. ‘I had a look at your Books room while I was waiting. It’s quite
impressive, looked a bit like my local bookstore. I’d tell you the name of it
but we’re not allowed to advertise.’
Peggy – ‘You can
always advertise us in any book store, that’s very kind of you. Now, from what
Chris has told me, you’re a bit like myself, you don’t like following the rules
much.’
Bill – ‘She has
her own opinions, but I follow the rules, provided they don’t get in the way.’
Peggy – Smiling. ‘It’s not what I’ve heard, I get the
impression they get in the way quite a lot. A little birdie told me you’ve
added the word bend to your set of rules!’
Bill – Shifting
in his seat. ‘I’m not sure where you’re coming from on that one, but let’s just
say, I get the job done. Anyway, there’s more to me than detective work, I’m
quite a nice guy at the end of the day. A bit lonely sometimes. In fact I
believe there are some readers who’d like to see me settled with a nice woman.
Not that I’d mind that, I just never seem to be lucky with women.’
Peggy – Raising her hand to her hair, gently strokes
it. ‘I love a saddo, if you know what I mean. There’s nothing wrong in being
lonely, but do tell me about the women in your life? I’m sure it’s more
fascinating then the men in mine.’
Bill – Flicking
some invisible fluff from his trousers leg. ‘Not much to tell. I was married
once, you know. But like a lot of cop marriages it didn’t last. Not my fault,
you understand. Evie, her name was. She had a roving eye and a taste for
alcohol. She ran off with my best friend.’
Peggy – Notices
the pained look in Bill’s face. ‘I don’t think she was the only one with a
roving eye a good looking man like you must have cast your net out from time to
time, surely there have been other women?’
Bill – Casting a
glance across the room at the video playing, he smiled. ‘One or two, but they
didn’t come to anything much.’
Peggy – Leaning
forward in a conspirator tone. ‘Do tell me about them, I’m the soul of
discretion?’
Bill – Raising
his hand and counting on his fingers. ‘There was Julie. I met her in Night
Watcher. I really thought that might have come to something, but when the case
was over she went back to Edinburgh.
She said she would phone, but she never did. Then I met Louise in Dead Wood,
and that was developing nicely until the fiasco in Templeton Woods. That gave
her quite a fright and she went home to her mum for a while. She’s back now,
but Sue told me she wanted some space.’
Peggy – ‘My my, you’re one for scaring them off ,
what with night watching, dead wood and what’s the other, templeton wood. Anybody
since then?’
Bill – With a far
away look. ‘Well, there’s someone I’m quite attracted to in the new book Chris
is writing. Diane, her name is. The problem is her daughter vanished five years
ago and it kind of messed her up psychologically. I really like her, she brings
out the protective side in me, but there’s an even bigger problem because I
think she might have committed a murder.’
Peggy – Stifling a chuckle ‘You like to live in the
fast lane, good grief what happened to nice girls next door. Never mind, I can
see this Diane could be a bit of a handful, particularly in your job.’
Bill – Shifting
in his chair. ‘Are we done yet? It’s
just that my new DI isn’t very understanding and I didn’t tell her where I was
going.’
Peggy – Placing a
reassuring hand on Bill’s knee ‘I’m sure I can talk with your DI, better still
I’ll invite her for an interview, as a senior officer, she’ll understand how
important it is to answer questions. Maybe she can enlighten me more on what
goes with her staff, so stop fretting. My, for a policeman out of uniform
you’re a worrier, well, if you’re in a hurry, I guess that will do for now. But
do come back another day when you have a bit more time. I’d like to know more
about this mad woman who could have murdered someone. Also I’ll be wanting to
know if you are seeing her, nothing like some excitement to talk over coffee
with my lady friends.’
Bill – Standing
up, amusement crossing his face, just what had he subjected himself to with
this Peggy interview?. ‘Of course, provided you clear it with Chris. I like to
let her think she controls me, although to tell the truth I’m afraid I just do
my own thing.’
Peggy – ‘I think
you’ve got that wrong Bill, whoever this Chris is seems a pussy cat compared to
your DI, never mind, run along and hurry back.’
Peggy Stanton
Newsflash – Chris Longmuir's new crime novel, Missing Believed Dead,
featuring Bill Murphy, will be launched at Waterstones, Dundee
branch, on 11 July, 2013, at 6.30pm. Hope to see you there.
Chris Longmuir
