HUBRIS

by Brassett, Pete

  * * *

  The bothy, a stone-built affair with a corrugated tin roof, no door, and holes where the windows used to be, had long since seen the likes of weary ramblers or haggard hikers seeking respite from the elements. Instead, the shelter it provided was enjoyed by the sheep that flocked to the ruin every evening for their supplementary feed.

  As with most bothies, there were no luxuries to be had, no rooms and no electricity, no taps or running water, no toilet, nor even a fireplace, but this particular one boasted a feature the likes of which Munro had never seen before.

  ‘You’d best call Charlie,’ he said, crossing himself at the sight of Willy Baxter’s lifeless body dangling from the rafters. ‘And an ambulance too.’

  Epilogue

  Unlike their uniformed colleagues who enjoyed a mandatory work schedule, which, governed by the rules of Health and Safety, restricted them to a forty-hour week with plenty of rest days and overtime at time-and-a-half, for detectives in the force, driven by a vocational desire to secure a conviction and pressurised by a need to collate evidence, question, and then charge a suspect against the clock, any kind of timetable was about as useful as a voucher for an all-inclusive holiday with Thomas Cook.

  With her craving for food over-riding any desire to crawl beneath the duvet, a bleary-eyed West popped some bread into the toaster and emptied a tin of beans into a saucepan while Murdo curled up on the couch and Munro, trying his best to stay awake, uncorked the wine.

  ‘Sorry, Jimbo,’ she said. ‘I shouldn’t have dragged you out, my fault entirely. You even missed your haggis supper.’

  ‘No need to apologise, Charlie, it’s not necessary.’

  ‘I just didn’t realise we’d be out so late.’

  ‘None of us realised we’d be out so late, and none of us expected to find Maureen Baxter huddled over a stash of cocaine or her husband dancing like a puppet from the rafters.’

  ‘Yeah, there is that, I suppose. It’s beans on toast, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Perfect,’ said Munro as he raised his glass. ‘Your very good health.’

  ‘Cheers,’ said West. ‘Well, that’s the weekend out the window, or Saturday at least.’

  ‘It’s not easy being a detective, lassie.’

  ‘Maybe, but it is quite good fun, in a twisted kind of way.’

  ‘I’ll not disagree with that,’ said Munro. ‘So, tomorrow, interviews and paperwork, I assume?’

  ‘Yup, Duncan’s coming in so it shouldn’t be that bad.’

  ‘Not Dougal?’

  ‘Nope. He’s got his hot date, remember?’

  ‘Well, you best keep quiet about the Baxters, lassie. The lad’s so nervous he’ll probably jump at the chance of skipping his date in favour of the safety of the office.’

  ‘Well, if he does show his face,’ said West as she served supper, ‘then trust me, I’ll be on the phone to Kay Grogan like a shot and I’ll be inviting her over for lunch. He’s not getting off that lightly, it wouldn’t be fair. The girl’s crazy about him.’

  ‘She’d have to be,’ said Munro. ‘So, Maureen Baxter. What’s the story?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Your wee chat! She must have said something while we were looking for Willy.’

  ‘That,’ said West, ‘is an understatement. It was like a blooming therapy session. Once she’d started, she couldn’t stop. She just blurted it out like she’d been bottling it up for years.’

  ‘And had she?’

  ‘Pretty much, yeah. In fact, that’s probably why she likes a drop of the hard stuff.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘Well,’ said West, as she glugged her wine, ‘where do I begin? Tam McClusky. He’s had her under his thumb ever since he discovered Rhona was his daughter.’

  ‘Did he not know she was his?’

  ‘Nope. He didn’t have a clue until Maureen told him. It seems she and Willy were having a rough time of it a few years back. They were all but skint so she went cap in hand to McClusky thinking as Rhona was his daughter, she’d get some money out of him.’

  ‘And did she?’

  ‘She certainly did,’ said West, ‘but in the process, she backed herself into a corner. McClusky made her a proposition and told her that if she didn’t accept, then he’d have no choice but to tell Willy Baxter about their little secret.’

  ‘So that’s how she became involved,’ said Munro. ‘Dear, dear, that being the case, Charlie, you can throw coercion at him as well.’

  ‘Oh, don’t you worry, I certainly will. The good news is, she’s willing to testify and that will be enough to put him back behind bars for a very long time indeed.’

  Munro pushed his plate to one side and topped up the wine.

  ‘So, how did it work?’ he said. ‘Did she not give you a wee insight into their operation?’

  ‘According to Maureen,’ said West, ‘McClusky had planned the whole scheme while he was banged up for the armed robbery. That’s where he got his Icelandic contact from. Maureen pitching up with news of his daughter was what you might call serendipitous.’

  ‘I’m intrigued, lassie. Go on.’

  ‘When McClusky got out he set about reinventing himself as a pillar of the community. He bought the boat, the Thistledonia, and sat on it for nearly two years, renting it out to punters who wanted to go fishing. Then, with his reputation sealed, he set the wheels in motion. Callum got in touch with Henry Boyd who, as we know, already had form, and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.’

  ‘You mean he threatened him?’

  ‘No!’ said West. ‘He offered him the chance of making a shedload of cash for doing nothing but sail a boat up the coast and back. As soon as the Boyds agreed, McClusky gave them the money to buy the dinghy and the Hilux, which they did through their company, and that was it, they were up and running.’

  Munro went to the kitchen and returned with a plate of cheese and crackers in one hand, and the bottle of Balvenie in the other.

  ‘Who was he selling to? He must have had a list of dealers as long as your arm.’

  ‘He did,’ said West. ‘I’m hoping we’ll find out who they are after another Q&A session with the man himself. I’ve got a feeling McClusky isn’t the kind of bloke who’ll enjoy going down alone.’

  ‘And Willy Baxter? I have to say, Charlie, I’m surprised a fellow like that agreed to get involved.’

  ‘He didn’t,’ said West. ‘The poor sod knew nothing about it.’

  ‘Are you joking me?’

  ‘Nope. He really did come across the Thistledonia by accident. It was Maureen who went to meet the boat and pick up the drugs. It was timed to perfection. They’d wait off-shore until Willy was on the evening shift with the sheep, then the Boyds would scoot out in the dinghy, bring the merchandise back to dry land, and Maureen would take it to the house and stash it beneath the floorboards in the den.’

  ‘Who’d have thought a chap like Baxter could be so naïve?’

  ‘He wasn’t. Not entirely. He knew something was up but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. Until they saw the news, that is, a couple of days ago. That’s how they found out McClusky had been arrested.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘And then,’ said West, ‘they had the mother of all arguments and Maureen went into meltdown. She figured she’d be banged up for life if the cops found out so she told Willy everything. Unfortunately, the poor sod put two and two together and came up with eight.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘He thought he’d be done as well. Guilty by association. And he reckoned if the press found out then that’d be it. Everyone would know about the drugs, but what hurt him most of all, was that they’d also find out that Rhona wasn’t his daughter and, as Maureen said, he couldn’t stand the shame or the embarrassment, or the prospect of dying in jail.’

  ‘So, that’s why he decided to end it all,’ said Munro, shaking his head. ‘It’s a tragedy, lassie. You couldnae make it up.’

  ‘I know,’ said West. �
�If only he’d waited and not been so rash, he’d have found out that he wouldn’t be charged with anything at all. He’d have been in the clear.’

  ‘Still not much of a future,’ said Munro. ‘Without his wife he’d have been left alone with all the rumours and the gossip hanging over his head. Frankly, I cannae blame the chap for doing what he did. I’d have probably done the same.’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ said West, ‘you’re too, well, sensible. The irony of it all is that when McClusky finally pops his clogs, there’ll probably be more people at his funeral than there’ll be at Willy’s.’

  ‘McClusky? A funeral? I’m telling you, Charlie, even landfill’s too good for that fellow. What about the lassie, Rhona? Did you get to the bottom of that?’

  ‘Eventually,’ said West, reaching for the Balvenie. ‘When I spoke to her boyfriend, that Alex Dunbar bloke, he mentioned that Callum McClusky had been raging about an envelope. Well, guess what? Maureen had it. She found it in Rhona’s bag and it was stuffed with cash.’

  ‘I’m not with you, Charlie. What does Callum’s cash have to do with it?’

  ‘Alright, concentrate,’ said West, ‘this is where it gets interesting. Remember I said I thought he was laundering cash through Rhona’s bank account?’

  ‘It was a fair assumption to make, aye.’

  ‘Well, he wasn’t. That cash was Rhona’s fee for helping him out.’

  ‘In what way, Charlie?’

  ‘Callum was flogging pocket-sized parcels of coke off the back of his fish van. Little, plastic bags shoved down the gob of some unsuspecting halibut, and somehow he had to justify his income. So, he forced her to provide him with advice slips to balance against his fake invoices to the hotel.’

  ‘So you’re saying he wasnae a supplier at all?’

  ‘Nope. Dougal had a shufty at his paperwork,’ said West. ‘It’s rammed with invoices addressed to the hotel and against each one is a fake payment slip for cash to that amount. Dougal double-checked with the hotel and it turns out they’ve never heard of him. They get all their fish from a wholesaler in Stranraer.’

  ‘Why did she not simply refuse?’ said Munro. ‘From the off? She could’ve said, I’m not getting involved.’

  ‘Simple,’ said West. ‘He threatened her. Or rather, her family. He said he knew where they lived and he’d go after them if she didn’t help him out.’

  ‘And I’m assuming,’ said Munro, ‘that thanks to his father, he was armed with plenty of detail about Willy and Maureen Baxter and what they did for a living.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said West, ‘but as with most things in life, there came a point when she thought enough was enough, and I reckon that’s why they had that argument in the bathroom. She wanted out and he wasn’t having any of it.’

  ‘And that’s why he killed her?’

  ‘Yup. Inadvertently maybe, but killed her all the same. Dunbar can verify from a phone conversation he had with Rhona that Callum went to Lendalfoot to meet her, presumably to get his money back. I’m filling in the blanks a bit here, but I’m guessing she claimed not to have it so he was driving her back to Stranraer to pick it up when they must have had another wing-ding in the car and that’s when he flipped, gave her what for, and tossed her in the burn.’

  ‘I feel a lesser charge of manslaughter coming on.’

  ‘Funnily enough,’ said West, ‘that’s exactly what McClusky’s lawyer, Gordon Christie, is pushing for. The sad thing about it, Jimbo, is I don’t think Rhona went home for a holiday. I think she went to keep an eye on her folks.’

  Munro took his tumbler of whisky to the sofa, sat next to Murdo, and crossed his legs.

  ‘It’s not much of a weekend for you, Charlie. Have you any plans for Sunday?’

  ‘Nah, not really. Duncan thinks I should give Andy McLeod a bell and invite him over for lunch.’

  ‘That’s not such a bad idea,’ said Munro, ‘the distraction will do you good.’

  ‘Maybe, but to be honest, I can’t be arsed with all that small talk and having to be polite. I’m too tired for all that. What about you?’

  ‘Och, well, we’ll head back to Carsethorn in the morning. Then I imagine we’ll be walking, sleeping, and eating.’

  ‘Is that it? Just you and Murdo?’

  ‘Well, who else would there be?’

  ‘Me,’ said West. ‘I could come over. We could do your garden, it probably needs a bit of weeding.’

  ‘It does, aye.’

  ‘Well, there you go. You can’t do that on your own. We could have a roast to make up for your haggis supper. A blooming great rib roast with all the trimmings.’

  ‘You mean vegetables?’

  ‘I mean spuds. Roast potatoes, tons of them. What do you say?’

  Munro drained his glass, smiled at West, and winked.

  ‘I’d say that’s a capital idea, Charlie. Aye, that’s the word, capital.’

  Character List

  JAMES MUNRO (RETIRED) – Almost back to full health, aided in no small way by Murdo, his rescued Scottish terrier, the irrepressible James Munro offers his opinion on a convoluted case and sets the team running in all directions.

  DI CHARLOTTE WEST – Now a force to be reckoned with, the headstrong Charlie West, taking a lead from her mentor, starts to follow her instinct rather than the facts or the rulebook, and reaps the rewards in more ways than one.

  DS DOUGAL McCRAE – Wired to the internet with a nose for sniffing out the smallest of details, the technologically minded DS McCrae finally finds a kindred spirit in the form of a young scenes of crime officer but his nerves threaten to end the date before it’s started.

  DS DUNCAN REID – The maverick DS, whose appearance alone is enough to have suspects quaking in their boots, hones his skill at bending the rules to within a fraction of breaking point, much to the delight of the retired James Munro.

  DCI GEORGE ELLIOT – The ebullient DCI Elliot, who protects his team with the fervour of a patriarch, finds himself reluctantly questioning West’s unorthodox methods when handling a cross-border investigation.

  DR ANDY MCLEOD – Forensic pathologist Andy McLeod, who spends more time in the company of cadavers than in the land of the living, has his work cut out when the bodies start rolling in.

  THOMAS (TAM) McCLUSKY – An altruistic and affable ex-con who, having served his sentence, enjoys a stress-free lifestyle dividing his time between the café, the betting shop, and the harbour where he charters his fishing boat to the hordes of tourists keen to experience life on the high seas.

  JACK BOYD – The joint owner of a small construction company who, when offered the chance to boost their turnover with a contract based on a gentlemen’s agreement, seizes the opportunity with both hands.

  HENRY BOYD – With a conviction under his belt and a knack for lifting more than just bricks and mortar, Henry Boyd, the fearless brawn behind his brother’s brains, will stop at nothing to protect their family interests.

  WILLY BAXTER – Riddled with guilt over personal inadequacies and plagued by suspicions of his wife’s infidelity, the downtrodden sheep farmer has his life ripped apart when he uncovers a treacherous secret.

  MAUREEN BAXTER – The doting housewife falls foul of the bottle when her enthusiasm for love, life, and the great outdoors is soured by a ghost of the past.

  RHONA BAXTER – An effervescent hotel worker whose bubbly lifestyle takes a turn for the worse when she becomes inadvertently embroiled with a local drug dealer.

  CALLUM McCLUSKY – A dockside fishmonger with a reputation for being as slippery as the eels he plies off the back of his van.

  ALEX DUNBAR – A kitchen porter whose dalliance with an older woman sends his moral compass into a spin.

  KAY GROGAN – An alluring scenes of crime officer with a passion for fishing, forensics, and the diffident DS Dougal McCrae.

  Other books in this series:

  HUBRIS is the eleventh book in this series featuring DI Munro and DS West. Here are details of the other book
s, all available on Kindle and in paperback:

  SHE – Book 1

  With a serial killer on their hands, Scottish detective Munro and rookie sergeant West must act fast to trace a woman observed at the crime scene. Yet discovering her true identity, let alone finding her, proves difficult. Soon they realise the crime is far graver than either of them could have imagined.

  amazon.com / amazon.co.uk

  AVARICE – Book 2

  A sleepy Scottish town, a murder in a glen. The local police chief doesn’t want a fuss and calls in DI Munro to lead the investigation. But Munro is a stickler for procedure, and his sidekick Charlie West has a nose for a cover up. Someone in the town is guilty, will they find out who?

  amazon.com / amazon.co.uk

  ENMITY – Book 3

  When it comes to frustrating a criminal investigation, this killer has all the moves. A spate of murders is causing havoc in a remote Scottish town. Enter Detective Inspector Munro to catch the red herrings and uncover an elaborate and wicked ruse.

  amazon.com / amazon.co.uk

  DUPLICITY – Book 4

  When a foreign worker casually admits to the murder of a local businessman, detectives in a small Scottish town guess that the victim’s violent death points to a more complex cause. Money appears to be a motive, but will anyone believe that they might be in fact dealing with a crime of passion?

  amazon.com / amazon.co.uk

  TERMINUS – Book 5

  Avid fans of Scottish detective James Munro will be worrying it is the end of the line for their favourite sleuth when, battered and bruised following a hit and run, the veteran crime-solver can’t pin down a likely suspect.