by Ian Rankin
‘Come up to mine, then. You can have a wash and a clean-up . . .’
Rebus led the way, out of breath by the time he reached his landing. His hand was shaking so much it took several attempts to retrieve his door key from his pocket and fit it into the lock. ‘Bathroom’s through there,’ he said. The door closed and he heard the tap being turned. In the kitchen he switched the kettle on before checking the back of his head for a cut that wasn’t there. He removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. His ribs were sore when he touched them, and there’d be bruising later. He just hoped he hadn’t cracked one. His shoes had been scraped by contact with the tarmac, but there was no obvious damage to his suit. He placed his hands under the cold tap and felt the immediate sting as he rinsed them clean. He had buttoned his shirt again and tucked it in by the time the kettle boiled. He made two mugs of black coffee and carried them through to the living room. When Hammell arrived, Rebus was seated at the dining table.
‘Sugar?’ he asked. Hammell shook his head and sat down, pretending to study the room so he wouldn’t have to meet Rebus’s eyes. There were nicks and abrasions on his face, but nothing too dramatic.
‘I’m sorry,’ Rebus said. ‘But someone would have asked eventually.’
Hammell nodded slowly. He saw that Rebus had extended a hand across the table. With no great enthusiasm he took it, and the two men shook.
‘My balls are nipping,’ Hammell confessed.
Rebus repeated his apology and the two men started on their drinks. The bottle of Highland Park was over by the armchair, still containing a couple of good measures, but Rebus didn’t offer and Hammell didn’t ask.
‘They can really get DNA from a pube?’ Hammell enquired eventually. Rebus nodded. ‘Well . . .’ Hammell cleared his throat. ‘I suppose it could belong to me.’ He waited for Rebus to say something, but Rebus was blowing across the surface of his coffee, no judgement forthcoming. Hammell seemed to relax slightly. ‘Things happen, you know? You’re not always as in control as you think.’
‘Did the two of you manage to keep it under wraps?’
‘Would Gail still be seeing me otherwise?’
Rebus thought fleetingly of Nina and Sally Hazlitt, of families and the secrets they succeeded in keeping from the world. ‘What about Darryl?’
Hammell shook his head. ‘So what happens now?’ he asked. ‘Does this all have to come out?’
‘Not the way you think.’ Rebus considered for a moment. ‘A DNA swab takes seconds. It can be done in private. If there’s a match with the hair, it can be ruled out as evidence and the team can focus their attention elsewhere.’
‘Unless they decide to pin all five on me, of course.’ Hammell’s eyes were on Rebus now. ‘Your pal Cafferty would love that.’
‘Not going to happen,’ Rebus stated.
‘You really think this isn’t going to get out? We both know what cop shops are like.’
‘Was it a long-standing arrangement, you and Annette?’
Hammell glowered at him. ‘Mind your own fucking business.’
‘She wasn’t pregnant, was she?’
‘What?’
‘She felt sick on the bus.’
Hammell shook his head. The landline started ringing, but Rebus ignored it.
‘Could be important,’ Hammell said.
‘It’s a pre-recorded message about a mis-sold payment protection plan that I never had in the first place.’
‘That’s detective work right there,’ Hammell said.
‘They’re the only people who ever bother to call.’
As the ringing stopped, Hammell broke into a grim smile. ‘This is all going to turn to shit,’ he commented, ‘yet somehow I can’t bring myself to loathe your guts.’ He started to get to his feet.
‘I’ll have a word with DI Clarke,’ Rebus told him. ‘Ask her to pass the message to DCS Dempsey direct. The swab can be done somewhere private – doesn’t have to be a police station.’
Hammell studied him. ‘Why would you want to help?’ he asked.
‘I’m a public servant, Mr Hammell, and you – whether I like it or not – are the public.’ Rebus rose from his chair and the two men shook again.
‘I’ll have the beating of you next time, mind,’ Hammell stated.
‘I don’t doubt that,’ Rebus agreed, showing him to the door.
57
‘You know what police stations are like,’ Siobhan Clarke advised. She was still in Inverness; Rebus was standing next to his car, parked in the police bay outside Gayfield Square, phone pressed to his ear.
‘That’s what Hammell himself said. It’s why you’re the only one I’m telling, and why you should take it straight to Dempsey.’
‘Even so . . .’ She sounded sceptical. ‘And it’s not as though we owe Frank Hammell anything.’
‘It’s not just him, though, is it? Haven’t Annette’s family got enough on their plates?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Well then.’ Rebus watched as a traffic warden approached. The man studied the sign on the Saab’s dashboard and kept walking.
‘Thing is, though,’ Clarke was saying, ‘if James finds out I went behind his back . . .’
‘No reason why he should.’
‘What’s to stop Dempsey telling him?’
‘You’ll ask her not to. It’s not like she won’t owe you. Think how much of the budget she’d have wasted getting DNA from every bloke up there.’ Rebus listened to her sigh. ‘How’s everything else?’ he asked.
‘Whole community around Edderton’s been questioned. No light-bulb moments to report.’
‘Hints of anyone protecting a nearest and dearest?’
‘Nothing.’
‘And the search?’
‘Hasn’t turned up a damned thing. I get the feeling Dempsey’s going to give James and me our ticket home today.’
‘Best talk to her quick, then – in person rather than on the phone.’
‘I’m looking forward to seeing Edinburgh again.’
‘It’s been pining for you, believe me. It’s crying on my shoulder as I speak.’ Rebus arched his face towards the rain. It was only a shower, the sky to the west brightening already.
‘So what are you up to today?’ she asked him.
‘Clearing my desk in your office, quickly followed by the desk in my office.’
‘And that’s it?’
‘Game over, especially if the Complaints have their way.’
‘You’ve done so much on this case, John. Someone needs to tell them that.’
‘I’m sure my fan club’s queuing up with testimonials.’ He paused. ‘So you’ll talk to Dempsey?’
‘She’s bound to ask me how I know.’
‘“Information received”.’
‘She won’t like that.’
‘Not much she can do about it – you’re coming home soon. I’ve ordered balloons and everything.’
‘Come to think of it, I’ve got to brief her anyway – serial killers and their disposal sites.’
‘Did you dig up anything from the trusty internet?’
‘Only that there’s usually a reason – the most basic being that it’s in the vicinity of where they live. Or, to put it another way, their “spatial behaviour” is “empirically modelled”.’
‘I preferred your first answer.’
‘Thought you might.’
When they’d finished speaking, he headed upstairs. The office felt a bit like limbo. With Page and Clarke absent, and the case hijacked by Dempsey and her team, no one really had anything to do. Plenty of hard work; no real sense of achievement.
‘Glad to see you so idle,’ Rebus said, ‘because I need a hand shifting all these boxes . . .’
In the end, Esson and Ogilvie helped take everything down to the Saab. Esson asked if the files were heading to Inverness. He told her he didn’t know, and she suggested they be kept at Gayfield Square, just in case.
‘If I’m not staying here, neither are they,
’ Rebus explained to her.
Afterwards, they celebrated with mugs of tea (and hot water) and the remnants of a packet of Bourbons.
‘No new marvels to report from that computer of yours?’ Rebus asked Esson.
She shook her head, taking tiny nibbles of her biscuit while Ogilvie dunked his in his tea before sucking the life from it.
‘Best put your feet up while you can, then,’ Rebus went on. ‘Looks like Page might be back here by day’s end.’
‘And you’re headed back to Fettes?’ Ogilvie asked.
‘Not for long – SCRU’s been earmarked for closure.’
‘So what’ll you do?’ The question had come from Esson. Rebus made show of shrugging his shoulders.
‘Carpet bowls maybe; Antiques Roadshow reruns . . .’
When she grinned, it made her look younger than ever.
‘Been good working with the pair of you, though,’ Rebus conceded, taking a last look around the office and gracing everyone with a wave as he made his exit. At the top of the stairs, he stopped and watched Dave Ormiston climb towards him, reading from a sheaf of papers. Ormiston spotted him and managed a thin smile.
‘Is this me getting my desk back?’ he asked.
Rebus nodded slowly.
‘I’ll say goodbye, then.’ Ormiston’s hand was out, but Rebus refused to take it and the man stiffened.
‘Here’s the thing,’ Rebus said. ‘All that nosiness of yours on the phone, it got me thinking about Big Ger Cafferty.’
‘Oh aye?’
‘See, Cafferty knew about that CCTV from the bus station when there was no way he should have.’
‘It’s an open secret he’s a pal of yours.’
‘But you and I know differently, don’t we, Dave? We know he’s got someone in his pocket – someone based right here.’ Rebus leaned in towards Ormiston until their faces were only a couple of inches apart. ‘Time you stopped being so chatty, or I might have to gather up a few brownie points from the Complaints. Ever seen them in action, Dave? They’ll go through your phone and computer. They’ll look at your spending habits. They’ll find stuff. And that’ll be the big cheerie-bye to your pension.’ Rebus paused. ‘Fair warning – walk away from Cafferty, and keep walking.’
Back at the Saab, Rebus reached across the dashboard and lifted the POLICE OFFICIAL BUSINESS sign. He started up the steps, readying to hand it back at the front desk. Then he paused. After all, no one had requested it, had they?
He had only driven fifty or so yards in the direction of Broughton Street when his phone buzzed. It was Siobhan Clarke.
‘Problem with Dempsey?’ he guessed, lifting the phone to his ear.
‘Are you near a television?’
‘No.’ He looked to left and right. Plenty of pubs he could dart into.
‘I’ll try for a screen-grab, then. Give me two minutes.’
The phone went dead. Rebus pulled over, slipped the sign back into place on the dashboard and walked into the nearest watering hole. When the barman asked what he could do for him, Rebus told him he could change channels for a start.
‘Sky or BBC News,’ he guessed.
There were no customers to complain, so the man did as he was told. When the BBC turned out to be focusing on a story about Afghanistan, he switched to Sky, where a reporter was interviewing Jim Mellon, the farmer from Edderton. But they were already cutting back to the studio, and Rebus hadn’t even caught the headline. He got on his phone and told Clarke what he’d seen.
‘I’ve sent you a photo,’ she said. ‘No 3G here, so it might take a while.’
‘Has there been a break?’
‘A break? No, they’re just talking to the farmer for want of anybody more interesting. Half the news teams have already skedaddled back to wherever they came from. Call me when the picture gets there.’
‘Can’t you just tell me?’
‘Might be nothing.’ She paused. ‘Probably is.’
The phone went dead again and Rebus stared at the screen, willing Clarke’s message to arrive. The barman asked if he wanted a drink while he waited.
‘Half of IPA, then,’ Rebus obliged. It was poured, presented to him, paid for and demolished before his phone let him know he had one new message. When he opened it, he was looking at the scene from the TV interview – newscaster plus Mellon. They were in the farmyard, and close behind them stood a small white van with a name on the side in thick black capitals.
MAGRATH.
Rebus called Clarke back. ‘Well?’ he asked.
‘Reckon it’s coincidence?’
‘Not such an unusual surname.’
‘Actually it is – spelled that way. I just checked the local phone book.’
‘You think Gregor Magrath runs some sort of business?’
‘Google to the rescue – there’s just one “Magrath’s” within about fifty miles. An electrician, based in Rosemarkie.’
Rebus was thoughtful. ‘Did he act like an electrician to you?’
‘Seemed more your typical pensioner. And the van wasn’t there either, was it?’
‘It’s probably nothing,’ Rebus told her. Then: ‘Have you had a chance to speak to Dempsey yet?’
‘Not quite, but she’s in the building somewhere.’
‘And you reckon you’ll be back down here tonight? Want to meet for a drink?’
‘Not a session, mind – just a drink?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘I’ll call you.’
‘I’m happy to bow out if Page makes a counter-offer.’
‘Goodbye, John.’
He smiled at the phone and dropped it back into his pocket. The barman was standing behind the IPA pump, ready to offer a refill, but Rebus shook his head and left the pub.
At SCRU, Bliss and Robison helped him empty the car, Robison asking the same question Esson had: were the files going to Inverness?
‘Quite possibly,’ was all he said in reply.
At the very moment they deposited the last box on the floor, and stood up to wipe the sweat from their eyes and get their breathing back to normal, Daniel Cowan walked in from some meeting or other, looking both more dapper and more generally pleased with himself than ever.
‘I’m not one to criticise,’ he told them, ‘but isn’t our strategy to empty this office rather than fill it?’
‘The A9 case,’ Rebus informed him. Cowan looked suddenly interested, and even ran a finger along the edge of the topmost box. The A9 was a real investigation, current, live and in the news. There was a momentary longing in Cowan’s eyes: he wanted it and could not have it. Moreover, if he took on a role at the Crown Office Cold Case Unit, he might never work a contemporary inquiry again.
‘I was just going to treat the troops to a Kit Kat in the canteen,’ Rebus said.
‘I’m not invited?’ Cowan asked.
‘I thought you’d want to stay put and make the phone call.’
Cowan looked at him. ‘What phone call?’
‘To Inverness – letting them know the files are here when they want them.’
Cowan’s eyes brightened. ‘Yes, I suppose it should be me that does that, shouldn’t it?’
‘We’ll see you later, then,’ Rebus said, leading Bliss and Robison from the room.
Once they were settled at a table, Rebus asked Bliss about Gregor Magrath’s electrical skills.
‘He could change a light bulb,’ Bliss said. ‘Not sure I’d trust him to wire a plug.’
Rebus explained about the van. ‘Has he got any relatives up there?’
‘None that I know of.’
‘He’d have said, wouldn’t he? I mean, the two of you have kept in touch – you’ve been to his house . . .’
‘On the other hand, it might explain why he headed north rather than retiring somewhere with a bit of sun.’
‘Suppose so.’
Robison bit into her apple, having turned down Rebus’s offer of biscuits or crisps. ‘Could just be someone with the same surname,’ she o
ffered between chews.
‘Could be,’ Rebus agreed.
‘Meantime,’ she went on, ‘while the three of us are here, maybe we could decide where we want to go for our night out . . .’
58
That evening, Rebus met Siobhan Clarke at the Oxford Bar. They took a table in the back room and Rebus asked her if there was any more news from Inverness.
‘The wheels are grinding,’ she told him. ‘More conscripts have been drafted in. Dempsey’s widening the search area – locals are queuing up to help, along with a full complement of hunky fire-fighters.’
Rebus thought back to the original MisPer cases – lots of legwork, most of it so there could be no accusation of slacking.
‘Thing is,’ he cautioned, ‘one of those locals could be hiding something.’
‘She knows that. Every team of civvies has one of our lot attached, with orders to watch out for anyone acting nervous or odd.’
‘And all this in the hope of finding clothes and belongings?’
‘They have to be somewhere.’
Rebus nodded slowly and asked her if she’d spoken to Dempsey. Clarke nodded back, lifting her drink.
‘I could see she wanted to ask me why I hadn’t taken it to my boss.’
‘But she didn’t?’
‘Just said she’d arrange for Hammell to be swabbed.’
‘How did she react when you told her Annette and Hammell had been lovers?’
‘A slight raising of the eyebrows.’
‘And your source . . .?’
‘Remains confidential.’ Clarke paused. ‘There’s always a chance the hair won’t belong to Hammell.’
‘In which case, it becomes useful again,’ Rebus agreed.
She took another sip of her drink. ‘By the way, I phoned that electrician’s – no answer. Still reckon it’s a coincidence?’
‘Peter Bliss has stayed in touch with Gregor Magrath. Doesn’t see him as a sparky and isn’t aware of any relatives in the area.’ He thought for a moment, then reached for his phone.
‘Who are you calling?’
‘Jim Mellon – just remembered I’ve got his number here.’
It was Mellon’s wife who answered. Her husband was in one of the barns and wouldn’t be back for a while. Rebus gave her his number and asked if Mellon could phone him back.