Chapter 3
Portobello High School
Edinburgh
17.20
Detective Chief Inspector Campbell McKenzie climbed out his car, brushed down his jacket and wiped away the remnants of his Gregg's sausage roll.
Admittedly, it wasn't the healthiest of foods, but it was warm, filling, and truth be told, rather delicious.
His DI had briefed him in the car on the way over. As McKenzie stood on the road outside the entrance to the demolition site, he looked upwards at the tower block above and couldn't help but imagine what the last few moments of the victim must have been like.
One moment he was on solid ground, the next falling through open air.
How many seconds would it have been before he’d hit the ground?
How far had he fallen?
After he’d stepped off the edge of the building, would the man have had a chance to process any last thoughts before...
McKenzie shuddered.
“DCI McKenzie?” The voice caught him off guard. McKenzie turned to see four men emerging from a door in the fence surrounding the perimeter of the old school.
“That's me. Who would you be?”
“Gary Bruce. Site Manager. I own Bruce Demolition, the company clearing this site. This is Stew, my No 2.”
The two men were accompanied by an armed officer and a local policeman, Sergeant Murray Anderson, who McKenzie recognised from previous work together, and who according to his DI was in charge of the local police presence.
The armed officer introduced himself as Sergeant Galbraith. He was a heavy set man with broad shoulders, large biceps and pronounced thighs, someone who obviously spent a lot of time in the gym. He was almost bursting out of his uniform.
“I’ve got a team of armed officers just started sweeping the campus for any threats. It’ll take a while, given the size of the campus.” Galbraith explained.
McKenzie thanked him and requested to be informed the moment the site was declared safe. McKenzie then turned his attention to the uniformed officer. Tall, bald with a thick ginger moustache.
“Murray, good to see you again. Doctor been yet to make a formal declaration of death? And any sign of the forensics team?
“Forensics are on the way. And yes, the man who fell has been declared dead at the scene. One of the onlookers came forward and volunteered to help. Doctor from the local practice in Duddingston. For now, I'd rather we kept the footfall around the area down to a bare minimum, so until Forensics arrive, if I may suggest...”
“Don't worry Murray, I saw a picture in the car on the way over. I've got no desire to rush over there until I've properly digested my lunch. Looks like one of the worst falls I've seen in years, and I've handled a fair few. Is it visible from the street?”
“Perimeter fencing’s high enough to make sure no one can see.”
“Good. Have the press got wind of it yet?”
“Unfortunately. BBC Scotland were filming it. But we've stopped them and they’ve agreed not to release anything without our permission. We’re keeping all other press at bay.”
“Excellent.” McKenzie smiled at the demolition men. “Is there somewhere we can set up a temporary incident room?”
“It’ll have to be one of our portacabins. I'll need time to clear out some papers... How long will you need it for?”
“I don't know. We'll set up properly back in St Leonards later, but there's going to be a lot of activity here in the next few days, so we'll need the space. Can you take us there now?”
The site manager nodded.
“Good, lead the way. And Murray, how many men you do have here at the moment?”
“We had six. Another three just arrived.”
“From what I've heard, it's looking like the victim didn't get up there himself. Have you started looking for anyone else? And do we have a name yet for the victim?”
“No. We didn’t want to disturb the scene until Forensics got here. So no, we haven't got any ID. His body is badly distorted, so we haven't seen the face yet. Sorry for being so graphic but there’s no other way of saying this.” Murray paused. “His head, what's left of it, has been pushed inside his chest. Into his rib cage.” He hurried on. “And as far as the other question, yes, before the armed response team arrived and took over, Mr Bruce’s men had escorted some of my officers on a quick recce of the buildings and we rechecked that all the entrances were locked and reconfirmed that all the exits were cordoned off. I've got some dogs and another ten men on the way over... There's a freshly broken window at the bottom of the far stairwell, and it looks like that's where the victim and whoever was with him may have entered the building.”
McKenzie glanced over at the site manager.
“How's that possible? You were just about to blow the place up. The area should have been on tight lockdown.”
Gary Bruce turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger, McKenzie couldn't tell.
“It was. There's no way onto the campus except through the two main entrances, and they were both closed. All the normal procedures have been followed. We didn't see anyone on the cameras and the dogs on the campus never picked up any intrusions. But to be fair, we withdrew them from the area about forty minutes before the building was due to be brought down. We don't know how anyone could have got inside. All the doors were locked, and the broken window was still intact on the last site inspection thirty minutes before I was due to detonate the explosives. No one entered, and since the man fell off the roof, no one has left.”
By this time, Gary had led them into the demolition site, and up a staircase on to the third level of a set of portacabins which had been lifted and stacked on top of each other by a crane, forming a temporary set of offices.
Sweeping a table clear of maps and architectural drawings, and depositing them on another desk by the far window, Gary waved to a few chairs.
McKenzie took his jacket off and placed it on the back of one of them.
“How safe is the site? Once the armed response team have given the all clear, can my officers walk around it without fear of anything falling on their heads or any explosives going off? I'm assuming the area's still wired to blow?”
“It's a demolition site. The explosives have been deactivated, but there's a risk from the buildings. I can't say it's safe, categorically. But given you must access the area, I'd suggest your men be escorted by one of mine at all times. And wear protective hats.”
“Agreed. There's a real possibility that whoever did this could still be on site, hiding somewhere. Until the armed response team hand the building over to us, we need men on the ground outside covering everything and everywhere. And if someone is still inside, we need to make sure he doesn't escape. If he has gone, we need to find out where and how. You mentioned cameras?”
Garry nodded. “The CCTV covers most of the campus.”
“Good. We’ll need full access to whatever you have.”
McKenzie crossed to the window of the portacabin, from where he had a partial view of the demolition site and the side of the old school building, the bulk of which towered above them.
He took a deep breath.
The scale of the immediate task was just beginning to dawn on him.
There was a lot to do and time was passing quickly.
If there was anyone still hiding in the demolition site, they had to find them soon.
He turned back to face the room.
“I need maps. We need to know the area we're going to be searching.”
Gary nodded. “I can supply those.”
“Thanks. And Murray, we'll need those officers and dogs. Get them here soon. Mr Bruce, we'll need those helmets. Can you make sure we have enough?”
Turning to his DI, Elaine Brown, he started verbalising a list of immediate actions that needed done. After a couple of minutes, he finished the list. “… and we need a whiteboard, and some coffees! And find out where on earth Forensics are. The sooner we have an ID the better.”
“It's going to be a long night, guys. Let's get going.”
McKenzie smiled at everyone and they got the hint. Meeting over, time to go. A moment later McKenzie was left alone with his thoughts, and the growing realisation that as soon as Forensics arrived and the site was declared safe and handed over to them, like it or not, he'd have no choice but to go and take a closer look at the victim.
Or whatever was left of him.
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Portacabin No.3
Temporary Incident Room
Operation BlueBuilding
Edinburgh
22.00
McKenzie stood up at the front of the small portacabin and looked around the room at the twenty officers assembled before him. The room was cramped, with a couple of tables pushed against the wall, a window on each side of the room, and a whiteboard and flipchart behind him. Two rows of five chairs were squashed in just in front of him, with everyone else standing around the walls. The room smelt of pine.
“Thanks for coming, especially to those of you who came in at such short notice. For those of you who don't know me, I’m DCI Campbell McKenzie from St Leonards, and this is DI Elaine Brown,” McKenzie nodded to his DI who stood at the side of the room. She smiled back. Medium height. Long black hair. A smart dress-suit. Slim build. A small, pronounced mole on her left cheek which blemished otherwise perfect skin.
McKenzie continued. “We’ve got a mixture of teams here tonight, from both Portobello and St Leonards, and for the near future, it's been agreed that it'll stay that way. I run an informal investigation team. And I one hundred percent believe in the contribution that each and every one of us can make. So, if you have any ideas, any thoughts, please speak up. No prizes for keeping quiet.”
McKenzie paused, and looked around the room. He had their full attention. No one had any questions yet. McKenzie knew that would change soon once the team got underway.
“Now, I'd like to welcome our armed colleagues from Fettes Row who’re still on the campus going through the process of sweeping the buildings for threats. Until they hand the area over to us, no one else has access to the site. We have to assume that whoever’s responsible for forcing the victim to the top of the school building is still within the campus, and could be armed. I don't want any heroes, so no one takes any risks. We do this by the book. Do you understand?”
A round of nods.
“Until the area’s declared safe, we get on with whatever we can. So, first things first, the Forensics team have just informed me that there must’ve been at least two people involved in today's incident. As most of you know, a man fell from the top of the building at 15.59 today. He died instantly upon hitting the ground, and to spare you the details, what's left of his body is a mess.”
McKenzie glanced around the room. Everyone looked grim.
“First of all, the man was blindfolded. Forensics have also confirmed that both hands were tied behind his back using plastic ties, so unless he was a contortionist someone else has to be involved. There are lacerations on his ankles which indicate that at some point he was forcibly restrained. In other words, it seems the man may have been forced to the top of the building against his will. For now, we have to assume this’ll shortly be declared a murder, and we’ll proceed on that basis.”
He paused. Most of the officers were taking notes. Some were slightly white faced, and McKenzie knew that two of them had seen the body and been sick. Even for experienced officers, this was something horrific.
“The one piece of good news is that we now have a name. Forensics were able to retrieve a wallet from the victim's pocket. Due to the facial trauma we can't make a visual ID, but early indications are that the victim is a David Weir. According to his online records and LinkedIn, he's a teacher. He's got a degree from Murray House, and he's been teaching for most of his career at this school.”
A murmur went around the room.
“Until dental records confirm his identity, no one takes that name outside this room. We should have those shortly. At this point I'd like to make you aware of Gary Bruce, who runs Bruce Demolition. For the next few days we'll probably be running the investigation from this portacabin. You also need to remember that this is a demolition site. It's dangerous. The main buildings are in a precarious condition. If you don't pay attention, and you go somewhere you shouldn't, bad things can happen. Not only from the loose fittings and falling plaster, but also from the rubbish and drug paraphernalia which is lying all over the floor. The building has been lying empty awaiting demolition for almost two years, and in the meantime, it’s been used by homeless people and drug addicts. When you enter the lower floors, the stench is quite overpowering, I’m told. Make sure you’re kitted out safely. Hard hats, thick shoes and gloves at all times please. Masks are discretionary. When the armed response team eventually gives us access, no one will go anywhere without consulting with a Bruce Demolition expert first, got it?”
More nods.
“Any questions, so far?”
“What about the explosives? Have they been removed?” One of the officers at the back of the room asked. McKenzie didn’t recognise him.
“Not yet. But I’m assured they’re all safe and stable. Just don’t go touching any if you see them.”
A few people laughed.
“Anybody else?”
There were no takers.
“Okay. Now let's move on to what we've done so far about searching the campus... Before the armed response team arrived to search and secure the area, an initial search of the campus conducted by officers already on site confirmed that all the buildings were still locked up but did discover a broken window at the bottom of the far stairwell...Marked here on this diagram as Staircase C.”
McKenzie turned to a map which he’d blue-tacked to the whiteboard and pointed to the far end of the long narrow building. McKenzie then briefly outlined the layout of the main tall building.
“Let’s take a moment to make ourselves familiar with the campus. There are eight floors in the main building, with a total of four lifts and three stairwells. I’ve given each of them a letter. The main building is long and quite narrow. At each end of the building there is a staircase which goes up all the floors, and a lift. Needless to say, none of the lifts are working. The lifts at either end only go up as far as the seventh floor. You would have to walk up one floor to the eighth.”
McKenzie now pointed on the diagram to the middle of the tall blue building.
“There are two lifts at the centre of the building which only go up as far as the fourth floor. Likewise, the staircase here also stops at the fourth. I’ve marked the staircase in the middle as Stairwell B. And the one nearest us at this end of the building closest to the portacabin and the main road is Stairwell A.”
McKenzie now pointed to a long spur which came off the main building at right-angles near Stairwell A.
“This part of the building only has two levels, and is serviced by stairs in Stairwell A, and by another set marked Stairwell D, at the far end of this part of the building.”
He brushed his hands over the rest of the diagram. “As you can see, there are a lot of other buildings on the campus, all single level buildings. I’ve no idea what they were all for, but I understand that at one point there were two thousand pupils in the school. My wife being one of them!”
“Me too!”
“And me!”
Several other voices chipped in.
“It was a great school! I loved it. It’s weird being back like this,” one of the uniforms from Portobello added.
“Good. We might be calling upon your experience at some point. Okay, turning back to the window at the bottom of Stairwell C. I've since been back to visit it again with Sergeant Anderson, and having examined the scatter of broken glass on the ground, most of which is on the outside of the building, we know that whoever broke the window smashed it from the inside, possibly in an attempt to esca
pe. But we can't find anyone on CCTV crossing the playground, and no one was seen leaving the exits of the campus. There are however, a few blind spots on the CCTV, particularly where power to some cameras was turned off in the moments before the demolition was due.”
McKenzie took a sip of water.
“I'm going to ask Sergeant Galbraith from the Armed Response Team to say a few words.”
McKenzie waved at the Sergeant, who then stepped up to the front beside him.
“Thanks, Guv.” Galbraith nodded to McKenzie, then turned to the room. “When we first entered the building, we had to retire to get hard shoes, and in some places, I insisted that officers had to sweep the floor with brooms before progressing forward, just to make sure they weren't stepping on needles. In fact, the stench is so bad at the bottom of each stairwell, and for the first two floors going upwards, that the dogs couldn’t pick up any tracks. They were only able to pick up a single distinctive scent once we made it to the eighth floor, whereupon they followed it into a supply cupboard where the trapdoor to the roof is located. We didn't venture out onto the roof, as at this point, we don't have the appropriate safety gear. We’ve not finished the search yet, but so far, it’s all clear. However, our search has been limited to the tower block, and as of yet, we haven’t searched any of the two-storey spur,” Galbraith pointed at the section of building that ran at right angles from the tower block. “We’ve also not yet started searching any of the single-level buildings...or the outbuildings dotted around the edges. These sections of the school are therefore not yet secure.”
McKenzie patted Galbraith on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Sergeant.”
Galbraith promptly returned to his seat.
McKenzie continued after a brief pause. “'So, what next?', I can hear you ask. Any suggestions?”
One of the female officers in the second row put up her hand then spoke when McKenzie nodded at her. “The rest of the building areas obviously need to be surveyed as soon as possible. Since it’s getting dark now, why not survey the campus with thermal-imaging cameras? Or above from a helicopter?”
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