“Oh, Maisie’s home for the weekend, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course we don’t,” Dani replied with feeling. In fact, the sight of Maisie filled her with a joy she wasn’t expecting.
Phil beamed as they entered the room. The smell from the rack of lamb was sublime. “A conciliatory meal, to make up for my inadequacies in the Mahtam case.”
Dani handed the flowers to Fiona and stepped forward to wrap her former colleague in an embrace. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Phil. Nobody could have predicted what Lowther and Travis were planning. You were one of the good guys back then and always will be.”
“Steady on,” James added with a wink. “Put down that man and help me pour the wine.”
Dani waited until the meal was over and James had retreated with Fiona into the lounge, where he’d expressed a wish to examine a new piece of artwork she’d bought. The DCI could almost believe they were tactfully leaving her and Phil alone.
She turned to her host. “Travis has finally been found. His wife called the police when he turned up at the house.”
“At least she didn’t cover for him.”
“The disciplinary board handling his case told Lorraine what he did to those boys. She wasn’t impressed. Their son is that age now.”
Phil sighed heavily. “I still can’t believe it. We worked with Travis. We had no idea he was a monster.”
Dani said nothing. She’d done more than worked with him, she’d shared his bed, imagined for a while she’d loved him.
“Have they set a trial date for Aliyev yet?”
“I think it will be delayed until after the investigation into Travis. The two cases are so closely related.”
“Why did Eric target Juliet first and kill her so brutally? Surely Travis is the real villain in all this?”
“I’m not so sure. Juliet planned the whole thing. She was there in Glasgow when the boys were taken. Although it wasn’t her who actually tortured them, it was Juliet who tidied up after it all went wrong. Travis is already trying to shift the blame onto her. Ballater called her after Marat and Eric stole the boat. Juliet had to come up and rescue them. She chartered a boat to get them off the island and helped them bury the body. She was as guilty as they were.”
“Why did Juliet go and meet Eric Aliyev in Mallaig? She must have known it was dangerous for her to meet with any stranger, especially alone.”
‘Eric had been observing Juliet’s comings and goings for several months. He moved his grandmother into the flat below Lowther’s once he’d found out her address. He knew everything about her. The appointments with her clients and her newly found religion. She’d been visiting the priest every Sunday to prepare for Confirmation. According to Eric’s testimony, this gave him an idea. He called Juliet and told her they needed to talk. Eric was open with her about who he was. He explained his religious faith meant he had to forgive her if she was truly sorry. She claimed she was and they agreed to meet.”
“At the car-park in Mallaig?”
“Old habits didn’t die so easily for Juliet. She chose a spot without CCTV cameras. I suppose so she could deny the meeting took place if she needed to. But it meant her car wasn’t located for over a week. Eric spoke in an impassioned way to her when they met that afternoon. Told her that his forgiveness and her penitence would release them both. He took her to his house so they could talk further. Eric was a highly trained soldier. Once inside, he overpowered her and squeezed her neck until she was unconscious. He dragged her into the garage and stabbed her to death.”
“Did he keep the body at his place?”
“Only for a day. Eric knew Juliet had no appointments with clients for the remainder of that week. He was aware of her routines. He disposed of her pay-as-you-go mobile, which she used only really to contact Travis. He wrapped the body in plastic sheets and waited until after dark to launch the boat. It was a voyage he was only too familiar with.”
“Dumping her body on Ghiant, in the barn where they had been tortured must have been a sign. Because by leaving her identification on her, it meant he was more likely to be found.” Phil stirred sugar into his coffee.
“Killing her was a tribute to Adnan and Marat. It wouldn’t have made any sense if her body hadn’t been left on the island where it all began.”
“Ballater must have been easy to find. He had stayed so close to Ghiant.”
“Yes, Eric already knew where Sean Ballater was. All he needed to do was ask a few questions around the harbour in Nabb. Eric could sail his boat into any of the small islets around that coast and ambush his target.”
“I can’t believe that Travis was left alone. He was the one most responsible for what happened to those poor boys.”
“It shows what a clever bastard he was. By going deep undercover, Kerr Travis kept himself protected. Eric had no way of finding him. But he’ll feel the full force of the law now.”
Dani looked up to see Fiona and James, standing quite motionless in the doorway, listening. She straightened up guiltily. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t be talking about this stuff at a social occasion. It’s unforgivable.”
Fiona smiled. “Don’t worry, Dani. Talk as much as you like. I haven’t seen Phil look so energised by anything since you came back on the scene, asking for his help with this case.”
James stalked across the room and took Dani’s hand. “They’re never happier than when they’re on the job, these cops. It’s really best for us to simply accept it Fiona.”
“But Phil isn’t a detective any longer,” she commented wryly.
“Once a cop, always a cop, my dear.” James took the edge off his words with a grin. “Now, shall I open another bottle?”
© Katherine Pathak, all rights reserved 2017
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The Dark Isle Page 17