by Bill Daly
Harry cursed under his breath as he trudged back down the stairs. Jim Colvin wasn’t going to be happy. He didn’t like complications.
*
Donald Parker arrived a few minutes early for the twelve o’clock meeting. He was sitting with Charlie in his office when Malcolm Steel walked in.
‘What are you doing here, Donald?’ Steel said, open-mouthed.
‘The police know about us, Malcolm,’ Parker said. ‘We have to tell them everything.’
‘But Donald….’ Steel stammered.
‘I explained to Inspector Anderson that we were in the Citizens Theatre on the night John was murdered – and I told him that the staff will be able to confirm that we stayed on in the bar in the foyer for a glass of wine after the performance.’
‘You didn’t have to tell them about us, Donald,’ Steel blurted out.
‘I couldn’t remain silent, Malcolm,’ Parker said. ‘I could hardly stand by and say nothing when the police were about to arrest you on suspicion of being implicated in John’s murder.’
Gavin pulled Charlie Anderson’s card from his hip pocket. He turned it over several times in his hand as he tried to pluck up the courage to call. Steeling himself, he punched the number into his mobile, waiting nervously as the phone rang out.
‘This is Gavin Carter,’ he said when Charlie answered.
‘You and I need to talk,’ Charlie said
‘I know.’
‘Where are you?’ Charlie demanded.
‘In Lesley Adams’ flat.’
‘Is she there?’
‘No.’
‘Stay there,’ Charlie said. ‘I’ll be across in twenty minutes.’
Charlie called Tony O’Sullivan’s mobile.
‘Meet me outside Lesley Adams’ flat in twenty minutes,’ he said when Tony answered. ‘We’re going to have a chat with Gavin.’
*
Tony O’Sullivan was waiting in the mouth of the tenement close when Charlie drew up outside. They walked up the two flights of stairs together. When Charlie rang the bell, Gavin came to the door to let them in.
‘What happened to you on Thursday night?’ Charlie asked when they were seated round the kitchen table.
‘I went out.’
‘I gathered that,’ Charlie said. ‘Why.’
‘I needed time to think.’
‘What was the result?’ Charlie asked.
Gavin hesitated. ‘I want to tell you what I was doing last Saturday.’
‘When I spoke to you and your uncle on Wednesday,’ Tony interjected, ‘you told me you were in The Jacobite Arms, nailing Jack Mulgrew’s hand to the bog door. Are you now saying that’s no longer the case?’
Gavin lowered his eyes. ‘Yes.’
When Tony glanced across, Charlie nodded imperceptibly – a signal that he should continue.
‘So if you weren’t in The Jacobite Arms,’ Tony said. ‘Where were you?’
‘I went to a gig in Edinburgh.’
‘What gig?’
‘First Tiger’s.’
‘Who or what are First Tiger?’
‘A new Glasgow group.’
‘Did you go there on your own?’
‘No. One of my mates was performing with the group, so I went through with him.’
‘What’s this mate’s name?’
‘Stuart Morrison.’
‘Where does he live?’ Tony asked.
‘He has a flat in Clydebank.’
‘I’ll need his address and his phone number,’ Charlie said.
‘I can give you that,’ Gavin said, checking his phone and reading out the information. ‘But he’s not there right now. He’s up in Aberdeen, visiting his mother. She broke her arm last week so he went up to give her a hand.’
‘When will he be back?’ Tony asked.
‘Tonight. He’s catching the half-past six train.’
‘Okay,’ Tony said. ‘I’ll want to know all about this trip of yours to Edinburgh. But before we go into that,’ he said, leaning back in his chair, ‘let’s start with The Jacobite Arms. If you weren’t with your uncle when he attacked Jack Mulgrew, why did you waste our time with that cock and bull story?’
‘That was my uncle’s idea,’ Gavin said. ‘He was trying to help me out. My Dad was in a poker school, so he could account for his movements last Saturday night and, if push came to shove, Andy could prove that he was in The Jaco at the time of Murdoch’s murder. But Andy told me that your lot had to pin the murder on somebody and he thought you’d pick on me, so he wanted to make sure that I had an alibi.’
‘What was wrong with telling us the truth?’ Charlie asked.
‘Andy said you would stitch me up. He said you’d scare the shit out of Stuart by threatening to charge him with being an accessory to murder.’
‘We may very well do that,’ Tony said, ‘if this story of yours turns out to be as full of holes at the last one.’
‘It isn’t.’
‘I’m going to ask you a few questions,’ Charlie said, ‘and Sergeant O’Sullivan is going to note down your answers. Do you understand that?’
Gavin nodded.
Charlie waited until Tony had taken his notepad and pen from his folder.
‘Where did you meet up with your friend, Stuart, last Saturday?’
‘In Queen Street Station.’
‘At what time?’
‘Just after six o’clock. We were going to catch the seventeen minutes past six train to Edinburgh.’
‘Who got there first?’
‘Stuart. He was waiting for me when I arrived.’
‘What station did you get off at?’
‘Waverley.’
‘At what time?’
‘Round about half-past seven.’
‘What was the weather like through there?’
‘Drizzly.’
‘What did you do then?’
‘We split up. Stuart had arranged to go to somebody’s flat – I don’t know where – to do some last-minute rehearsing with the group. The gig was in Whistle Binkies and First Tiger were scheduled to be on at eleven o’clock, so I arranged to see him there.’
‘What did you do between seven-thirty and eleven o’clock?’ Charlie asked.
‘I just wandered around.’
‘Three and a half hours wandering around Edinburgh?’ Tony interjected. ‘In the drizzle? What was the attraction? Are you a big fan of Georgian period architecture?’
Gavin looked askance. ‘I didn’t walk about all the time. I went to a couple of pubs.’
‘Where?’ Charlie asked.
‘In Rose Street.’
‘Which pubs?’
‘I started off in The Abbotsford to get something to eat, then I went to another pub along the road. I don’t remember what it was called. I headed back to Whistle Binkies before eleven o’clock for the gig, but when I got there I found out that everything was running late. First Tiger didn’t get on stage until almost midnight. By the time they’d finished their slot we’d missed the last train back to Glasgow, so Stuart and I went to the bus station and caught a late-night bus.’
‘What time did you get back to Glasgow?’ Charlie asked.
‘We got to Buchanan Street about half-past two and we picked up a taxi. It dropped me off here before taking Stuart to Clydebank.’
’Okay, Gavin,’ Charlie said, standing up and arching his back. ‘I think that’s all we need for now. Is there anything else you want to tell us?’
Gavin shook his head.
‘What did you make of that?’ Charlie asked as they were walking back down the tenement stairs.
‘It was a big improvement on his last version of events,’ Tony said, ‘but it’s by no means certain that he’s telling us the truth now.’
‘We’ll head back to the office now and bring the guys up to speed,’ Charlie said. ‘I’ll call Renton and Freer and tell them to meet us in the incident room at four o’clock.’
Charlie walked along Dumbarton Road to where
he’d parked his car. When he got behind the wheel, he called Colin Renton. ‘We need to get our hands on some CCTV footage, Colin,’ Charlie said when Renton took the call. ‘I want to see everything there is from Queen Street Station between six o’clock and seven o’clock on the night of the murder – as well as the footage from Waverley Station between seven-fifteen and seven forty-five. When you’ve organised that, find out what CCTV is available from Rose Street on that evening, as well as from The Abbotsford Bar. And if there are any street cameras in the vicinity of Whistle Binkies, try to get your hands on that footage as well. We’ll meet in the incident room at four o’clock. Tell Tom Freer to be there.’
As soon as he’d disconnected, Charlie phoned home.
‘How are things?’ Kay asked.
‘I’m going to have a briefing session with the guys at four o’clock, then I think I’ll call it a day. What are you up to?’
‘I’m going to go over to Sue’s place this afternoon to give her her presents,’ Kay said, ‘then I’ll be bringing Jamie back here. He was really disappointed when Sue told him he wouldn’t be spending the weekend with us, so I thought the least I could do was offer him a sleepover and a game of football with you tomorrow morning.’
‘Thanks a lot!’
‘Will Tony be able to get off work after your briefing session?’
‘I think so.’
‘Good. He was hoping to go across to see Sue this evening. It would be nice if they could spend some time together on her birthday.’
Colin Renton was with Charlie in the incident room when Tony came along the corridor. They broke off abruptly from their conversation when he walked in.
‘I’m sorry I’m late, sir,’ Tony said. ‘I got caught up in the traffic.’
‘No problem,’ Charlie said. ‘Colin’s just told me that Parker and Steel’s story checked out. The staff at the Citz have confirmed that they are regular theatregoers and that both of them were in the bar in the foyer at the time of the murder.’
‘Which puts the focus back on Gavin,’ Renton said. ‘I’ve submitted a request for the CCTV footage from both Queen Street and Waverley stations, as well as whatever’s available from Rose Street and The Abbotsford – and also from any cameras there might be in the vicinity of Whistle Binkies.’
‘Will Tom Freer be joining us?’ Tony asked.
‘He was called away to deal with a break-in at a jeweller’s in Argyle Street,’ Charlie said. ‘While we were waiting for you,’ Charlie added, ‘I brought Colin up to speed with what we found out from our talk with Gavin.’
‘What did you make of his story this time, Tony?’ Renton asked.
‘He was a lot more confident today than when I spoke to him and his uncle on Wednesday,’ Tony said.
‘I don’t understand any of this,’ Renton said with a puzzled shake of the head. ‘Andy Carter might be a heidbanger, but he’s not stupid. There’s no way he would have deliberately set himself up for a stretch in Barlinnie in order to give Gavin an alibi, unless he knew that Gavin had murdered Preston.’
‘Gavin’s pal, Stuart Morrison, will be on his way back to Glasgow tonight,’ Charlie said. ‘He’s catching the half-past six train from Aberdeen, so he should get to Central Station around nine-thirty, which means he’ll be home in Clydebank round about ten o’clock.’
‘You and I could go across to his place and wait for him, Tony,’ Renton suggested. ‘That way we’d be able to find out if he’s able to corroborate Gavin’s story.’
‘That’s a good idea, Colin,’ Charlie interjected, winking at Renton on Tony’s blind side. ‘Tony took a note of everything Gavin told us, so it would make sense for the two of you to interrogate Stuart before Gavin has an opportunity to nobble him.’
Tony grimaced. ‘Gavin will probably have been on the phone to his pal by now, sir,’ he said. ‘They’ll have got their act together.’
‘You never know,’ Charlie said. ‘Something might’ve slipped through the cracks. What do you think, Colin?’
‘I’m a great believer in striking while the iron is hot, sir.’
‘So am I,’ Charlie said.
‘But we don’t know that Stuart will go straight home as soon as he gets back to Glasgow, sir,’ Tony protested. ‘We could end up spending half the night hanging around outside his flat in
Clydebank – and achieve nothing. Would it not be better to leave questioning him until the morning?’
Charlie rubbed at his chin reflectively. ‘What do you reckon, Colin?’ he asked.
‘Tony might have a point there, sir,’ Renton said, doing his best to suppress a grin.
‘Okay,’ Charlie said. ‘How about we all knock off now and have an early night? We can pick up the threads in the morning. I’ll meet you at half-past eight outside Stuart Morrison’s flat in Clydebank, Tony. That way we’ll be able to catch him cold. How about that?’
Tony’s ‘okay’ came out from between gritted teeth
Renton and O’Sullivan both got to their feet.
‘Would you hold back for a minute, Colin,’ Charlie said. ‘There’s something else I want to talk to you about.’
When Tony had left the office, Charlie and Renton burst out laughing.
‘A nice bit of role playing there, Colin,’ Charlie said. ‘Well done.’
‘For a minute there I thought you were going to send me to freeze to death all night outside a flat in Clydebank,’ Renton said.
Charlie chortled. ‘As I was saying to you just before Tony arrived, it’s Sue’s birthday today. Earlier on, Tony was angling for an early finish tonight so he could go across and see her. I couldn’t resist winding him up.’
‘But a half-eight start tomorrow morning, sir?’ Renton said. ‘Ouch! That’s a bit rough. Did you have to do that?’
‘I like to keep him on his toes,’ Charlie said with a smile. ‘But I’ll do the decent thing. I wouldn’t be able to get to Clydebank by half-past eight anyway, because Kay’s got me lined me to play football with my grandson tomorrow morning. I’ll give Tony a call later on this evening and change the rendezvous to half-past ten.’
CHAPTER 25
As he was walking down the corridor away from Charlie’s office, Tony pulled out his phone and called Sue.
‘I’ve managed to get away,’ he said when she took the call. ‘Is there any chance you could organise a baby sitter so we could go out for something to eat?’
‘I can do better than that. My Mum’s taking Jamie for a sleepover. So, as it happens, I’m footloose and fancy free.’
‘Brilliant! I’ll try to book us a table. How about I come across to your place at seven o’clock and we take it from there?’
‘That sounds like a plan.’
Gavin Carter scrambled to his feet when he heard the front door of the flat being opened.
‘How was your mother?’ he asked tentatively when Lesley walked into the lounge.
‘What the hell’s going on, Gavin?’ Lesley snapped. ‘Where have you been?’
‘I.. I haven’t been anywhere,’ he stammered. ‘I’ve just been wandering the streets.’
‘Why did you disappear like that? I was worried sick.’
Gavin sank back down onto the settee. ‘I’m in deep shit, Lesley. I’m in trouble with the polis – and my uncle is going to kill me.’ Lesley could see the tears welling up in Gavin’s eyes.
‘It’s okay, Gavin.’ Lesley felt her anger dissipating. ‘Nobody’s going to kill you,’ she said, sitting down beside him on the settee and taking his hand in hers. ‘Tell me what happened.’
‘The cops think that I killed Murdoch,’ Gavin blurted out. ‘But I wasn’t even in Glasgow when it happened. I was through in Edinburgh with Stuart.’
‘Inspector Anderson told me that you had confessed to assaulting a man in a pub in the Calton at the time of the murder. What on earth was all that about?’
‘It was Andy’s idea. He was sure that the cops would try to stitch me up – that they would try to pin the murd
er on me – so he told me to tell the polis that I was with him when he attacked a man in a pub at the time of the murder so as to give me an alibi. I didn’t want to go along with that, but Andy made me do it. He said the cops wouldn’t believe me if I told them I was in Edinburgh with Stuart.’
‘You have got to tell the police the truth, Gavin.’
‘I did. Anderson came to see me this afternoon.’
‘Did he believe you?’
‘I don’t know,’ Gavin said, easing his hand from Lesley’s grip. ‘I gave him Stuart’s address and his phone number. When the cops talk to him, he’ll confirm that I was with him in Edinburgh.’
‘Then everything’s going to be all right,’ Lesley said.
‘No it’s not, Lesley. Everything’s not going to be all right. You don’t know my uncle. When he finds out that I told the cops I was in Edinburgh last Saturday he’ll…. he’ll…. Oh, for fuck’s sake, I have no idea what he’ll do.’ Gavin buried his head in his hands, tears seeping from his eyes.
Sue flopped down on the back seat of the taxi that the waiter in the Chardon d’Or had called for them.
‘That was fantastic,’ she said, patting her bulging stomach. ‘That might’ve been the best meal I’ve ever had.’
‘It wasn’t at all bad,’ Tony agreed, loosening his trouser belt buckle as he clambered in beside her. ‘It was lucky that they’d had a late cancellation.’
‘That must have set you back a bit.’
‘No expense spared for your birthday. But don’t worry about the cost. I got a lot more for the Radiohead tickets on the Internet than I thought I would.’
‘One of the presents my Mum gave me,’ Sue said as they were getting out of the taxi, ‘was a twenty year-old bottle of McCallan. Do you fancy trying it?’
‘Absolutely. But the bad news,’ Tony said as Sue was turning the key in her front door, ‘is that I have to be on the road before eight o’clock tomorrow morning.’
‘On a Sunday? You have got to be kidding!’
‘I’m afraid not. I have to meet your father in Clydebank at half-past eight.’
Sue pulled a face, then threw her arms around Tony’s shoulders and pulled him towards her. ‘In that case,’ she whispered, nibbling gently at his earlobe. ‘The whisky is on the table in the lounge. Why don’t you put on some music and fix us a couple of drinks while I slip into something less comfortable?’