by Ed James
Bain looked round at Lamb. "Stephen Hawkings here managed to lose a couple of hours to thinking about quantum mechanics," he said. "Can you check his story?"
Lamb sighed. "I wish that we could," he said. "None of the CCTV cameras are recorded in Garleton."
Cook laughed. Cullen saw Bain close his eyes in disbelief - Lamb shouldn't have let that slip.
"Right, so what did you do next?" asked Bain. "Did you go into Edinburgh to look at the telescopes in the observatory?"
Cook rolled his eyes. "No, I called on Malky."
"Would that be Malcolm Thornton?" asked Bain.
"Aye," said Cook. "Nobody answered the door."
"I'm not surprised," said Bain. "Half ten on a Sunday night, I doubt many people are going to let the town's bad boy in."
"My client's reputation - good or otherwise - is not relevant to this current discussion," said McLintock. "I would appreciate if you stuck to the facts and did not bring slander into this already heated conversation."
Bain stared at McLintock for a few seconds without saying anything.
"Jamie, where did you go after Malcolm Thornton's house?" asked Cullen.
"I caught the last bus from Garleton to Haddington," said Cook.
Bain scribbled down in his notebook. "Thank you." Lamb raised his eyebrows. Cullen was thankful that he hadn't been landed with playing hunt the bus driver.
"Where were you going to in Haddington?" asked Cullen.
"I was off to my pal Stevie's."
"And who's he?" asked Bain.
"Steven Young," answered Cook. "He stays in the council houses behind Aldi."
"Anyone else there?" asked Cullen.
"It was just me and him."
"Very romantic," said Bain.
"Inspector," snapped McLintock. "I will not tolerate that sort of innuendo."
"What did you get up to at this Stevie's flat?" asked Bain.
"Just drinking and listening to music," said Cook. "He had some new tunes on. He does some DJing on a Saturday night at a pub in the Pans. He was trying to work out some new tracks to play the following week."
"I see," said Bain. "I bet his neighbour was thrilled. And you stayed there over night?"
"Sort of," replied Cook. "We were up most of the night drinking."
"Then what?"
"Crashed out at about six," said Cook. "We'd run out of Jack. The stuff Stevie gets out of Aldi that's just like it."
"Okay, so then what?"
"I got woken up at about two in the afternoon by a phone call," said Cook.
"Who was it from?" asked Bain.
Cook shrugged. "No idea," he said. "Never answer an unknown number."
Cullen suddenly realised that it was his phone call that had woken Cook up the previous afternoon.
"Did you call the number back?" asked Cullen.
"What do you think?" asked Cook, with a wink.
Cullen knew then that it was Cook that had been calling him. Cullen connected Steven Young being a DJ and Cook being up all night listening to music with the song played down the phone line to him. He still hadn't told Bain about the nuisance calls and his theory that it was Jamie Cook that was behind them.
"Okay, so you were woken up," said Bain. "What did you do next?"
"Stevie and I got the bus back to Garleton then we picked up my car," said Cook. "Stevie's not got his own motor."
"Did you speak to anyone when you collected your car?" asked Bain.
"No," said Cook. "Dad must have been at work and Mum out with the twins."
Cullen detected perhaps a sense of jealousy or resentment from the boy towards his siblings by the way he drawled the word 'twins'.
"So nobody saw you?" asked Bain.
"I didn't see anyone," said Cook. "I can't say if anybody saw me."
"But as far as you're aware," said Bain, "nobody saw you."
"Inspector," said McLintock, "what has this got to do with my client?"
"I am trying to establish a clear and consistent timeline from the suspect's perspective," said Bain. "If there are any witness statements that I have not yet obtained then it's my duty to obtain them."
"Continue," said McLintock.
"Okay," said Bain, focusing again on Cook. "So now you've got your car but you don't think anyone has seen you going back home."
"That's right."
"Where did you go?"
Cook grinned. "We just went back to Stevie's flat," he said.
"Why did you take the car?"
"Just because," said Cook. "Knew my parents would be out, so I went and grabbed it."
"How would you describe your relationship with your parents?" asked Cullen.
"Distant," replied Cook.
"Is that through your actions or theirs?"
"They disowned me," said Cook. "Soon as I left school and that group of theirs, they wanted nothing to do with me."
"Right," said Bain, "this is yesterday afternoon. What did you do in Haddington then?"
"We popped into Aldi and got more booze," said Cook. "Beer, wine, vodka, whisky."
"And did you buy it?" asked Bain.
Cook smiled at Bain. "Hardly," he said. "Stevie did all of that. I'm underage so I kept outside in the motor. We went back to Stevie's and had a few drinks. Then one of his mates, Spider, was going out for a few at the Pheasant so we went and joined him."
"And that's a pub in Haddington?"
"Aye."
"Does this Spider have a name?" asked Cullen.
"Never met him before in my life," said Cook. "It might be Simon or Steven, something like that."
"So it was just the three of you in the Pheasant, then?" asked Bain.
"It was."
"And you were in there for how long?"
"Till closing," said Cook. "We went back to Stevie's afterwards for more drinking. We were up till about three and then I crashed out."
"And you were in this pub all that time?" asked Cullen. "From when to when?"
"We got there about four, half four," said Cook. "Got chucked out at about midnight."
"And you were there all the time?"
"I was."
"Fine," said Bain. "What happened this morning?"
"Me and Stevie got up and drove into Edinburgh," said Cook.
"Where in Edinburgh?" asked Bain. "It's a big city."
"Stevie's got a mate called Simmo," said Cook, "and we met up with him and Nicky at Simmo's flat. It's in Leith, just off Seafield. Think the building it's in is pretty much condemned, they're going to tear it down next year, put new flats up. His rent is nothing, man."
"Can you give us full names for Simmo and Nicky, please," said Bain.
"Aye, Tommy Simpson and Graeme Nicholas," said Cook.
"So Tommy Simpson lives in Leith, is that right?" asked Bain.
"Aye."
"What about Graeme Nicholas?"
"First time I'd met the punter," said Cook. "Seems pretty sound, like."
"Was there anyone else there?" asked Bain.
"Not at Simmo's flat, no."
"And when was this?"
"Lunchtime, maybe," said Cook. "I don't know."
"What, twelve? Two?"
"Nearer twelve," said Cook.
Bain scribbled a few things down in his notebook. "So what did you do after your rendezvous at Mr Simpson's flat?" he asked.
"We had a couple of drinks in his flat," said Cook, "then we headed out to the pub and met one of Nicky's mates. Boy called Dean."
After a day of Biscuit, Spider, Simmo and Nicky, Cullen was relieved that someone Cook knew didn't have a nickname.
"Please confirm the name of the pub."
"The Shore," said Cook. "It's on Seafield Road."
"And it was still the five of you?"
"Aye, it was."
"And you were there until we apprehended you?" asked Bain.
"That's right."
"And did you do anything else between going to the pub and PC Buxton apprehending you?"
"Not that I can recall."
"I see," said Bain. "You were in some state when you were brought in. I'm glad that you have sobered up to your lawyer's satisfaction."
Cook looked up at the ceiling. "Why are you bothering to check so much stuff out about me for pissing against a church?"
Bain looked at McLintock. "From that statement," he said, "I gather that Mr McLintock has not adequately briefed you." McLintock glared at Bain, who looked back at Cook. "Mr Cook, the reason that we have detained you is that you are the main suspect in two murders."
Cook looked from Bain to Cullen. He turned to McLintock, who just gestured with his hands and looked away. "What?"
"You heard," said Bain.
The room was quiet for about a minute, Cook biting his lip, sweating and breathing heavily.
"Mr McLintock," said Bain, "while you may not have adequately briefed your client, I'd like to point out that I didn't even need to tell him whose murders we are talking about, either." Bain looked at Cook. "He knows already."
Cook's eyes shot up.
"That was over a minute," said Bain. "You've not asked whose murders we're investigating."
"Whose murders are we talking about?" asked Cook.
"Right, this is a nonsense," said Bain. "You know full bloody well."
"I don't," snapped Cook. He glared at Bain. "I've no idea and unless you tell me, I can't help you."
"Inspector Bain, my client has co-operated fully with your investigation thus far, as the record will show, despite several unprofessional outbursts by yourself."
"Point noted," said Bain. "But I'd like to make it resolutely clear that it's interesting how your client knows who the murder victims are."
"I don't!" shouted Cook.
"Jamie, please keep your voice down," said McLintock.
"You need to tell me who they are," said Cook. "Who's died?"
"Have a guess," said Bain.
McLintock closed his eyes and shook his head lightly.
"I can't," said Cook.
"And why is that?" asked Bain. "Too many enemies? Too many victims?"
"Just tell me."
"Right, okay, then," said Bain. "The first is Mandy Gibson."
Cook looked at Cullen and Lamb. "Mandy?"
"We believe that she is a victim of your depravity," said Bain.
"How is Mandy a victim of mine?" asked Cook, banging the table with his fist. "Who the fuck told you that?"
"We believe that you stayed with the Gibsons a fair few times, is that right?"
"For Christ sake, I was smoking dope with Thomas," said Cook. "Has someone told you I was at it with his sister? Did Thomas?"
"We can't divulge that," said Bain.
"Was it Thomas?"
"It wasn't him."
"She's handicapped and thirteen, I would never touch her," said Cook. He bit his fingernail. "It'll be Mulgrew, I bet. Fucking bastard."
"As I say, I cannot divulge that information," said Bain.
"What did Thomas's old man say about this?"
"He seemed to agree, suggested that it could have been you," said Bain. "But it wasn't him, he merely agreed with the suggestion."
"There is no way," said Cook. "No fucking way." He pulled at his hair, stretching it tight, almost to breaking.
"We have it on good authority that you have had sexual intercourse with another under-age girl," said Bain. "We have a witness statement from the victim herself."
McLintock's eyes bulged in his head. "What is this?" he asked.
"Jamie Cook had a rape charge made against him," said Bain. He produced the charge sheet from Dunbar that Murray had managed to acquire through back channels and contacts in the station. He was to follow up more formally.
"That was dropped," said Cook.
"That's as maybe," said Bain. "It still shows a certain predilection of yours. When you started seeing the girl in question, she was fifteen."
There were tears in Cook's eyes. "I didn't touch Kirsty till she was sixteen," he said, his voice at breaking point. "I'm not as old as you lot. She's my age. There's nothing wrong with it."
"If this came to court," said Bain, "then I'm not sure that they would see it that way."
"Inspector, you've confirmed that the charges have been dropped against my client and that the case will not come to court," said McLintock. "Please desist from this."
Cook screwed his eyes up. "I think you want to make sure that it doesn't come to court either," he said. He rolled up the sleeve and showed bruises on his arm, now yellowing. "I'll give you three guesses as to where I got these."
"You deny having sexual relations with a Kirsty-Jane Platt before she was of the age of consent?" asked Bain.
Cook rolled his sleeve down. "Of course I do." He rubbed away at his eyes, clearing the tears away. "When did this all happen with Mandy?"
"You still haven't asked who the second victim was, you know?" said Bain, with a smile on his face.
"For Christ sake," shouted Cook, "would you stop playing games with me!"
McLintock placed a hand on Jamie's arm. "Inspector, this withholding of information is trying my patience," he said.
Bain grinned. "Jamie, the second victim is Seamus Mulgrew."
Cook sat there with his mouth open.
"Seamus Mulgrew was murdered some time on Monday evening," said Bain.
Cullen spotted tears in Cook's eyes. He didn't speak for a long time.
Bain cleared his throat. "Mandy's time of death was approximately eleven pm on Sunday night," he said.
Cook's eyes flicked from Bain to Cullen and back again. "So it wasn't at the same time?"
"Very good," said Bain. "Keep trying."
Cook looked at Cullen then Lamb. "Mandy was killed on Sunday night?"
"That's right."
Cook sat there, silent and unmoving.
Cullen took the initiative. "Jamie," he said. Cook looked over to him. "By your own admission, you were in Garleton at approximately the time of Mandy's death. Is that not the case?"
"Well, I was still in the town but, as I said, I got the last bus to Haddington."
"And what time was that exactly?"
"I've told you this," said Cook. "It's at eleven on the dot. Leaves North Berwick at quarter to, I think. Gets to Haddington at ten past."
"And aside from the bus driver, was there anyone else on the bus?" asked Cullen.
"Think it was just me."
"Was there anyone else that could have seen you?"
"No." Cook rubbed his temple. "No."
"Nobody else?" asked Cullen.
"No."
"Very convenient, son," said Bain.
Cook burst into tears. "I didn't kill them," he shouted.
Bain leaned forward. "There's no evidence to suggest that you didn't."
Tears slicked Cook's face. He pushed his hair back. It was damp with the sweat and it held in position, standing up.
"You're in a lot of trouble here," said Bain. "You've got a motive and you haven't got an alibi. We need to know what happened."
Cook sighed. "Where was Mandy's body? In her house?"
"Balgone Ponds," said Bain.
Cook screwed his face up. "But that's miles from Garleton."
"Aye," said Bain. "They were both found there."
"And you think I put them there?"
"Didn't you?"
"Of course not," said Cook. "I think you'll find that my car was at the house all day on Sunday. How could I have got them there?"
"Have you got any witnesses that say it was there all the time?" asked Bain.
Cook's eyes suddenly lit up. "You've got nothing on me, have you?"
"We've got something," said Bain.
"What?"
"Motives for killing both victims," said Bain. "Most judges and juries love that stuff."
"I wasn't even in the town when Mulgrew was killed," he shouted, "so how could I have done it?"
"You were in the town when Mandy was killed," said Bain, "t
hen you hurriedly left." His lip curled up. "I'll settle for your conviction on that one."
Cook sat in silence. Cullen thought his skin looked a few shades whiter than when they'd started.
"There's something you should know," said Cook. "I just remembered. I mean, my brain's frazzled with all the Jack I've had but I did see someone when I got on the bus."
"Right," said Bain, "who?"
Cook paused for what seemed like hours to Cullen. "I saw Thomas's Dad take Mandy into Mulgrew's house."
thirty-nine
Cullen and Bain sat in the meeting area near their usual office space, Lamb joined them. Cullen could see Sharon plus others from Turnbull's wider team, but tried to avoid eye contact and instead focus on the task at hand.
"What the fuck just happened there?" asked Bain.
"He's telling us that he saw Charles Gibson taking his daughter to Mulgrew's on Sunday night," said Cullen.
"It feels to me that he's playing us," said Lamb. "He's a little bastard, always playing tricks like this. The way I see it, he's desperate and is clutching at straws."
"Sundance?"
Cullen had thought through the new development on their way up. To him, it was shades of grey rather than the black or white Bain preferred. "I'd disagree," he said.
"How?" said Bain. "The little prick is trying to trip us up, isn't he?"
"Well, what I mean is that I don't think we should immediately assume that he is trying to throw us off," said Cullen. "He might be telling the truth."
"So you're saying that we give him the benefit of the doubt?" asked Bain.
"I'm suggesting that we investigate his claim," said Cullen. "If it's true then it blows all of our assumptions." He looked straight at Bain. "You've got something like forty officers on this case."
"Thirty seven," said Bain.
"I'd suggest you put five or six on checking his story out," said Cullen. "It's that important. It could blow the whole case wide open."
"Fine, let's fuckin' do it," said Bain.
Lamb shrugged. "It's a gamble," he said. "It's your case, Brian."
"Too right it is," said Bain. "Putting that to one side, then, what do we reckon? Cook killed them both?"
"It fits," said Lamb.
"I agree it fits," said Cullen, "I'm not sure that we've enough to be charging him just yet."
"What else do we need to cover, then?" asked Bain.
"We've got that car at the scene of the murder on Monday night for starters," said Cullen.