by Rob Wyllie
'Quite right too,' she grinned. 'I'm not having you cavorting with beautiful young women on company time.'
'Certainly not boss, I wouldn't dream of it,' he said. 'So I'll give her a buzz some time and let her know we'll take the case, and then maybe suggest just a wee low-key lunch at some point. I suppose it might come in useful, having at least a friendly relationship with her.'
'Brilliant,' Maggie said, before turning her attention to Frank. 'So this business proposition you mentioned on the phone. Are you going to tell us what you have in mind? Something legal I hope.'
She saw him give Jill an enquiring glance, as if seeking permission for what he was about to say.
''Oh aye, perfectly legit in every way, more or less. We're the cops, remember? But anyways, to business. Now you know we don't often use private investigators,' he continued, sounding as if he felt the need to justify what he was about to say, 'but there's this brand new case that's recently come in to our wee department, one that you could call hyper-sensitive, not to put too fine a point on it. Would you agree with that description ma'am?'
Jill Smart smiled at Maggie. 'Yes, I described it to Frank as dynamite and I've heard nothing to change my mind since I said it.'
'And of course when I found where the scene of the crime was,' Frank said, nodding in Jimmy's direction, 'well I thought it might fit in pretty well with your wee Macallan matter.'
Jimmy gave him a sharp look. 'God's sake, you can't mean Lochmorehead? That would be just too much of a coincidence.'
'Nearly right. Two miles away. On the Ardmore naval base, in one of the tied houses there. A wife of one of the sailors was murdered. The poor woman was stabbed to death and her two-year old had her throat cut. It was an absolute tragedy so it was. Bloody horrific.'
'No way, we're not getting involved in this,' Jimmy said, raising his voice. 'No way.'
Maggie looked at him, alarmed. 'What's the matter Jimmy?' Then she remembered once again what he'd said about the place being cursed. And she remembered the other thing he'd said too, about the woman who'd been murdered, the woman who'd been at school with Flora and the Macallan twins.
'Is it Morag Frank?' she asked quietly. 'Morag Robertson. Is she the woman you're talking about?'
He nodded. 'Aye. Morag McKay was her married name but yes, it's her. But listen, it was only an idea. Don't worry if you'd rather not do it. I'm sure we can work out a plan B.'
'No no, it's no problem, honestly,' Jimmy said, giving his brother a half-smile. 'It just came as a bit of a shock, that's all. I met her the once, at that party, and it was only a few months later when she was killed. She seemed a really nice lady, really friendly and she was looking forward so much to her husband coming home. Her murder really shook the community as you can imagine. A terrible thing.'
'I can understand that,' Maggie said, relieved that her colleague seemed to be feeling better about the matter. 'Frank, we'll do what we can to help of course.'
'Well that's great,' he said. 'To be honest, I've not completely worked out what I need you to do. It's just that there's a bit of a half-cocked idea forming in my mind, something that we cops definitely couldn't do ourselves.'
Maggie smiled. 'I'm intrigued.'
'Aye, well careful what you wish for,' Frank said, then gave Jill Smart another enquiring look. 'So ma'am is it ok if we agree a budget now? I thought maybe thirty or forty hours max should cover it with these guys. We might not use all of it, but I'd like to get it in place, just in case.'
Maggie shot Jimmy a knowing smile, a smile he returned with interest, signifying he was thinking exactly the same thing as her. If there was already a budget, there must be a case number, and knowing how much DCI Smart guarded the release of that most precious of administrative devices, and how much Frank Stewart coveted them and how hard he usually had to fight to get one, it could only mean one thing.
This case must be bloody serious.
Chapter 10
Kirsty Macallan had returned from her video shoot in Mallorca, the assignment being for a Japanese manufacturer of sport-utility vehicles who was about to release a ground-breaking pure electric version onto the market, a vehicle that promised to lay down a new marker for the sector by offering double the range over the competition, eliminating range anxiety in a single leap. At least that's how she described it to Maggie and Jimmy as they sipped coffee in the expensively-equipped kitchen of her Fulham mid-terrace home.
'I'm impressed,' Maggie said smiling, 'by your technical knowledge I mean. I know where to put the key in my old Golf and that's just about it. '
'I memorised the press release,' Kirsty said in way of explanation. 'I've always found it pays to have some empathy with the product set you're working with. And it shows respect for the customer, don't you think?'
Maggie couldn't help noticing that whilst she was addressing both of them, her eyes were continually wandering in Jimmy's direction. And then she remembered that Jimmy Stewart and Kirsty Macallan had previous, albeit unrequited.
Kirsty gave a fond smile as she saw her husband wandering in with their little daughter in his arms, the child giggling as he nuzzled his stubble against her cheek.
'Come and join us darling, won't you?'
'Yeah sure babe. Did you tell these guys that they're loaning us a top-of-the-range one for a full year and putting in a fast-charging adaptor too? Wicked, isn't it?'
Rory Overton was tall and muscular with chiselled good looks that somehow had remained unblemished despite nearly ten years as a professional rugby player. 'He was a winger,' Jimmy had tried to explain to her on the way over, she knowing next to nothing about the game, 'lightning fast, about the quickest in the premiership. He could do the hundred metres in ten seconds and you wouldn't have wanted to get in his way if he was coming straight at you.'
'So you guys are the detectives, right?' Overton said, smiling. 'Going to sort out this mess for us I hear. I'm Rory by the way, Kirsty's husband. Although you've probably worked that out already, being detectives. And this is our darling Esme. Esme, say hello to the nice lady and gentleman.' The toddler gave a coy smile then turned her face away, placing a comforting thumb in her mouth.
'She's shy,' Maggie said, fondly remembering how her son Ollie had been exactly the same at that age. That was just six years ago, but it seemed like more than a half a lifetime away given everything they had been through together in that time.
Kirsty got up and walked over to her husband, wrapping an arm round his waist and gently brushing back a wisp of her daughter's hair. In an instant, Maggie could see why this power couple were in such demand. Young, successful and ridiculously good-looking, it was hard to think of an aspirational brand that wouldn't want to be associated with this perfect family. But Jimmy had told her about his one previous meeting with Kirsty Macallan, when, seemingly unconcerned at the presence of his wife, she had shamelessly delivered a proposition that most men would have found impossible to resist. And then there were the photographs from her father's funeral, images she had not yet seen but whose contents she was aware of. Once on a popular chat-show, she had heard a well-known actress lament what she described as her out-of-control libido, and if this was an affliction shared by Kirsty, then perhaps not everything in the Macallan household was as rosy as it looked at first sight. Or at least if it was, it wasn't likely to stay that way for long.
'You know why we're here, I assume?' Maggie said quietly. 'And forgive me, but I should have said sorry for your loss. It must have been terrible for you.'
'Yes, we're so sorry,' Jimmy added. 'Such an awful thing.'
'Yes it was awful,' Kirsty said, her eyes moistening. 'I still can't believe it happened, it still seems like a dream. But life must go on of course. And I'm so lucky to have these two. They're everything to me.'
Rory Overton gave his wife an affectionate kiss on the cheek. 'We'll be fine. And it'll get better in time. You know it will babe, trust me.'
'But I loved them both so much and I miss them terrib
ly.'
Maggie gave Jimmy a wry look, remembering him relating what her sister Elspeth had told him. Kirsty hated them both, more than me I think. Whether that was true or not would no doubt emerge in due course. But right now she had to ask the question, insensitive as it unarguably was.
'I don't really like to ask, but have you any idea why he did it? Your father I mean.'
Overton shot her a sharp look. 'I don't see how that's any business of yours.'
'It's ok Rory, really it is,' his wife said. 'The fact is, we don't know. And we'll never know the truth now, will we?'
'Kirsty's brother was useless,' Overton said, interjecting. 'And darling, before you say anything, you know it's true. I know you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but Peter was nice but seriously dim, not to put too fine a point on it. I think it frustrated the old man, how his son was making such a botch of running the estate. My belief is they were having a big argument about it and the Commodore just lost it.'
'I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry,' Maggie said, pondering on Overton's words. It seemed just so implausible, this hugely-senior ex-naval officer losing his cool and murdering his own son in cold blood. But he was probably right, it wasn't any business of theirs.
'So Posy's dead and buried then?' Jimmy said, evidently deciding a change of subject was called for. 'I was talking to your sister the other day and she told me about your rebranding and all that stuff.'
'I'd have done it at least two years ago,' Kirsty said, a hint of bitterness in her tone, 'because once I got all this then it made sense to leave the teenagers behind. But Elspeth couldn't see it, no matter how hard I tried to convince her.'
'She's still jealous babe,' Overton said. 'That's what it is. Jealous of me and jealous of Esme.' There was a horrible coldness to his tone that caused Maggie to bristle.
'And how did you two meet then?' Jimmy said out of the blue.
Maggie saw the Overtons exchange a knowing look as if to say, shall we tell them or not?
'A case of mistaken identity,' the husband said, smirking.
'He came up behind me at a party and put his hands on my boobs,' Kirsty giggled.
'Thought it was Elspeth of course,' he said. 'Easy mistake to make, isn't it?'
'So you were with Elspeth before?' Jimmy said, asking the question Maggie was about to float herself, and evidently struggling to hide his surprise. 'Wasn't that a bit awkward?'
'It was just a casual thing with me and Elspeth, always was. She wasn't looking for any commitment and that suited me fine at the time. But then I met Kirsty and everything changed.'
Maggie wondered if he really meant it, or whether he was saying it for his wife's benefit. She also wondered how Elspeth Macallan would feel, hearing their relationship so callously dismissed. She'd known Rory Overton for barely ten minutes but already she'd decided she didn't like him at all. Too smug and too smooth by half. But the fact was, it really was irrelevant to the matter in hand how she felt about Kirsty's husband, the matter in hand being the last will and testament of Commodore Roderick Macallan RN.
'Obviously we're here to talk about your father's will,' she reiterated, 'as agents of his executors Addison Redburn.'
'The provisions are quite clear,' Kirsty said sharply. 'I'm the elder twin and Ardmore House and the estate comes to me and my family.'
Jimmy gave her a quizzical look. 'The problem is your sister says exactly the same thing, she told me herself. So I'd be interested if you've got any suggestions as to how the situation can be resolved.'
'Resolved? There's nothing to resolve. I'm the oldest and that's all there is to say about it.'
'Aye, but can you prove it, that's going to be the issue,' Jimmy said. 'Can you prove it.' His tone was much blunter than Maggie would have dared to employ, and smiling to herself, she realised what he was doing. It was the old good-cop-bad-cop routine. They'd employed the technique in the past and it hadn't failed yet. And it seemed to have worked again, as the wind quickly went out of Kirsty's sails.
'Well I don't know,' she said. 'Why should I have to prove it, when everybody knows it's me that's the oldest?' She gave her husband an uncertain look. 'That's right Rory, isn't it?'
But it seemed that some of Rory Overton's self-assurance had temporarily evaporated in the face of Jimmy's inexorable logic.
'I don't know babe. Maybe these guys are right.'
'But you know it's me darling, you've always known.'
'Yeah babe, but I only know because you told me.' Maggie watched him shuffling uncomfortably, holding little Esme tighter to his chest and gently rocking her to and fro, even though she was perfectly content.
'Jimmy's right I'm afraid,' Maggie said quietly, gratefully assuming the good cop role, 'and of course it's not that we don't believe you Kirsty. But I hope you can see the difficulty.'
'But I've always known,' she replied, but this time there was resignation in her voice. 'So, what do we do?'
'There's only two options I'm afraid,' Maggie said. 'We either need to find proof that you are indeed the elder, or we have to agree a settlement between all three parties.'
'What do you mean, all three parties?' Overton said sharply.
'I met with Alison a couple of days ago, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that she's also preparing a challenge to the will. The thing is, I can see her being treated with some sympathy by a family court.'
'That's bollocks,' Overton said, swinging from his previous uncertainty to naked aggression. 'The will was quite clear. She gets nothing. Nothing at all.'
'Aye, but the thing is Rory,' Jimmy said in a mollifying tone, 'she was married to your father-in-law for over twenty years and she helped to bring up his kids. That's the sort of thing the court might see as a significant investment in the marriage, and so there's a pretty good chance that will be recognised.'
'And what makes you qualified to say that?' Overton sneered.
'Woah, don't shoot the messenger pal,' Jimmy said, spreading his arms in an apologetic gesture. 'I'm only repeating what Asvina Rani told us. It's up to you whether you believe her or not, but I would if I was in your shoes.'
'It's all right Rory,' Kirsty said. 'I think they may have a point. Especially if Alison tells them how my father treated her in the last few years. I don't think he would come out of it very well.'
'What do you mean?' Maggie asked softly. She thought she already knew what Kirsty Macallan was going to say.
'He...he was having an affair, we were pretty sure of that. All of us. Elspeth and Peter too.'
Maggie gave her a sympathetic look. 'And do you know who the other woman was?'
Kirsty shook her head. 'No, we never found out. Someone from the village or the base I expect.'
'What about Alison?' Jimmy asked. 'Do you think she knew?'
'She knew he was having an affair,' Kirsty said, frowning. 'That's one of the reasons the marriage broke down. But I'm not sure if she ever found out who it was with. It obviously didn't come to anything, whoever it was. I mean, my dad didn't run off into a glorious sunset or anything like that. I guess it just fizzled out like all the others.'
Like all the others. Maggie smiled to herself, thinking how that might play out in front of the sort of prim magistrate that often presided in the family court these days. It wasn't likely to deliver a good outcome for the Macallan twins, that was for sure.
'Look, there is a way out of this,' Maggie said, adopting a serious tone. 'Alison gave me a proposal of what she would accept in way of settlement, and I would thoroughly recommend you and your sister should try and come to an amicable agreement with your stepmother. Because if you don't, there's a risk of the court making an award that neither of you would like. To be honest, what she's asking for is a bit over the top, but I think there's room for negotiation. I suspect if you made a counter-proposal that lets her stay in the lodge, then she'd probably accept.'
Jimmy nodded. 'Aye, I'd do that if I were you two. You and Elspeth I mean. It just takes any risk off the table
. Smart move in my opinion.'
'No way, absolutely no way,' Overton said, shaking his head. 'Forget that. We get the house, we get the estate, we get half the money. That's what the will says and that's what we want, isn't it babe?'
It's actually Kirsty that would get it all, not you, Maggie thought, but she knew there would be little to gain in pointing this out. Rory Overton was hostile enough and she didn't want to throw any more fuel on the fire.
'Very well then,' she said, giving a sigh. 'It doesn't look as if there's anything more we can do for you.' She smiled at Kirsty. 'But let me ask again, just before we go. Are you absolutely sure there's no-one who can vouch for you being the elder?'
She gave a resigned look. 'I don't think so. I thought there might be some records at the hospital where we were born, but it closed ten years ago. Well, not actually closed, but they moved the old maternity unit to a new general hospital somewhere else in Vancouver. And they seem to have lost track of the births that happened before the move. I don't know if...'
'Right, I think we're done here,' Overton said, cutting his wife short. 'We'll be in touch if we think of anything.'
Maggie knew they wouldn't be.
◆◆◆
'Nice guy, eh?' Jimmy said, as at a leisurely pace, they made their way back to Parsons Green tube station. 'Not.'
'Never meet your heroes, isn't that what they say?' Maggie said, laughing.
He shot back a sardonic smile. 'Can I just remind you he played for England, so he's no hero of mine. But yeah, he's really up himself, no question about it. Horrible guy altogether.'
She nodded. 'He is. And god, he really wants the house and the estate, doesn't he? More than she does, it seems to me.'
'That doesn't surprise me,' Jimmy said. 'I read an article about him in a rugby magazine a few months ago. He's really into his shooting and fishing, big-time. So I'm thinking this is probably his wee retirement plan, now that he's given up the game. I guess he needs to find something else to do with the rest of his life.'