by Val Penny
Bear frowned at him, but Neil wasn’t looking at him.
“He was here, you numpties, all locked up nice and tight. But did I hear you saying Mr Morrison was in visiting? Is Arjun behind that attack? I’ll fucking see him hang if he is.”
“Calm down, Jamie. You’re right. Arjun was here. No chance he did it. We just had to check because he was identified by a witness, wrongly, as it happens.”
“Aye, but he could of been behind it, big man. We both know he’s got a long reach. But my pop’s is longer.”
“Don’t you or your father do anything foolish, Jamie. Are you here to visit your pop?” Bear asked.
“I am that. I have a feeling Arjun might trip on his way back from Chapel on Sunday. Shame that.”
***
There are too many police on the prowl about Eileen’s attack. I don’t like it. I just wish it would all calm down, and I could get on with my life. She’ll want to get on with her life too. Or I suppose she will. I wonder if she ever wishes she’d died like the others. Or maybe she’s happy just to be alive. I suppose it depends how you look at things.
I don’t think there’s any chance of them identifying me. I hope not.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hunter opened the door for Meera and they stepped into The Persevere Bar for a drink. He noticed the captain of his darts team at the bar.
“Hello, Clouseau. Fancy throwing a few arrows before the match?”
“No thanks, Jim. Meera and I are just in for a quick drink before it starts.”
“Don’t tell me. You and your lovely lady will go upstairs without me.”
“That’s guaranteed. What’s not is whether there’s anything in the fridge that’ll make a meal.”
“Nice to see you, Meera,” Jim said. “Tom’s due in shortly. We’ll get the match started then.”
Hunter ordered a red wine for Meera, pints for himself and Jim, and took a seat with Meera at the far corner of the pub.
“Any word from Ailsa on that poor girl?”
“Shocking, isn’t it? Ailsa said she’s never seen anything like it.” Meera sipped her drink and went on. “Apparently her name is Eileen Maguire, and her sister is Linda. Could that be Jamie Thomson’s girlfriend?”
“It is. Tim took them up to the hospital. From the autopsy, does it seem the first two attacks were carried out by the same person?”
“Yes, thank goodness. We wouldn’t want more than one nutter like that running around.”
“I agree. Still, although Eileen’s injuries are horrendous, she did see the man and can describe him to us.”
“Surely the staff at the hotel can do that too.”
“Yes, they’ve done that. One of the suspects appears to be me.”
“I’ll vouch for you, darling,” Meera said. She sat in silence, drinking her wine, thinking about the future Eileen faced. It was only when Hunter touched her arm that her thoughts came back into the room.
“Shall we have another before my match?”
“Yes, Hunter. Let’s do that.”
***
“I’m thrilled that we won that match. I didn’t think we had a hope, but I’m sorry it was just bacon and eggs for dinner,” Hunter said.
“And tomato. Don’t forget the tomato. Why do you always have your heating go off so early? It’s freezing in here.”
“Just so I can watch your nipples becoming erect before I suck them.”
“You are a bad boy, Hunter Wilson.”
“But don’t tell anybody, it’ll ruin my image.” He cuddled up beside her in bed. “Gosh, you are cold,” he said.
“I told you. It’s freezing. Feel my feet.” She raised her foot to warm it on his groin.
“Oh Meera, you bitch.” He gasped. “Let’s warm you up, woman.”
They began their foreplay slowly and gently, right up until the time Hunter’s phone rang.
“You better tell me you’re going to ignore that,” Meera said.
“Yep.” He rolled on top of her and felt her legs spread underneath him inviting him in.
The phone rang again.
“Don’t you dare, Hunter. Don’t you dare.”
He slid inside her and they continued caressing each other long after they had come.
“You are beautiful,” he said. “Why is a brilliant, beautiful woman like you going out with a lowly DI?”
“I keep asking myself the very same thing.”
“Now who’s the bad one?” he asked. His phone rang again. “Is madam sufficiently satisfied that I may now look at my phone and find out who’s trying to get hold of me?”
“She is, indeed.”
“Thank God for that. I’m spent.” He rolled over and picked up his phone. “Bugger, it’s Tim, and I’ve got five missed calls. I better phone back.”
“Thanks for calling back. You remember that Lucky asked me to pick him up from rehab because his cousin had gone walk about?”
“Did you call me at this time of night to remind me of that?”
“No, boss.”
“Then cut to the chase, young Myerscough.”
“Felix has re-appeared at Lucky’s estate. He’s saying he went to Ibiza, but Lucky says that he seems anxious because he thinks Felix said that the Spanish police have issued a warrant for his arrest.”
“Then why didn’t they stop him at the border? What’s he been up to?”
“Lucky said that Felix thinks it’s about a supposed assault. There’s no chance that that’s true because he believes his cousin is quite the catch. He wants me to sort it out because he says it’s a misunderstanding and, of course, Felix is innocent.”
“I wonder if he is. I take it Felix won’t be going anywhere tonight.”
“Doubt it.”
“Then we’ll have a briefing tomorrow at eight. See if you can find out anymore by then.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And Tim, next time, make sure it’s urgent.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hunter looked around the room and did a quick head count. They were all there. Good, he thought. He wouldn’t have to introduce this new guy more than once. He took a sip of his coffee and whispered to the man just to double check how to pronounce his name. His was a good team that he could depend on, he hoped the new detective would fit in well. Then he called the room to order.
“Bear, do you and Tim have breakfast here just to irritate me, or is there another reason that I’m not aware of?”
“There are several reasons, boss. Irritating you is an added bonus.” The big man grinned. “Anyway, why pick on us? Colin’s eating too. That apple doesn’t stand a chance in the hands of a detective sergeant.”
“Funny man,” Hunter said. “Right, pay attention. We have a new member of the team this morning. DI Oskar Krol has joined us from Dunfermline, Fife.”
“Are you sure he’s not from Gdansk, Poland, boss?” Colin asked.
“Good guess, but no, originally from Krakow, now living in Dunfermline with my wife Heather and kids Luke and Daisy. Any more questions?” The man spoke in fluent but slightly accented English. He looked around the room and met the gaze of each person there.
“So, boss, are you still pretending to be DCI Mackay, and DI Krol is now pretending to be you?”
“Nobody is pretending to be anybody, Bear. I am acting DCI, and DI Krol is our new DI. He is a permanent member of our team, so do your best to make a good impression, all of you.”
“We’ll do our best, but that may not last long,” Tim said.
“Right, while the illusion is being sustained, what did you find out about Eileen, yesterday, Rache?”
“She has been wakened up from her induced coma, boss, and she knows she has lost her eyes and is blind.”
“How is she reacting to that?”
“I don’t it’s really sunk in properly. She’s not reacting much.”
“It’s weird. She still has her tear ducts, so she still cries tears, but her eyes are gone. You can’t see the sockets, she’s still ban
daged up, but you can see wet tears running down her cheeks,” Mel said.
“What did she tell you about her date?”
“She said they met online and the first photos she saw of him showed a tall man with long legs with a dog on the beach at North Berwick.”
“Mel, I spoke to John Hamilton. He has moved to North Berwick to work as an estate agent with his brother. He’s moved in with his brother too,” Nadia said. “His brother was out with clients as was his girlfriend, but I told him we’d need to speak with both of them.”
“Interesting. Where do they live?” Hunter asked.
“In a flat, converted from a large house, on the outskirts of North Berwick. Apparently there are six flats in the property now. They live on the middle floor.”
“Eileen’s date told her he lived in a large house on the edge of the town, with his cousin,” Rachael said.
“Eileen’s date may not live anywhere near North Berwick though. How much of what he told her can we believe?” Hunter asked.
“Just like John Hamilton may not have a girlfriend,” Colin said.
“Eileen did say that her date, Frederick was the name he used, wasn’t as tall as she thought he would be when she met him. Apparently he looked taller on the dating website because his photos had been taken at such an angle that his legs looked longer than they were in real life. But he had the same dark hair and brown eyes and a dark beard,” Rachael said. “I asked her if there was any red colour in his beard. She said she thought not, and that it was just dark. To be honest, boss, we couldn’t question her for long, the nurses wouldn’t allow it.”
“Can we get copies of the photos from the dating company?”
“They won’t release them. Data protection or something.”
“How about client protection so that they don’t get their eyes hacked out of their faces?” Hunter smacked the desk angrily.
“John isn’t all that tall,” Tim said quietly.
“Nobody’s that tall compared to you,” Mel said. “We did see Jamie Thomson and Linda when we were coming out from Eileen, and they were going in. Jamie is keen to learn the identity of Eileen’s attacker and give them rough justice.”
“That’s all I bloody need,” Hunter said. “What did you find out, Tim?”
“Each member of staff seemed to identify a different mugshot, boss, including you.”
“Admittedly I was there. Who else do we have in the frame?”
“Lucky, Felix, John, and Arjun Mansoor.”
“Boss, I spoke to the duty officer at HMP Edinburgh,” Neil said.
Hunter noticed that he was pleased to have information to add to the briefing.
“He told me that Mansoor does get out on day release as he’s nearing the end of his sentence, but the times don’t match up. Our guy was out for an evening meal. Mansoor has to be back at Saughton by 5.30pm. I don’t think they let him out again for dinner dates, but to be honest I didn’t ask.”
“I agree that’s a safe bet, Neil,” Hunter said.
“I was told the same when I went to the prison,” Bear said.
“Good. And Tim, have you managed to find out any more about that Spanish arrest warrant for Felix Buchanan?”
“I’m waiting on a call, boss. I know Felix is back at the estate with Lucky.”
“What time period was he away? It can’t have been long.”
“A few days, no more than that. He wasn’t making much sense when he called me last night.”
“No change there then,” Bear said.
“Chase that up, Tim, and let me know what the Spanish say.” Hunter said.
Hunter thought for a moment. Then he looked up. “In the meantime, Rachael, you and Mel go back to see what more you can get from Eileen. Did you and Nadia get anything from the CCTV in the hotel, Colin?”
“I think we’ve got a likely suspect. He always keeps his head down. Seems to know where the hotel cameras are.”
“See if the computer boffins can enhance any of the photo frames, will you?”
“Of course, boss.”
“Oskar, I’m not happy about the coincidences between what Eileen said and the changes in John Hamilton’s life. I don’t believe in coincidences,” Hunter said to his new DI.
“That’s something we have in common. Do you want me to organise a warrant?”
“Do you think we have enough?”
“I can try. Office and flat?”
“Definitely.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It’s amazing to think that the colour of your eyes is dictated by the amount of melanin in your body. I find it so interesting. Melanin is a type of pigment, and it gives the specific colour to a person’s hair, skin and, most importantly for the collection, the eyes of each of us. The appearance of the iris, that’s the coloured ring around the eye’s black pupil, depends on how much of the natural pigment, melanin, it contains. The more melanin in your iris, the darker your eyes will look. None of us can choose our melanin levels; they are determined by the genes we inherit from our ancestors.
For example, my irises are dark brown, so my eyes have more melanin than light coloured eyes. Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes had an extremely specific, and rare, amount of melanin, as a result of which her eyes were a particularly beautiful violet colour. Of course, there are various shades of light eyes: blues, greens and greys, with many in-between. Violet may have been Taylor’s pigmentation, she had pale skin too. That would also be affected by the amount of melanin she had. I had never seen truly violet eyes until I saw Eileen’s. They were stunning. I had to add them to the collection. You can understand, can’t you?
It is just a bit inconvenient that she survived. I must be careful. She can’t be aware that I’m around, watching how she’s managing.
***
Mel and Rachael arrived back at the hospital. With parking at a premium, Mel decided she would chance her luck and stick a ‘Police on Call’ note in the windscreen, rather than faffing about trying to find a space. She looked at Rachael and shrugged, and then the detectives made their way towards reception. Mel asked if Eileen was still in ICU and was pleased to learn that she had been well enough to be moved to a high dependency bed. She thought of that as progress, bearing in mind the long road to recovery ahead of Eileen.
Mel followed Rachael along the corridor to the lift, and just as the door was closing a man stuck his arm in to stop the motion. The doors opened and Rachael held the button to allow him time to enter. He smiled, thanked them, and then turned away from them to face the door. He pressed the same number of floor that the detectives were going to. It’s a busy hospital, Mel thought.
She stood staring idly at the back of the man’s head. He was just under six foot tall and his thick, dark hair was neatly trimmed. She couldn’t see his face but had noticed that he had a bushy moustache and heavy dark stubble. It would be easy to add a costume beard to his chin and make him into their attacker.
Now I’m being silly, she thought.
They all got out of the lift on the same floor and turned to walk in the same direction towards the high dependency wards. Coincidence thought Mel.
“The boss doesn’t like coincidences,” she said.
“What? No, he doesn’t,” said Rachael. “What made you say that?”
“I’ll tell you later. Hang back a bit.”
Mel slowed her pace and Rachael followed suit. It allowed Mel to watch the man speak to the nurse behind the desk. Then he turned and caught sight of the detectives walking slowly towards him. He turned to walk away and passed them as he went back towards the lift.
“Who was that man?” Mel asked the nurse.
“Mr Donovan. He came to see Miss Maguire.”
“And who is Mr Donovan when he’s at home?”
“He’s her lawyer, not that it’s any of your business. Now, how can I help you?”
Mel showed the nurse her ID. We are here to see Miss Maguire too. And believe me, when we’re investigating two murders and a brutal at
tack, everything is our business. Why did he leave in such a hurry without seeing her?”
“He said he’d forgotten his briefcase. He’s gone to get it. He said he’ll be back soon.”
“I’m going to speak to the staff nurse, to see if you’re allowed to go in to see Miss Maguire. Wait here.”
The senior nurse that Mel and Rachael had seen the previous day came towards them. She was smiling. “Detectives Anderson and Grant, isn’t it?”
Mel nodded. “That’s us. We wondered if we could have a bit more of a chat with Eileen Maguire today.”
“I don’t see a problem with that. She’s much better, but to be honest, I don’t think the enormity of her injury has really hit her yet. She’s in the room second on the left, but please don’t tire her out too much, although I think it will be good for her to think she is being helpful.”
“We’ll do our best.” Mel led the way towards Eileen’s room. “You better go in first, you’re the VSO.”
Rachael nodded. “I’ve spoken to the boss about that.”
“What?”
“A secondment to the Major Investigation Team. If I got it, I could work more closely with Jane.”
“Do you think he’ll let you go?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve asked.” She knocked on the door before entering the room. “Hello, Eileen. It’s Rachael and Mel here. Staff nurse says you’re a bit better today. How are you feeling?”
“Blind, Rachael. It’s very dark in here now.”
“We met a Mr Donovan in the lift. Is that your lawyer?”
“I don’t know him, but Jamie said he’d see about getting me a lawyer. That’s probably him. He’s into personal injury. Jamie says his pop, Ian, knows him and he’ll do a good job for me. Sue the dating agency and everything. Jamie says I’ll get a packet, but I’d rather be able to see.”
“I can understand that.”
“Sorry, Mel, but you really can’t.”
“Jamie and Linda not here today?”
“Linda’s coming up later. Jamie’s working today. But he did phone for a chat.”
“That’s good,” Rachael said. “Eileen, do you mind if Mel and I sit down? We’d like to go through everything you can remember about Frederick, again.”