Lies to Tell

by Marion Todd

  The doctor caught Clare’s eye and she gave him a nod.

  ‘Marek,’ the doctor said, his voice gentle, ‘did you think that you might jump? Was it a real possibility?’

  Marek looked at the doctor and shook his head. Then he turned back to Clare. ‘It was so cold out there, you know? The wind. My sweatshirt was flapping and, when I looked down at the water, it was black. So black.’ He closed his eyes. ‘I imagined myself plunging down, hitting the water and going down, down and maybe not coming up.’ He opened his eyes again. ‘I couldn’t do that,’ he said. ‘I haven’t the courage.’

  Clare leaned forward. ‘I think you’re very brave, Marek,’ she said. She caught the doctor’s eye to check he was happy with Marek’s response and he nodded. ‘Go on,’ she said.

  ‘When the police came, she disappeared. I’ve no idea where she went. And I was so glad to see them. And the ambulance. When I saw that I knew I was safe.’ He shivered again. ‘Or I thought I was…’

  Clare asked Marek again if he was happy to continue and he said that he was.

  ‘Can you tell me when you next saw the woman?’ she asked.

  Marek swallowed. ‘This morning. I was having breakfast. There’s a table in the ward and we all sat round eating. And something made me look up. I saw her outside the door. She was watching me and I knew she’d come to kill me.’

  ‘What made you think that?’ Clare asked.

  ‘She’d followed me all yesterday – in Tayport and then up to the bridge. And then she was here. In a psychiatric unit. Why else would she have come?’ His eyes were swimming with tears now. ‘I thought she was going to kill me,’ he whispered.

  The doctor reached over to a cupboard and took out a box of tissues which he passed across to Marek. He took one and wiped his eyes then blew his nose. ‘Sorry,’ he said eventually. ‘It’s just horrible, remembering…’

  Clare met his eye. ‘You’re doing so well, Marek. You really are.’ She paused for a moment to allow him to blow his nose again then she went on. ‘If you’re happy to continue, maybe you could tell me what you did – when you saw her watching you?’

  Marek flicked a glance at the doctor. ‘I told one of the other men that I wanted a bit of privacy, you know? I winked and he said Had I got someone lined up for a quickie? I said it was something like that and he said he knew just the place. I then said the girl I was seeing had a friend on her ward who was jealous and that we had to avoid being seen by her. I said she had white-blonde hair. He laughed and said leave it to him. He went out and checked the corridor for me and he led me to the store room. And that’s where you found me.’

  Clare’s phone began to ring. She cursed herself for not having it on silent. She nodded to Chris to pause the recording and looked to see who was calling. Jim. It wasn’t like him to interrupt her unless it was urgent. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I’ll have to take this. Chris, could you stay…’

  Chris indicated that he would and she left the room. In the corridor she swiped to take the call. ‘Jim?’

  ‘Something I need you to see, Clare. I’m going to send you a short video clip.’

  Clare ended the call and waited for the clip to arrive. After a few minutes her phone pinged and it began downloading the video. She could see it was about thirty seconds long and that it was part of the footage from the camera covering the public enquiry desk at the station. She watched Marek and Jim in conversation, Jim’s head bent as he wrote down the details of Johannes’s disappearance.

  And then she saw herself coming into shot, with a clearly nervous Tamsin in tow. Marek glanced across at them, first at Clare, then at Tamsin. And then Clare saw why Jim had sent the clip. She saw Marek’s eyes fixed on Tamsin and hers on him. She held his gaze and his brow clouded as if he was confused by her presence in the station. And then his expression changed to one of fear.

  Chapter 29

  She called Jim back immediately. ‘It’s hard to be sure on my phone, Jim. The screen is so small. But do you agree Marek recognised Tamsin?’

  ‘Definitely. And what’s more, he was frightened of her. You maybe can’t see too clearly on your phone but on the monitor here there’s no doubt about it. That explains why he shot off. I didn’t realise it until I reviewed the footage.’

  ‘Okay, Jim. I need to think what to do next. Leave it with me.’

  She sat thinking for a minute then called the DCI. He answered immediately, his ‘Hi Clare’ a little stiff and formal.

  ‘Al, I’ve no time to explain. We need to bring Tamsin in for questioning.’

  ‘Impossible. She has immunity.’

  ‘From dealing arms. But I’ve reason to believe she knew our murder victim and his friend. You’ll have to trust me.’

  ‘Clare, we’d have to go through Serious Organised Crime.’

  ‘Then could you please do it? Please, Al?’

  He sighed. ‘You’d better have a bloody good reason.’

  ‘I do. Trust me. Just get them to bring her in.’

  * * *

  Chris eyed Clare as she came back into the room but she said nothing, resuming her seat. Chris restarted the recording and the doctor looked pointedly at his watch.

  ‘I do have ward rounds, Inspector…’

  Clare nodded. ‘I’d like to ask Marek a few more questions, if you can bear with me, and then, I’d like to take him to St Andrews – for his safety.’

  Marek stared at her, his eyes wide. ‘What is it, Inspector?’

  Clare took out her phone and opened up the video footage which she had paused at the moment Marek’s expression had changed on seeing Tamsin. But she didn’t immediately show it to him. ‘Marek, first of all, I must remind you that you are still under caution. Do you understand?’

  Marek said that he did and Clare went on.

  ‘I’d like to ask you about a woman called Tamsin Quinn.’

  The colour drained from Marek’s face but he said nothing.

  ‘You do know Tamsin, don’t you?’

  Again, Marek said nothing.

  Clare pushed her phone across the desk to show Marek the still from the station camera. ‘This is you, last Friday. The day you came into the station to report your friend Johannes Muller missing. Do you agree that this photo shows you speaking to my sergeant?’

  Marek nodded.

  ‘For the tape, please, Marek.’

  ‘Yes, that’s me.’

  ‘Thank you. Now, Marek, at this point in the footage I entered the station with Tamsin Quinn. This recording has been viewed by Sergeant Douglas who you spoke to and both he and I are agreed. We believe, from your expression, that you recognised Tamsin Quinn. I also believe that you were frightened enough by seeing her there that you left the station without completing the missing person report. Is that correct?’

  Marek was looking at the floor now.

  ‘Marek?’

  He raised his head. ‘Where is she – Tamsin?’

  ‘Let’s not worry about that for now, Marek. But I think, with the doctor’s permission, that I’d like to take you back to St Andrews Police Station where you’ll be placed into protective custody. You’ll be far safer than you could be here.’ She glanced at the doctor who inclined his head.

  ‘I’ll write a prescription for a mild sedative and send it to the pharmacy.’

  Clare rose. ‘If you give it to me, we’ll have it dispensed in St Andrews. It’ll be far quicker and we do need to act without delay.’ She turned to Chris. ‘Will you accompany Marek to his ward please, Chris, and help him get his things together? The sooner we’re on our way the better.’

  * * *

  They drove back to St Andrews in silence, Clare and Chris in the front, Marek in the back with Gillian. Clare had called ahead to arrange a duty solicitor for Marek and she saw the solicitor’s car pull up behind them as they arrived. Once they were safely inside the station, Clare detailed Robbie and Gillian to stay with Marek at all times.

  ‘Except when he’s speaking to his solicitor. Ot
herwise, I don’t want him left on his own. Get young Gary to nip out for some sandwiches but do not leave his side. He goes to the loo, I want you in there tearing off the toilet paper for him. Got it? I’ll be in to question him as soon as I can. Meantime, stick to him like glue.’

  Clare sought out Jim next. ‘Can you get on to the cops holding Rose Grant and tell them to send her to Cupar please? I don’t want her in the same station as Marek. If he sees her he might clam up.’

  Jim went off to make the call and Clare took Chris into her office. ‘Sorry I’ve not had the chance to let you see this, Chris. But I needed to get Marek back here for his protection. Have a look at it now,’ she said, handing him her phone.

  Chris viewed the clip a couple of times then shook his head. ‘All this time – we’ve had Tamsin in protective custody and she’s the reason he legged it.’

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘Do you know why?’

  ‘Not yet but I plan to interview him shortly. I just need to gather my thoughts.’

  ‘You think he’s been laundering money for her? Or Phil?’

  ‘Could be. Or maybe there’s some other reason he’s frightened of her. Who knows what she’s been up to. She’s certainly no angel. I’ve spoken to the DCI and asked him to bring her in.’

  ‘But she has immunity, doesn’t she?’

  ‘Yes, for the arms charges. But if there’s something else going on – something that involves Marek – we could legitimately charge her with that.’

  ‘You reckon Serious Organised Crime will let you near her?’

  ‘They’d better, Chris.’ Clare’s expression was grim. ‘We have one dead student and another almost killed. I’d bet my eye teeth Tamsin’s involved.’

  ‘You’re not planning to bring her here, are you?’

  ‘No way. Can’t risk her running into Marek again. Not until we have his statement. We can send her to Cupar or Dundee, even. They’ll have room.’ She checked her watch. ‘Come on – let’s see what he has to say for himself.’

  Marek seemed more relaxed in the police interview room. ‘I feel safe here,’ he said, giving Clare a smile.

  She returned the smile and began the tape, reminding Marek that he was under caution. He confirmed that he understood the caution and the interview began. Clare started by asking him what his connection with Tamsin Quinn was.

  ‘We were in a pub one night, Johannes and I. Just chatting and this woman approached us.’

  ‘Can you identify this woman?’ Clare said. ‘For the tape?’

  ‘It was Tamsin Quinn. She sat down and said she was a businesswoman looking for some extra help. She said she thought we were students and that she was looking for someone good with numbers; that it was tricky work and she needed someone intelligent and reliable.’ He smiled. ‘I suppose we were flattered – that she’d chosen us.’

  ‘Go on,’ Clare said.

  ‘She said in her kind of business she needed to move money around different accounts but that the banks wanted to charge her for each transaction. She said it was cheaper to do it with non-business accounts but that she already had several and the banks wouldn’t allow her to open any more.’ He paused to clear his throat then went on. ‘So Johannes asked what kind of transactions she meant.’

  ‘And what did she say?’ Clare asked.

  ‘She said she represented small start-up companies. That they had limited capital and she helped them to make short-term investments that earned better interest than they’d get from the banks. She said if we were interested in helping these businesses they’d pay us a commission.’

  Clare had to admit Tamsin certainly knew how to put a positive spin on a criminal activity. ‘Go on,’ she said and Marek continued.

  ‘She said that everyone needs a leg up at some point and that these were small local businesses who would be so grateful for the help.’ He looked from Clare to Chris. ‘She made it sound such a positive thing to do.’

  ‘Marek, bearing in mind you are still under caution, were you aware that Tamsin was asking you to assist in laundering money? That to do so is a criminal offence and that the money had, in all probability, come from other criminal activities?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not at first. But by the time we realised what we were doing it was too late. She said we were in it up to our necks and if she went down she’d drag us down with her. And – you know – the money she was paying us for doing it came in handy. Made a change from watching every penny. So we talked about it and decided we’d do it till the end of the year then stop. We thought if we went away for the summer she’d find someone else.’

  Clare nodded at this. Then she said, ‘Did you ever see the woman we believe to be Rose Grant when you met with Tamsin? She’s the woman who you claim chased you onto the Tay Road Bridge and who you later saw at Greystane House.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes. The first time Tamsin gave us money to pay into our accounts she was there too.’ His brow clouded. ‘I still don’t know how she found me.’

  Chris said, ‘You’ve an iPhone, haven’t you?’

  Marek said that he had.

  ‘Did you ever hand it over to her?’

  ‘Yes. But only for a few minutes. She said she had to put a few numbers into our phones. Hers and Tamsin’s. Maybe someone else – I can’t remember.’

  ‘I’m guessing you have Find My installed?’

  Marek shrugged. ‘Maybe. I think so.’

  ‘She’s probably gone to Location Services and turned on Sharing Your Location. It can be set to Indefinitely. Once you disappeared she’d be able to track you to within fifty metres, if the Wi-Fi and GPS were strong enough.’

  Marek shook his head. ‘I never thought to check.’

  Clare glanced at Chris, wondering if her own phone had the location shared. She made a mental note to check this later then turned her attention back to the interview. ‘Marek, let’s move on from that please. At some point in the future I’ll question you again to compile a detailed account of your transactions for Tamsin. But I’d like to turn to Johannes now. Can you tell me when you last saw him?’

  Marek didn’t speak for a minute. Then he said, ‘Two days before I came here to report him missing.’

  ‘And what did you think had happened to him?’

  Marek began to fiddle with a loose thread on the cuff of his sweatshirt. ‘I wasn’t sure – he said he was going to speak to Tamsin. Said we were doing a lot of work for just five per cent. He wanted more.’ He shivered at the memory. ‘I said he shouldn’t. Said we didn’t know what she might do but he laughed it off. He said we knew too much about her. That she’d have no choice but to agree. He was going to tell her it was ten per cent or he’d go to the police.’

  Clare groaned inwardly. Stupid naïve lads. They had no idea what the likes of Tamsin would do. Life was cheap in her world.

  ‘I think it was the Wednesday,’ Marek said. ‘He was going to see her on the Wednesday night. Make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. At least that’s what he said. I tried to persuade him not to but he said I’d thank him when we were raking in twice as much. And so I waited. Waited for him to call. Tell me how it had gone. But he didn’t call. And the next day he wasn’t at his lectures. I saw Lloyd and Tim in the union coffee bar and I asked them if they’d seen him but they hadn’t. So, on the Friday, I thought I should report him missing. And – well, you know the rest.’

  From within her pocket, Clare’s phone began to buzz. She slipped it out and glanced down at the display. Moira, her neighbour. What on earth did she want? She ended the interview and excused herself, leaving Marek with his solicitor. ‘Moira? What’s up?’

  Clare could tell from the sound that Moira was outdoors.

  ‘Oh Clare, I’m so sorry but it’s Benjy. He slipped his lead while I was walking him and he’s running along the road. I can’t catch him and I’m worried he’ll be run over – or cause an accident.’

  Clare swore under her breath. Benjy! Of all the days.

  ‘Bill h
as the car today,’ Moira went on, ‘or I’d drive after him.’

  ‘Don’t worry Moira. I’ll come and round him up.’ Clare ended the call and put her head round the interview room door. ‘I’m sorry, Marek – something urgent’s come up. I’ll have to leave you here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  He waved this away. ‘It’s fine, Inspector. I’m relieved to be here.’

  Clare indicated to Chris to follow her out of the room. ‘I need a lift, Chris. Now, please. Can you get the car keys and I’ll explain as we go?’

  While Chris drove her along the Craigtoun Road, keeping an eye out for Benjy, Clare tried the DCI again. She had to make sure they detained Tamsin before she set off for her new life. She tried three times and each time the call was declined. ‘Well fuck you,’ she said, hanging up after the third attempt.

  Her phone rang almost immediately but she saw that it was Diane.

  ‘Clare, I need to speak to you,’ Diane said. ‘It’s pretty important. I—’

  Clare cut across her. ‘Diane, I’m sorry. I can’t talk right now. I’m right in the middle of something. Look, I’ll call at the weekend. Okay?’ She ended the call without waiting for an answer.

  ‘There he is,’ Chris said, spotting Benjy trotting along the side of the road. He pulled the car into the verge and Clare jumped out, whistling to the little dog. Benjy turned, delighted to see her, and scampered back towards the car, flinging himself against her legs.

  ‘You are a very bad dog,’ she said, taking him by the scruff of the neck and shoving him into the back of the car. ‘Can you take me home please, Chris? And if you hang on I’ll put him back in the house then we are going to pick up Tamsin Quinn and to hell with the Serious Organised Crime squad.’

  As Chris reversed the car into Clare’s drive she saw that her own car had been moved. ‘Oh, it’s back,’ she said. ‘They must have fixed it. Look, Chris, time is against us. You head for the Market Street flat now and keep Tamsin there. I’ll follow on in my own car.’