Her eyes widened. ‘Like you for example?’
‘Maybe. Hey, are you going to this gala thing later this month?’
‘You’re joking, aren’t you? Having to smile sweetly and make polite chit-chat with all those boring politicians …’
‘Come on, Angela. Come with me. We’ll have a bit of a laugh, load up on champagne and nibbles, then take off to a nightclub. What do you say?’ He saw her hesitating, and said with a slight bitterness, knowing it would change her mind, ‘You can dress in your sexiest best, and show the Guv’nor just what he’s missing out on.’
***
‘Hello, Sheila. May I come in?’
‘Neil.’ She held the door for him. ‘Sorry about the mess.’
‘It’s all right.’ But it was true, there were clothes and papers scattered everywhere, dirty dishes piled high on the tiny counter, empty pizza boxes stacked on the floor. Her own appearance wasn’t much better, her hair unwashed, unbrushed, stains on her shirt.
‘You need to take care of yourself, Sheila.’
‘Do I? Do I? Why do I need to do anything, when Katie’s … when Katie’s …’ She sat down heavily on the bed. ‘There’s no hope any more, is there?’
He drew up a chair and sat down close to her. ‘No. I’m sorry. Are the Homicide people keeping you up to date? I tried to come round a few times last week, but you were never in, and you didn’t respond to any of my texts …’
‘Your texts? I’m sorry, my phone has been playing up, I don’t think I got any texts. I went up to Glasgow for a few days, to visit my parents’ grave. And then I got the news … I came straight back … They … they told me they’re questioning someone, the man she was going away with, the man you let go.’
‘They still don’t have enough to charge him.’
‘Because he’s been too clever?’
‘I can’t comment on that, Sheila, it’s not my case any more. I’m sorry if that’s not an acceptable answer …’
‘I’m sorry I was such a bitch.’
‘Well … that’s OK. As they say, you don’t join the police force to win any popularity contests.’
‘I did what you asked me that day. I went through her emails.’
‘Did you notice anything?’
‘Yes. I went right back to the ones she sent when she was living with those two girls – Annie and Philippa. Those were exuberant, full of everything she was doing, pages and pages. But once she moved in with Gordon, they gradually became more and more subdued, more restrained, she told me less and less. I can’t think why I didn’t notice at the time.’
‘And the ones she sent from London?’
‘They were just the same.’
‘Sheila, I spoke with Katie’s friend Kirsty Douglas, and from information she gave me, I believe Katie was in an abusive relationship, that Gordon was a controlling and manipulative man. She came to London to get away from him.’
‘But if that’s the case, then shouldn’t the emails have got happier again?’
‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’
‘And what does this have to do with Shaun Taverner?’
‘Absolutely nothing.’ Shaun Taverner was the obvious, easy answer. But to Neil that left too many oddities unexplained. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘you and I are going to do the dishes. I’ll wash while you dry. And then we’ll tackle that pile of rubbish.’
Chapter 20
‘Davida, these are our good friends, Janey and Neil.’
The four of them, Janey, Neil, Felicity and Garry, crowded into the tiny dressing-room. Davida was sitting at a small table covered with pots of stage make-up, cotton wool pads, a signed photograph of the leading actor, and several bouquets of flowers. She was still in her costume, a long, heavy, red velvet gown with a corded belt.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ said Neil. ‘That was an extremely powerful performance. Lady Macbeth has to be one of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters, more so even than Macbeth himself.’
‘It’s a very feminist role, don’t you think?’ said Davida. ‘Such a ruthless, ambitious woman, in a time when those were considered the qualities of a man.’
‘Yes. If she had turned those talents to good, instead of evil … how do you prepare for a role like that? How do you think yourself inside her head?’
As they talked, Neil watched Davida remove her make-up, watched her natural face emerge – a small mole just above her lip, a tiny blemish on her right cheek. Then she put her finger to her eyes and they changed from brown to a pale blue.
‘She couldn’t do it in the end though, could she?’ Davida said. ‘She set things up for Macbeth to commit the murder, but she didn’t have it in her to do it herself.’
‘No,’ said Neil thoughtfully. ‘No … you’re absolutely right …’
It was getting warm in the room, with the five of them in there. Janey wished there was somewhere for her to sit. She noticed that Felicity was looking a little pale, and saw Garry put his arm around her waist, as if to support her. His hand rested almost protectively against her stomach and Janey suddenly guessed that she was pregnant, too. How lovely, she thought. She liked Felicity, they were becoming close friends, and now they would be mothers together … She reached for Neil, and he caught hold of her hand and held it tight.
‘Can you feel the love?’ Davida quipped. ‘Well, I’m going to ask you all to leave now, so I can get changed. I’ll meet you outside in twenty minutes. And boy am I looking forward to that drink!’
On the drive home, Janey said, ‘You’re very quiet. Is something the matter?’
‘I’m fine, darling. I’m just … thinking.’ He forced his mind back to the moment. ‘Are you OK? It’s been a long evening. You’re not too tired?’
‘Stop fussing over me, Neil. I’m not ill, I’m having a baby, it’s what women’s bodies are made to do. But you … you insist on treating me like some delicate piece of glass.’
Neil glanced sideways at her, grinned. ‘I think you love it really,’ he said.
Neil found it impossible to get to sleep that night, going over and over the facts of Katie Campbell’s case until his head hurt. What had Mrs Taverner/Burstall said? “Until that woman started playing her games with him.” An idea was forming in his mind that was so outlandish he could hardly believe it, but suddenly the pieces started falling into place – where was Katie when she was chatting online with Shaun? Gordon Renfrew had an alibi for Friday the thirteenth, an alibi that seemingly Katie had given him, in her insistence that she and Shaun go away on that day. A suitcase with a broken wheel goes into a rubbish skip … In the end he got up and wrote it all down, answering one question after another, starting at the very beginning, when Katie had lost her job.
Janey came out from the bedroom, rubbing her eyes.
‘Neil, what are you doing? It’s almost two.’
He looked up. ‘Katie Campbell. I know how it was done.’
Tired as she was, she sat down beside him. ‘Neil, that’s marvellous. How?’
‘You told me once that I was a good detective because I could see past what was directly in front of me. But I didn’t. And what was in front of me was nothing more than a stage set for a play. This is what I think happened …’
When he had finished, he said, ‘It’s mad, isn’t it?’
‘Are you sure about it?’
‘I’m positive.’
‘Then how is it mad? What do you think Graeme will say?’
Neil laughed. ‘He’ll tell me I obviously can’t handle the stress of the position and demote me back to DC, or else he’ll send me on extended leave to “consider my future”.’
‘Can you prove it?’
‘It won’t be easy, but for Shaun Taverner’s sake, I’ll have to.’
***
He started with a phone call to the Royal Bank of Scotland, then the Sandyford Clinic. Here he didn’t get the answer he expected, but a quick glance at a street map of Glasgow soon solved that. Then he rang She
ila.
‘In any of the emails Katie sent you this year did she ask about the photos you had of her?’
‘She did actually. How did you guess? She asked me if I had a copy of one taken at a friend’s wedding a few years ago, because she’d lost hers. I told her that apart from family photos taken when we were young, I only had that one of her in her peacock coat. Why do you ask?’
‘Just pursuing a line of enquiry.’
He hung up and rested his head in his hands for a few moments. He knew he could painstakingly build a case to show that what he was thinking could have been done, but would he be able to actually prove it? He needed to get the copy of Andrew Bryson’s diary back, so he could start cross-checking dates. Bryson! he thought. I wonder …
The phone on his desk rang.
‘Mrs Vickers is here to give a witness statement, Sir, and she says she’ll only speak to you.’
‘That’s right. A mugging near the “Frog and Toad”, wasn’t it?’
He took the old woman’s statement, then walked with her to the front door.
‘Thank you, Audrey. The man who received the beating has just left hospital and I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear that due to your sharp eyes and sharper memory, the two young thugs that did it will soon be locked up.’
She beamed up at him. ‘I saw that young woman who went missing, you know. Months and months ago it was, January or February. Too early to be of any use to you.’
‘Where did you see her?’
‘Outside a jeweller’s, it was. She was looking in the window, wearing that beautiful coat. I wanted a closer look at it so I went and stood next to her. She was looking at some gold chains. I saw some earrings shaped like peacocks and I said to her, “They’d go real well with that gorgeous coat of yours.” Well, she gave me this polite smile and said, very snotty like, “Yes, they would, but I don’t wear earrings, as you can see.” So I looked and sure enough she wasn’t wearing any. But she had the holes for them, she did, two in each ear.’
Neil stared at her. A huge smile broke across his face, the smile of a victorious man.
‘Audrey, you are a marvel!’ He hugged her. ‘You have saved me literally weeks and weeks of work!’
He watched her go, then raced upstairs to Graeme’s office, and things happened very quickly after that.
Chapter 21
Neil walked into the dimly lit interview room, where a woman sat with her head bent, all he could see were masses of glossy brunette curls. Her hands rested on the table in front of her, nervously she twisted the white gold wedding band on her finger.
Neil introduced himself. ‘Ms Shona Ferris, do you understand why you’ve been arrested?’
Shona looked up in fright. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. ‘They-they-they said in connection with the … the murder of Katie Campbell. But I don’t know anything about a murder … all I know is …’
‘Yes?’
‘I … I just …’ she stopped. ‘Catriona …’ she said hoarsely. ‘I want Catriona.’
‘All right. How about I ask a few questions, and you answer them yes or no. Shall we do that?’
She nodded.
‘Last October to December, you worked on a temporary basis at the Royal Bank of Scotland, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘And, as anyone would, you would talk to your wife, Catriona Henderson, about your day when you got home?’
‘Yes.’
‘And in the course of one of those conversations you happened to mention the name Katie Campbell?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you tell me what happened next?’
Shona bent her head again. She was silent for a long time.
‘It’s all right, Shona. Whatever you have to tell me, it’s all right.’
When at last she raised her face to look at him again, her expression had changed. Her features had set into stubborn lines.
‘Catriona told me that Katie Campbell was the girlfriend of a very dear friend of hers. She said he wanted her to marry him and have his baby, but she was resisting. It was breaking his heart, Catriona said. I felt really sorry for him, and I felt really angry towards her – Katie, I mean. Who wouldn’t want to have a baby? Catriona and I are trying you know, but it hasn’t happened yet.’
‘So Catriona asked you …’
‘So I decided … I would help her friend out. I thought if I set Katie up, made it look like she was stealing, she’d get the sack, and then maybe she’d see things differently.’
‘It was your idea?’
‘Yes! Catriona knew nothing about it.’
‘If that’s the case, how did you get hold of a copy of Katie’s locker key, so you could plant your necklace?’
‘I-I-I …’ She looked away from him. ‘I …’
‘Ms Ferris, I strongly advise you not to lie to me about this …’
‘I’m not! I’m not lying! It was my idea, I did the stealing, I got Katie the sack! Will I go to prison for it?’
He felt intensely exasperated with her. ‘If you stick to that story, yes, you probably will.’
‘It’s not a story! It’s the truth! I’m telling you the truth!’
‘All right, Shona, I have one last question. About a month after Katie was given the sack, you saw her go into the Sandyford clinic, didn’t you? It’s on the way between the train station and the bank.’
‘Yes.’
‘And you mentioned that to Catriona?’
‘Yes.’
‘Thank you, Shona. I think that will be all.’
***
‘So Mr Renfrew, we meet again.’
‘This is outrageous! Arresting me for murdering Katie! You must be insane!’
‘I’m not insane, Mr Renfrew. It’s the absolute truth, and you know it.’
‘I’ve got an alibi!’
‘But that’s not the date she died is it! So let’s just cut the crap, shall we?’
‘I don’t care what idea you’ve got into your head, I didn’t do it …’
‘OK. Let me tell you what “idea” I’ve “got into my head”. Katie Campbell was a fun-loving, exuberant young woman until she started going out with you. But when she moved in with you, that all changed, didn’t it? She stopped going out with her other friends, and according to her sister, her emails became more and more subdued, she became less and less communicative. That was down to you, wasn’t it Renfrew? You were starting to take control of her life. You told her who she could be friends with, stopped her from going to parties … you dictated what type of contraception you would use – you were taking control …’
‘No! It wasn’t like that! Stop making it sound so vile! You’re wrong!’
Neil looked surprised. ‘Am I? I’m sorry. Perhaps you should tell me how it was, then.’
Gordon took a deep breath. ‘You’re wrong. Katie and I … at the start it was really intense, she couldn’t get enough of me, we were mad for each other. She didn’t want to see anyone else. But then, after a while, when … well …’
‘The first flush of passion had died down?’
‘Yes, I suppose you could put it like that … anyway, she wanted to go to a party at her old flatmates’, and I had to make her see … that that life was behind her now – all that drinking, drugs, sleeping around – it was all over, it was time for her to grow up, start settling down.’
‘And how did you “make her see”?’
‘I wasn’t violent, if that’s what you’re implying. I just talked to her, got her to understand, it was her and me now, she didn’t need anyone else.’
‘And she was agreeable to that?’
‘She loved me, Inspector, and I loved her. She had a good life with me. I took her out to nice places, bought her presents, took her on holidays – it was a good life.’
‘And in return you expected her complete obedience?’
‘God, you really do have a nasty little mind, don’t you? I’m telling you we were happy together, she had no cause
for complaint.’
‘All right. Let’s move on to your involvement in her getting the sack. You can’t say that I’m wrong about that – Shona Ferris has admitted her part in it …’
‘That was Catriona’s idea …’
‘Oh, it was Catriona’s idea …’
‘Well, it certainly wasn’t mine. I went along with it, made a copy of Katie’s locker key …’
‘Shona seems to be under the impression it was her idea …’
‘What? That wet lump? She wouldn’t have an idea about what to have for breakfast, let alone think out a plan like that. I don’t know how Catriona sticks her. Likes having someone to boss about, I suppose.’
Neil concentrated for a moment on keeping his breathing steady, relaxing the tension in his arms. ‘Is that right?’ he said. ‘And so, while Catriona and Shona executed this devilishly ingenious plan, you got busy sticking holes in condoms.’
Gordon leant forward. ‘Listen to me. When Katie and I had been together a year, I knew – she was the one. I asked her to marry me – she said, we were living together as good as married, wasn’t that enough for the time being. I told her I wanted to start a family, have a baby with her, but she said she wasn’t ready, to wait for a while. She didn’t say no, she didn’t say never. But I was thirty and she was only twenty-three – how long was I supposed to wait? Five years, more? Who wants to be starting a family when they’re heading towards forty?’
‘Well, seeing as I’m about to do exactly that, I can’t really agree with you there.’
‘Well, congratulations,’ Gordon said drily. ‘I thought, why not hurry things along a bit? I thought, once I was supporting her, once she was pregnant, she’d be as happy about it as I was, she’d see that that was how things were meant to be.’
The Woman in the Peacock Patterned Coat Page 20