‘I wasn’t expecting visitors.’ He put a hand over his eyes.

‘Not this year, I see … When did you last change those Y-fronts?’

Brogan pointed a finger. ‘That could be classed as harassment.’

McCormack replied, ‘If I do it, will you call it sexual harassment?’

‘I might.’

‘Get inside, Mr Brogan. And don’t make me laugh with your fantasies.’

The detectives proceeded through to the lounge, a small room at the front of the house where the curtains were closed. A brown sofa and a teak coffee table were the only concessions to furniture. Brogan, now dressed in tracksuit pants, removed a half-burnt cigarette from the edge of the table and lit it with a plastic lighter.

‘What’s this all about?’ he said.

‘Not working today, Brogan?’ said Valentine.

‘Shut down, isn’t it? I’m a man of leisure, now.’

‘That’s very interesting, plenty of time to get into trouble.’ He turned to McCormack. ‘Show him the picture?’

She handed over a photograph of Niall Paton, the recent shot that his parents had supplied.

Brogan shrugged. ‘I don’t know him.’

‘That’s strange, your telly on the blink too?’

‘No.’ He indicated the television and flicked it on with the remote control.

‘That photo you’ve got there is of a boy who was murdered the other night. We found him in a field in Cumnock, he’d been dumped down a shallow pit but the rain flushed him out. He wasn’t a pretty sight.’

Brogan handed back the picture, he stood before them and folded his arms. ‘What the bloody hell’s that got to do with me?’

‘Can you account for your movements over the last forty-eight hours, Mr Brogan?’

‘I don’t need to, Christ, I’ve done nothing wrong.’ He drew heavily on the cigarette, it had gone out.

DS McCormack waved a hand at the sofa and invited Brogan to sit down again. ‘Come on, Mr Brogan. This is a double murder investigation, we need you to be on your best behaviour.’

‘Double murder. What? I mean, who else was done in?’

‘Big Jim Tulloch,’ said Valentine. ‘Oh, you recognise the name, I see.’

‘Only because I worked with him.’

‘That would be at the Meat Hangers.’

‘Aye, it was.’

‘Norrie Leask’s gone missing as well. Wonder if he’ll turn up in a field in Cumnock next, Brogan?’

‘I doubt it. Leask looks after himself, or has folk to do that.’ He started to rub at his arms, lit another cigarette end that had been hiding behind his ear.

‘Here, have one of mine,’ said McCormack. She removed a packet of Benson and Hedges and offered one to Brogan. He seemed to settle down once the cigarette was lit.

‘OK,’ said Valentine, ‘I can see you’re a little shaken up by all this unsettling news, never nice to hear a close friend’s passed away.’

‘Tulloch wasn’t a friend of mine,’ he spat the reply.

‘Oh, I thought you were best mates, worked at the Meat Hangers together didn’t you?’

‘Aye, we worked together, that doesn’t mean we were besties. Far bloody from it, mate. Big Tulloch was an arsehole, everyone will tell you that.’

‘Everyone?’ said McCormack. ‘What about Grant Finnie?’

‘Don’t tell me Fin’s dead as well …’

‘No. Not that we’re aware of. Friendlier with Finnie were you?’

‘Friendlier than Tulloch, aye.’

Valentine moved towards the sofa, put his foot on the cushion next to Brogan. ‘Now, if I was a right nosey bastard I’d be asking where all this animosity for our murder victim, James Tulloch, has come from. And then, I’d be asking why you’re so friendly with a man who has gone missing, Grant Finnie, who may or may not be involved in Tulloch’s demise.’

‘Now wait a minute, I never said I was friendly with either of them.’

‘Right now, Brogan, you’re the only link I have between the two of them and the blagging at the Meat Hangers. Oh, and did I mention that Norrie Leask has gone missing and also a substantial amount of cash?’

Brogan drew heavily on the cigarette butt. ‘I don’t know anything about that.’

‘Oh, no. I think you do. And what’s more, I don’t think I’m leaving here unless you tell me just exactly what you do know.’ Valentine sat down beside him on the sofa.

‘Now look, I’m not saying I know anything, all I can tell you is there was some kind of problem, I don’t know what you’d call it, a feud maybe, between Big Jim Tulloch and Fin.’

‘Go on.’

‘Tulloch was always needling him, Fin that is. I think it went way back, I’ve no idea what it was about but Tulloch was the one with the problem. See, Fin was there first and Tulloch got his job later, it was like he only took the job to stick it to Fin, on a daily basis like.’

‘And you say this went way back.’

‘I don’t know how far back, they were in the army together but you’ll know that.’

‘And how do you know the animosity went so far back, it could have just kicked off at the Meat Hangers, maybe Tulloch thought he should still have been Fin’s boss?’

‘No, it was an old wound. It was common knowledge after the punch-up.’

Valentine glanced at McCormack. ‘What punch-up?’ said the DI.

‘They went to blows one night, round the back of the club, it was a fair go as well, crates and barrels were flying.’ Brogan brightened at the memory. ‘It was stopped right enough, by Leask’s boy, that Joe fella with the gold chains and the leather jacket. Another big knuckle-dragger.’

‘And when was the fight?’ said McCormack.

‘Not long ago, month or so maybe.’

‘And there was no trouble after that?’

‘Nah, not really. They kept them apart, surprised they never got their jotters, mind.’

‘Why didn’t Leask sack them?’

‘You tell me, he’s never usually shy about throwing folk out the door.’ Brogan shot off the sofa, irritated. ‘Right, is that enough for you? Can I get on with my life now?’

Valentine stood up to face him, motioned McCormack to the door. ‘Don’t go straying far, Brogan. I might want a word with you again.’

Outside the building, Valentine looked up to the flat they had just came from. Kyle Brogan was standing at the window, a yellowing net curtain pulled back. He made brief eye contact with the officers then removed his cigarette and nodded.

‘What do you think?’ said McCormack.

‘He’s a lying little scrote. That’s what I think.’

‘You think he made that up about the fight?’

‘No. I don’t think he’s got the imagination for that. I think that was instinctual on his part, he just gave us something to get rid of us. There’s more inside that manky little skull of his, though.’

The sound of the window opening drew the officers’ gaze to Brogan, he was leaning onto the ledge now, said, ‘And I hope you’ll tell your wee pal what I told you as well … I’m playing nice like he said.’

Valentine nodded once to McCormack then sprung back to Brogan. ‘You just stay right where you are, boyo!’

The officers started back for the door of the flats.

40

Darry Millar was the last person Fin expected to call on Jade’s mobile phone. The messages from Leask had mounted to such a ridiculous level that he’d ditched his previous phone and taken a new number. It had been his intention to let Darry have the new number, eventually, but his first priority had been to Jade. The girl had always had more than her fair share of problems but the situation she now found herself in was as bad as it got. It shouldn’t have happened, not after all he knew about Tulloch.

‘Hello, Darry,’ he said.

‘You thought it was Jade.’

‘I … I did yeah.’

There was a prolonged silence between them. ‘Why’s my sister got your new number and I haven’t?’

‘I was going to give you it, but it’s been a bit crazy of late.’

‘I’ve noticed, Fin. You might not think it but there’s a lot I’ve noticed lately.’ Darry’s voice hid an accusation.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’