‘Darry, what is it?’

He turned back to the newspaper and flipped the page over for Jade to see what he had just read. ‘It’s Mum, she’s been charged with the murder.’

‘They can’t.’

‘There.’ He tapped at the page. ‘It says so in the paper.’ His eyes closed. ‘It says they have evidence she killed Tulloch.’

44

DI Eddy Harris raised his face to the ceiling, closed his eyes. He appeared to be awaiting divine intervention or at least a lifeline from the chief super: neither appeared. With each second that ticked away it seemed the room became more claustrophobic, like the walls closed in and the oxygen supply was depleted.

Valentine’s gaze flitted between Harris and the others, everyone was staring at Harris, waiting for a response to the allegation he’d been paid by Leask. Could it be true? Could a police officer, even one like Flash Harris, really be so stupid? ‘Nothing to say for yourself, Eddy?’

He opened his eyes. ‘Nothing that changes the situation.’

CS Martin slapped the heel of her hand on the desktop. ‘You’ll have to do a damn sight better than that, Eddy, or I’ll pick up the phone and reserve a nice cell for you downstairs, one with hot and cold running recrimination. Don’t think about saving your job, think about saving your skin because without some mitigation in your defence I’m throwing the book at you.’

Major Rutherford started to rise from his seat, he looked like he wanted to be invisible too. ‘I don’t think you need me here for this, Marion. I’ll see myself out.’

‘You’ll sit your arse down,’ said Martin. ‘As soon as I’m finished with him, you’re up next. And if I need Home Office approval to see those case files on Tulloch and Finnie, I’ll get it, along with a warrant for your arrest on charges of impeding a murder investigation which resulted in the death of a minor. Am I making myself clear enough, Tom?’

‘But, but … Look this is silly, we have the case tied up.’

‘No buts!’ Martin blasted. ‘You have made me look a bloody muppet today, and on television too. I won’t forget that in a long time. If you think I’m going to let you slither off back to barracks and forget your involvement, think again.’ She moved in front of Harris, pointed a finger in his face. ‘Now spill your guts from start to finish, Eddy, or so help me God I’ll make you such a poster boy for bent coppers that they’ll be writing you into the textbooks.’

Harris gathered his breath and looked about the room as if surveying the exits. If he was thinking of making a dash for the door he declined and spoke up instead. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Everything,’ said the chief super.

Valentine prompted him. ‘How about you confirm the robbery was planned by Leask and that you knew all about it.’

‘Now come on, Bob …’

‘No, you come on. I have statements confirming you were there when Leask put up the job.’ He was stretching the facts again, but time was running out and there’d never be another opportunity where the pressure on Harris was so intense.

Harris leaned forward, spoke to his hands: ‘There was a punch-up between the pair of them, it’d been on the cards for some time but Leask let it fester because he wanted them for the job – they were ex-army so it was like hiring proper professionals. He liked that idea, didn’t want any balls-ups, you see.’

‘Go on,’ said Valentine.

‘He hauled them in after the fight, made them think they were both getting the bullet from the Meat Hangers, but then drew it back.’

‘Made them an offer they couldn’t refuse, you mean?’

‘He said if they staged the robbery that they could keep their jobs and that he’d put a good drink in it for them too.’

‘And they went for it just like that?’

‘No. Not at first. That’s where I came in, we agreed to stage the robbery on one of my shifts so I could make sure the investigation ignored them.’

‘You bloody idiot, Eddy.’

Martin turned around, she folded her arms as she stared out the window of her office. ‘How much was in it for you?’

‘From the robbery, nothing. Honestly, I never took a thing.’

‘Oh, come on …’

‘No, I’m serious. I never took any because I was just protecting my investment, if the Meat Hangers went under then I did too. I couldn’t stay afloat now without the money Leask feeds me, I’m a bloody fool, I know, but I didn’t have a choice, I’ve got debts up to my eyeballs.’

It was an old story and one that Valentine had heard too many times already to summon an ounce of sympathy. He had financial difficulties of his own but he had never been tempted to put his fingers in the till. ‘So, what went wrong? Tulloch and Fin screwed Leask I take it?’

‘I don’t know, and that’s the God’s honest.’ Harris looked up from the floor and pleaded, ‘I didn’t know there was going to be a murder, Bob, I’d never have got involved with anything like that, I swear to it.’

‘Well something went tits up.’

‘Yes, big time. But don’t ask me what. All I know is the money went missing and Leask went ballistic.’

‘He also went missing,’ said Valentine.

Martin responded, ‘Where’s Leask now?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Eddy.

‘Don’t tell me you don’t know. Tell me you do know or you’ll find out and have the answer with me in under a minute or I’ll throw you to the wolves, Eddy.’

‘He could be anywhere,’ said Harris. ‘I suspected the Paton boy was his work too. I called him on it and he admitted Joe had gone too far. Supposedly it was an accident, Joe being over-exuberant trying to get information about where the money was, but after that I was out. I broke off all communication. Jesus Christ, I’m a police officer, maybe not a good one, but I know the consequences of where this is all going.’

‘Do you, Eddy?’ said Martin. ‘I don’t think you’ve the faintest idea.’ She picked up the telephone and threw it in his lap. ‘Get onto Leask now, get a whereabouts and get bloody moving.’

As Harris dialled the number the office fell into silence. Valentine tried to weigh up what he had just seen and heard but it was almost too much for him. Eddy had been a fool but could he judge him for that? Every day he himself had dealt with people like Norrie Leask and faced temptation, all it took was a brief loss of concentration or even carelessness and you were in the drink. Valentine was lucky to be a family man – his wife and daughters meant everything to him – but others weren’t so fortunate to have what he did. If Harris had slipped up and Leask had found out then the chances were that he would do anything Leask asked to keep quiet. People were simple to handle when they had secrets. When they were vain and stupid too, like Harris, then they were easy to manipulate.

Harris replaced the receiver on the cradle and looked towards the chief super. ‘That was Joe.’

‘Who?’ she said.

‘Leask’s wingman, he takes care of business, well most business.’

‘He’s a wrist breaker, a raving psycho,’ said Valentine. ‘Stop stalling, Eddy, where’s Leask?’

‘Well, the last place I expected – Brodick.’

‘He’s on Arran?’ said Martin.

‘Dining in fine style as we speak, at the Auchrannie Hotel.’

‘What the bloody hell’s he doing there?’

‘Seems he got a tip-off. He’s been looking for Grant Finnie, or more precisely he’s been looking for his money, Finnie just happens to be in possession of it.’

‘Well he won’t be for much longer if Leask has his way,’ said Valentine.

The chief super reached into her drawer and pulled out her car keys, threw them at Valentine. ‘That’s all we need another murder to add to the two, now unsolved, we already have. Try explaining that to the bloody papers.’

‘What am I to do with these?’ said Valentine, holding up the keys.

‘Get driving.’ She was putting on her jacket, heading for the door. ‘We can’t leave this to the island plod, it’s a potential murder not a missing bobble hat.’