Hi guys. How do you fancy getting together for a forum outing? Just the Glasgow crowd. Nothing too difficult, not the Molendinar or anything stellar like that. I was thinking we could walk down the line to the old Botanics station then go for a couple of drinks on Byres Road. If the Botanics is too tame for some of you then you can just go straight to the pub and meet us there. It’s short notice but how about Thursday night?

He pushed send and immediately wondered just what the hell he’d done.

Chapter 19

Wednesday morning

‘Jacko. What have you got?’

‘Quite a bit, Rachel. Let’s just say that Saturn are of interest to us. A colleague has them on his list so I didn’t know all I might have but I’m up to speed now.’

‘I’m all ears.’

‘Well the first thing you need to know is that Saturn is not where this starts. There was once a company called Midas Homes and then one named LDM Holdings. Midas went bust with a trail of debts and a short time later LDM started up with the same client list. Nine months after that, LDM hit the wall and were liquidated.’

‘Then they became Saturn?’

‘Not quite. First there was Valhalla Homes, the phoenix that had risen from the flames when LDM burned.’

‘I thought they hit the wall?’

‘They hit the wall and burst into flames. It’s a regular occurrence with some companies in this business. Valhalla then led to Hastings Developments, hit the wall and then Hastings became Saturn.’

‘I’m slightly confused here, Jacko.’

‘You’re supposed to be. These kind of companies try to muddy the water as much as possible because when it’s clear they just look like the crooks they are. All five firms owned, sold, built and demolished properties around Scotland and the north of England. And all five have been dreadfully unlucky at various times over the years. That’s what brought them to the attention of IFIG.’

‘Unlucky how? Fires?’

‘Yes. Nine of them that we know of.’

‘Nine? And yet they’ve never been done for it? Nine fires in properties that they owned and yet they still operate?’

‘Nine times they haven’t been caught. In firms that technically aren’t connected. And the firms don’t still operate, only Saturn. Officially, of course, they have done nothing wrong. Officially, they are the unfortunate victims of firebugs and bad luck. Officially, they are merely companies of interest.’

‘And unofficially?’

‘I wouldn’t trust them to build a Lego house without putting a match to it. They’re crooks. They shut down, dump their debt and start again. They torch their own properties if they can’t get the planning permission they want or if it’s just cheaper to rebuild from scratch rather than renovate a listed building the way it should be.’

Narey scribbled notes on the pad in front of her, underlining crooks and nine fires.

‘So, Mark Singleton. Tell me about him.’

‘He’s just a front man. On the payroll rather than ever owning the business. I made a call and the word is he likes the limelight, the appearance of being in charge. He’s a chancer. A bit of a risk taker, likes getting his photo in the paper.’

‘A front man? But I checked myself and he’s listed as a director.’

Jackson laughed. ‘Almost none of the directors are real. The names you are seeing are wives or children of those serving seven-year bans as directors after the previous companies bit the dust, leaving creditors in the lurch. It’s all front.’

‘So if Singleton’s the front, who really owns Saturn? Could it be the Mullens?’

‘I guess it could be, sure. Come on, what’s this about, Rachel? You’re not chasing fires, I know that much.’

‘Saturn owned the old Odeon site. And Mullen Security had their name on the fence.’

She could almost hear his brain joining the dots. ‘And that’s where the woman’s body was found. I must be getting slow in my old age, should have made that connection myself. Okay, what do you want me to do?’

‘Keep looking, keep asking around.’

‘Happy to do it. Saturn are exactly the kind of company we’re after. Our clients aren’t keen on paying out for fires that these cowboys have started themselves.’ ‘Jacko, if I want to get at this mob, where do I look?’ ‘Well, it’s not easy, they’re sneaky bastards. But my advice, for what it’s worth, is that you don’t look for what Saturn are doing but what they’ve not been able to do. That’s when these guys get dirty.’

Chapter 20

The call to DCI Addison’s office was always a dubious pleasure and Narey feared this one would be no different. She was armed with the feedback from her chat with Johnny Jackson but she still felt a nervousness she wasn’t enjoying.

Addison was inevitably on the phone but cut the conversation short as soon as she stuck her head round the door. Alarm bells rang immediately.

‘I’ll get back to you, Charlie,’ he was saying. ‘There’s someone more important than you I need to talk to. Yeah - and the same to you with knobs on. I’ll call you back.’ He hung up. ‘Hi, Rachel, good to see you. Take a seat.’

The alarm bells were now ringing like a cathedral had been overrun by a troop of chimpanzees and they were swinging on the ropes.

‘I’ll stand, sir, if it’s all the same. What’s the bad news?’

He grimaced. ‘Look, Rachel, don’t start.’

‘You’re trying to be nice. Of course there’s bad news. What is it?’

He spread his arms wide as if ready to make some plea for understanding then gave up. ‘Sit down.’

‘No. Just tell me.’

‘Fucksake. Okay, have it your way. Rachel, you’ve got enough on your plate with the Molendinar body and everything else you’re working on. You don’t need another murder case on top of that. I’m giving the Odeon woman to Jeff Storey and Rico.’

It felt as if she’d been slapped.

‘What? No way. There’s no need for that. I’m all over this. Seriously, I can handle both. And I want both.’

‘It’s not about what you want. I’ve got people queuing up who want this. It’s about clearing both cases up and doing whatever makes that most likely. You running two separate investigations does not qualify as best practice. I’m taking it off you for your own good and the good of the team.’

‘My own good?’

‘I said don’t start. You know there’s guys out there gunning for you as it is. Some of them resent your promotion and it’s not going to help for you to be running two murder cases. They’ll be desperate for you to fuck up and I don’t want that to happen.’

‘I’ve no intention of fucking up. And I got promoted because I earned it.’

‘I know that. Christ, it was me that recommended you. But there’s knuckle-draggers out there who can’t see past your skirt and won’t believe you got it on merit. They’re the ones who will stir up trouble and I’m not giving them the ammunition. One murder case is plenty.’

‘So you are saying I should give in to guys who are still coming to terms with the fact that women have got the vote? That doesn’t work for me.’