A Taste of Ashes (DI Bob Valentine Book 2) (25 page)

‘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.’

‘We’ll need to get the ferry, preferably one that takes vehicles.’

‘Shit. Tell me this isn’t happening.’

Valentine moved towards the desk, stretched over and pulled the phone towards him. ‘I’m calling Glasgow, get them to send the copter.’

Martin dug her hands into her jacket pockets, leaned her back against the wall and sighed to the heavens. ‘Blow my budget as well, why don’t you … Get onto the Air Support Unit in Glasgow now, Bob.’

Valentine directed the helicopter controller at Air Support to collect himself, Martin and McCormack from the Low Green and called ahead for uniform to make sure the area was cleared. There was only one helicopter under contract to the force and he had expected a protracted debate about its usage but got none after offering the controller the opportunity to speak with CS Martin personally. He smiled at the response, but didn’t let on why; the chief super had started pacing her office now, breaking into occasional rants at DI Harris and Major Rutherford.

‘I should put the bloody pair of you in the cells, now,’ said CS Martin. ‘Just about pushed me out the door to front that press conference didn’t you? It’ll be a long time before I live that down.’

As she berated the men, Valentine confirmed the details once more with Air Support and stepped away from the phone. ‘Right, we’ll set off in ten minutes,’ he said.

‘What’s wrong with right away?’ said Martin.

Valentine flagged her down. ‘We’ve got plenty of time, they have to get here first.’

The CS took the opportunity to start once more on the list of grievances she had with Harris and Rutherford. ‘Sylvia, get Phil and Ally in here would you, they can escort this pair of twats down to the interview rooms and make a start on getting full statements.’

‘Hang on a minute,’ said Rutherford. ‘I don’t think you’ve got any cause to hold me here.’

‘Don’t you? Well that’s good I don’t give a bloody toss what you think, Tom. But if you’re looking for a reason to hang around then how about a detailed account of why you saw fit to withhold vital information from my officers relating to Tulloch and Finnie.’

‘I hardly think it was vital …’

‘A boy died, a sixteen-year-old because you wrong- footed my team, or doesn’t that bother you? No probably not, just another bit of collateral damage in your campaign isn’t it?’

Sylvia broke in, ‘Phil and Ally are on their way up right away.’

‘Good,’ said Martin. ‘Tell them to contact the Ministry of Defence with the new facts and get all the case files relating to Tulloch and Finnie’s departure from the army. I want to see heads roll. We’re going to blow this cover-up wide open.’

Valentine took the driver’s seat of Martin’s Audi. The road to the Low Green passed mainly in silence, except for the chief super’s curses every time a traffic light shone red or a pedestrian dared to cross in front of the car. There was very little she could say to mend the situation, an apology would be trite and useless, and wouldn’t bring back the murder victims or those who had been affected by their deaths. Saying sorry might be some kind of balm to Valentine’s ego, but he didn’t want to hear it; he knew Martin was, if not contrite, then feeling an embarrassment verging on shame and that was good enough for him.

‘Sir, would you like me to call ahead, tell the local officers we’re on the way?’ said McCormack.

‘God no,’ said Valentine. ‘You’ll only scare the horses. Or worse, the local team will wade in and we’ll be chasing Leask through the wilds for the next fortnight. No, they can find out why we’re there when we arrive.’

‘Yes, sir.’

At the Low Green the team caught the sound of the helicopter in the distance, a few day-trippers were interested enough to stop and stare at the sky. Uniform were clearing the ground for landing, herding people onto the pavements and stopping dog walkers from heading for the grass. As they waited, counting the moments to the copter’s descent, Martin approached Valentine and said, ‘This is a bloody mess, isn’t it?’

‘It’s not pretty.’

‘I’ll get my knuckles reddened for this, you know.’

‘I don’t think you can be blamed.’

Martin spat, ‘No. And neither do I, Bob, but we both know that’s not going to stop them.’

‘I suppose not,’ he dipped his head. ‘But you shouldn’t blame yourself.’

She calmed for a moment, then resumed her talk. ‘Tell me, did you suspect Eddy of anything, ever?’

The chief super gazed into Valentine, he saw she was checking him for non-verbal cues that might betray him so he held firm. Harris was finished, he knew that, and there was very little to be gained from making matters any worse for him. Despite the situation, the DI saw that Harris didn’t need any more trouble. ‘No, I never suspected Eddy of anything.’

‘No, me neither. His coat’s been on a slack hook for a long time but I thought that was him just getting lazy – turns out he’s been anything but. Silly bastard. He’ll be hung out to dry for this.’

‘And so he should be.’ It didn’t please Valentine to think of another officer being brought down, even Flash Harris. But an officer treating the job with such contempt, that was something altogether different. He couldn’t imagine letting his own standards fall so low, how could anyone else? There was a collective shame that Harris had brought on everyone and Valentine didn’t want to see others in the station suffer because of it.

The noise of the downdraught and the whirring blades of the helicopter curtailed their conversation. As the copter’s side-doors opened the team piled in and fastened themselves into their seats for the short journey across the Firth of Clyde. The pilot motioned them to put on their earphones and then relayed the message that they were landing on a playing field in Brodick, it was approximately half a mile from the hotel where Leask was staying.

Valentine turned to the pilot. ‘Call ahead when we’re a few minutes from landing and get a squad car to pick us up.’

‘If I can find anyone, the place isn’t fully manned.’

‘Brilliant. Let’s hope there’s nothing serious going down, like a goat in labour.’

The small island started to hove into view. The bright blues of sky and sea butting gently with the lush greens and deeper browns of the land and hills. It seemed a jagged, dramatic place. The cliff crags and the jutting peaks appearing starkly in contrast to the mainland’s built-up conformity.

‘It’s beautiful,’ said DS McCormack.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve never been to Arran,’ said Valentine.

‘Never. It’s so wild and harsh, yet peaceful.’

‘They call it Scotland in miniature … and all life is here.’

The helicopter seemed to swing out to sea again and then backed up on itself and drifted closer to the coast. They were now near enough to see people looking up to the skies and the branches of trees bending downwards in the rotor’s wake. The pilot waved to a man on the ground who was standing by a pair of red cones, flagging his hands above his head. The engines heaved a last loud burst and then the helicopter was lowered to the ground, the wheels bouncing gently and then staying still.

The blades above were still turning as the squad got out. A man in uniform, holding his hat pressed tight to his head, approached.

‘Inspector Valentine?’ he said.

‘Yes, that’s me.’ The DI introduced the others and the uniform announced himself as DS Rory McNeil.

‘If you follow me,’ he said. ‘I have a car waiting to take you round to the Auchrannie … it’s the Astra estate over there.’

‘That would be the big white one with
police
on the side?’

‘I see there’s little gets past you, sir.’

At the hotel Valentine instructed DS McNeil to drop them some distance from the front entrance. ‘I don’t want to tip off Leask, if it can at all be helped.’

At the front desk a young girl in a black jacket, her name tag on the lapel, greeted them with a smile. CS Martin frowned and produced her warrant card. ‘Police. I think you better call your duty manager.’

The girl’s gaze fell on the telephone, she picked up the receiver. ‘Erm, he’s not answering.’

‘We need to remove a guest, right away.’

‘Remove?’

‘The sooner the better. Can you tell me what room Norrie Leask is in?’

The girl was unsure of herself but went to the computer, tapped a few keys. ‘Mr Leask is in Room 212.’

‘What about his companion?’

‘Is that Joe Barr? … He’s in the next room 214. We don’t have any rooms with the number 13 in them.’

‘Well that’s lucky,’ said Martin. ‘Sylvia, grab the lassie’s jacket and a tray, you’re going to deliver some room service to Mr Leask.’

‘I’m not sure if I can do that,’ said the receptionist.

‘Trust me, you can. Or would you prefer to keep a murder suspect upstairs?’

The officers headed for the lift. Once outside Leask’s door, Valentine stationed himself to the left of the spy hole and CS Martin stood outside room 214.