“We also felt that McGill’s murderer was likely to be a professional, or at least had help. The gun that was used was untraceable and had already been identified in other crimes. There was a gangland connection.”
“Well, there was no such connection in our case. Bradley Wynne was a pathetic, disturbed young man. We were simply unfortunate to have become dragged into his crazy delusions.”
Ravi cleared his throat awkwardly. “I visited Wynne in prison. I wanted to find out more about his motives.”
Diane shuffled back in her seat, as if withdrawing herself from the vicinity of the detective. “I know he’s due for release soon, our family lawyer informed us. Fifteen years doesn’t seem a very long sentence for ending a man’s life.”
It wasn’t the first time Ravi had heard this sentiment voiced. “The psychologist’s reports seem quite certain the man show’s genuine remorse. I’m afraid that because of Wynne’s clean record in prison, his parole is pretty much guaranteed.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope he doesn’t come back to this area, but then I think, where else would he go? The farm was sold to pay for his legal fees, so he can’t return there, but this place was his home.”
“The prison service will try to organise a position for him. He will need to meet his parole officer regularly. He told me that his farming skills have been of good use to him in prison, perhaps he will go and work on the land again?”
“Maybe.” She looked suddenly wistful. “I just wonder what happens when he meets another man who stirs up the kinds of feelings in him that Jack did. What would he be capable of then?”
Ravi preferred not to think about this. Instead, he turned and gazed out at the tableau of sky and sea. The strong afternoon sun was making the water shimmer. An idea suddenly gripped him. He reached into his jacket pocket for a piece of paper, which he scribbled a number onto.
“I wonder if you might like to get in contact with Holly Kilpatrick. She is Richard McGill’s widow? Holly was the one who discovered her husband’s body, like you did. She’s found it difficult to move on with her life in the years since. Perhaps the two of you would benefit from sharing your experiences? There will not be many people in the world who have been through something similar.” He held out the scrap of paper.
She took it with a shaking hand. “When I read the interview with her online, I did wonder how she had coped, especially as the killer was never found. Even though Bradley Wynne is about to be released, it is still crucially important to us that he was found guilty and punished. It’s our only comfort. It must have been so hard for Holly, when the case has never been resolved, not even to this day. I can’t begin to imagine how that must feel.”
Ravi drained his cup in silence. Sadly, he had a fairly good idea.
Chapter 26
2003
It was after six pm and CID was thinning out. Tony was in his office, poring over the telephone responses they’d received to his appeal in the morning papers. It seemed quite a few individuals had stumbled home with unexplained injuries on the night of the 16th November. But most were living too far from the murder site to be of interest to them, or the timings weren’t right.
DC Hawkes knocked on the door.
Tony waved him inside.
“We’ve just had a call to the switchboard, sir. It was put through to my desk.”
Tony nodded. “Go on, lad.”
The DC handed a scrap of paper to his boss. “It was a woman. I had to work hard to get the information out of her, she seemed distraught.”
Tony sat up straighter in his seat, his interest piqued.
“Her husband didn’t come home from the pub at the usual time on the evening of the 16th. She sat up waiting for him, unsure whether to call the police when it got past midnight. He was never normally that late. When he did return, at nearly 2am, he had a nasty wound to his forehead.”
“Did she ask him what happened?”
“He told her some story about getting clipped by a car on his way back from the pub. He claimed he was knocked out cold and had only just come to and hobbled home.”
Tony was on his feet. “Bloody hell, this could be our man!”
“The wife begged him to let her drive him to A&E, get it checked out. He point-blank refused. She’s been fretting about it ever since. He put his clothes in the washing machine the next morning, which he’d never done in his life before. She said her husband will be home at 6.30pm this evening.”
Tony glanced at the address scrawled on the scrap of paper and then at the clock on the wall in his office. Their house was on an estate to the west of Cleland. His heart began pumping with adrenaline. The DI glanced around the department, only a handful of officers remained. Stevens and Bell had both gone home.
He turned to the young DC. “Would you like to accompany me, Tim?”
A grin spread across his youthful face. “Aye, sir.”
“Then let’s get a move on.”
*
The pebble-dashed council property was the last of the terrace. It was dark now, and the officers approached the front door with care. Shorter was aware the man they’d come to interview could well be a killer.
DC Hawkes pressed the bell. A woman in her early forties answered, she was thin and lined. Her face was streaked with dried tears. “He’s in the kitchen,” she muttered, before pressing herself against the Anaglypta to allow them to pass.
The officers held up their warrant cards as they strode along the dingy corridor. When they reached the kitchen, a tall man in his work trousers and vest was seated at the table, a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.
“Mr Swann?” Tony boomed. “We’re here for a word about the evening of the 16th.”
But Curtis Swann was already on his feet. The back door was directly behind him and the man was through it and legging it down the long garden before the detective knew what was happening.
Tony swept the table to one side, the plate smashing on the linoleum, sending egg yolks out in a lurid splatter as he sprinted after the man. If running away wasn’t a sign of guilt, he didn’t know what was.
Swann was already at the boundary fence and vaulting over it as Tony set off in pursuit. The DI wasn’t as tall as his quarry and the climb for him was an undignified scramble. He dropped heavily into the ditch which ran along the rear of the houses. A couple of floodlights were illuminating a public playing field, where a football club were having a practice. Picking himself up, Tony scanned the field beyond for signs of the man he was chasing.
He spotted him about 400 yards ahead. Swann was about to disappear into a line of trees where he would surely be able to evade the detectives and make his escape. Tony knew it was time to up the pace. He was vaguely aware that Tim Hawkes was somewhere behind him, he could hear his heavy breathing.
Tony tried to muster the strength for another sprint. After all the dead ends this case had thrown up, this was a chance to finally make an arrest. His legs felt like ton weights and his heart was pounding in his chest, but he found another burst of speed from somewhere in his old bones. Just when he felt he was gaining on the bastard up ahead, a piercing pain stabbed his chest.
At first, Tony thought Swann may have turned a gun on him. But as his legs collapsed and his body crumpled to the hard earth, Tony had a horrifying realisation of what was happening.
Tim Hawkes wasn’t far behind. He fell to his knees beside his boss. “Sir! Are you okay?”
“Get after him!” Tony managed to wheeze, between the waves of intense pain which gripped his upper body.
Hawkes shook his head. “No, I’m calling for help.”
Tony tried to argue, but his body was soaked with sweat and his brain was refusing to cooperate. He gripped Hawkes’s arm tightly, as the darkness enveloped him and the DI suddenly relaxed; limp and lifeless on the cold ground.
*
Colin Bell was pacing the length of the department. “Why the hell didn’t you wait for back-up?” He threw the
words angrily at Tim Hawkes, who was slumped in a chair, his face white as a sheet.
“There were two of us. We’d only gone to have a word with him. Nobody else was here.”
Bell didn’t like being reminded of the fact he’d not been around to help the boss when they finally got a breakthrough. “You knew the man could be dangerous! That’s no excuse!”
Ravi Stevens entered at the tail end of the discussion. “Hey, it’s not Hawkes’s fault, Colin. He was just following orders.” His expression became grim. “Come and sit down. I’ve got news.”
The entire department gravitated to find a seat near Ravi. He took a deep breath. “Curtis Swann has admitted to a spate of burglaries that have taken place in Aberfoyle over the past few months. Our opposite numbers over there have confirmed the details he gave us in interview. When he realised we were questioning him about a murder, he quickly fessed up to the thefts.”
Hawkes blinked vigorously. “You mean he wasn’t the one that Dunleavy knocked down?”
Ravi shook his head solemnly. “On the night of the 16th, he was robbing a house in Aberfoyle. In the process, he fell off the garage roof and received a wound to the head. A neighbour saw him fall and called the local station. He was gone before they arrived. So, the police there confirmed the property was burgled that particular night and the items stolen were found in Swann’s lock-up. His claim he’d been knocked down was just a story for his wife.”
Silence filled the room.
Tim Hawkes put his head in his hands.
Colin sprang to his feet, his face the colour of beetroot. “You mean to tell us, that the boss died for nothin’?”
Ravi looked each of his colleagues in the eye. “Tony Shorter died in the line of duty, he was chasing up an important lead in the case he was dedicated to. His death was not for nothing.” But although he’d spoken the words with conviction, he wasn’t certain that in his heart it was what he really believed.
Chapter 27
Present Day
Dani was relieved to get out of the department for a few hours. The sun was warming her back as she and James walked along the bank of the river.
“I was surprised you agreed to join me,” James commented, without rancour. “I thought you’d be busy.”
“I’m snowed under with paperwork. But I wanted time to think. I’m worried about Ravi. I wish we could find some kind of closure for him. The McGill case has become almost an obsession.”
They paused at one of the street food stalls that had popped up along the newly rejuvenated south bank. A man with a pointed beard and a heavily tattooed arm handed them two cartons of Thai noodles. The smell from the pans on the stove was fragrantly delicious.
“Alice seems preoccupied with it too,” James added through a mouthful of noodles.
“For her, it’s a distraction from the pregnancy. Alice isn’t used to the loss of control over her own body that she’s experienced in the past few months. I think she’s finding it scary.”
“Do you think that’s how you would feel?” James eyed his girlfriend warily.
“I honestly don’t know. In Alice’s case, the baby wasn’t planned, it’s going to take a while for them both to get used to the idea.”
“So, it’s still something you want for us?”
Dani slid her arm around his waist. “We decided, didn’t we? But it seems like Nature may have other plans for us.”
“There’s always fertility treatment?” He offered gently.
Dani sighed. “I’d rather see how things pan out. I believe we’ll be happy with or without a family.”
James agreed. “And I suppose it’s quite fun trying?”
Dani laughed. “I thought you’d say that.”
They walked in silence until they reached the Millennium Bridge.
“Did Ravi’s trip to the South West throw any light on the McGill case?” James asked.
“Not really, although he’s put the widows in both cases in contact with one another, which I think will help.” She stopped and gazed out at the water. “That’s the real tragedy of this case. McGill was murdered and his wife’s life ruined. Then Tony Shorter dropped dead during the investigation and Deborah Shorter was made a widow. I can see why it has haunted Ravi all these years.”
James ran a hand through his thick hair. “You are still pretty sure that McGill’s friend was involved in the murder, yeah? The one who’d had dinner with him that night?”
Dani nodded. “Mark Vogel. Although, we can’t prove it.”
“Then this guy must have really hated McGill. There must have been some serious bad blood between them. So, I’d look back at their relationship. Find out how long they’d been pals, whether Richard had ever stolen one of Mark’s girlfriends or slept with his wife. Speak to someone who knew them well.”
“I don’t reckon Anna Vogel would’ve been Richard’s type.”
“Then go further back than the wife. Who knew them both the longest?”
Dani squinted against the glare of the sun. “Holly Kilpatrick said she didn’t know the Vogels that well. She was relatively new on the scene back in 2003. But his first wife is a different story, they were together for twenty years before the divorce.”
“Then go back and talk to her. I’m sure she’ll be cooperative. She must want to know who killed the father of her children.”
Dani didn’t reply. She was considering how best to attempt this without incurring the wrath of the DCS.
*
Eleanor Tasker-Smith still lived in the same property in Bearsden. When she opened the door to the detectives, Dani was surprised by the contrast between this woman and Holly Kilpatrick. Eleanor had allowed her hair to turn a silver-grey and her face had filled out so that she appeared healthy and contented.
“Please come inside. My husband is playing golf, so we’ve got the place to ourselves, which I think is for the best.” Eleanor busied herself in a well-appointed kitchen.
Ravi perched on a stool at the island, resting his hands on the sparkling granite which topped it. “We are extremely grateful that you agreed to speak with us today. We have been re-examining your ex-husband’s case, but it has not been officially re-opened.”
Eleanor paused as she laid out some cups. “You were on the original team?”
He nodded.
“I don’t remember you.”
“It would have been DI Shorter and DS Bell who interviewed you.”
Eleanor lowered herself into the stool opposite them. “I was deeply saddened when I heard about DI Shorter’s death. When I had some trouble with Boris, not long after his father died, Tony Shorter spoke with the local police and his headmistress, to explain what a difficult ordeal he’d been through and to take that into account when they considered their punishment. The old battle-axe at his school had been muttering darkly about expulsion.”
Ravi widened his eyes in surprise. “I didn’t know Tony had done that.”
“Truly decent people rarely brag about their good deeds.” Eleanor leant on the plunger of the coffee pot. “But that’s why I’m talking to you today. For the sake of DI Shorter. I took the children out of that awful school in the end, it was Richard who insisted they go there. But in those terrible few weeks after the murder, they needed stability.”
Dani felt suddenly grateful to a man she’d never met.
Ravi cradled his cup. “We wanted to ask you about your married life with Richard. We are now considering the possibility that the motive for his murder concerned a grudge that stretched back into his past.”
“As I’m sure you have already worked out, Richard could be a total bastard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he offended great swathes of folk over the years.”
Dani leant forward. “But you were with him for over twenty years, you had two children together. There must have been happy times – holidays, parties, nights out with friends?”
Eleanor shifted on her stool.
Dani decided that the woman had tried not to allow herself
to dwell on these good times, it would have hurt too much.
She nodded begrudgingly. “He could be fun and impulsive, in the early days. Once, when Tania and Boris were quite little, he surprised us with a trip to Disneyland. They were so excited, and it was a magical time, for all of us.”
“Did you see the Vogels much when you were first married?” Ravi asked innocently.
Eleanor furrowed her brow. “Mark didn’t meet Anna until the late nineties. Before that, he was Richard’s friend more than mine. I like Anna, though. We’re still friends now.”
“Did Mark and your husband get on well?” Dani persisted. “They seemed to have quite different personalities.”
“Well, they met when Richard joined the same corporate bank. I believe they talked about work more than anything else, but Richard was actually fond of him, in his own way. Mark stood by Richard when his affair with Holly came out. Not many of his other friends did. I suppose I’ve never really forgiven Mark for that, but I must admire his loyalty.”
Dani sighed inwardly, this wasn’t the information they wanted to hear.
“Over all those years of friendship, there must have been some disagreements? Richard must have complained about him?” Ravi was determined to persist with this line of questioning.
Eleanor took her time, thinking this over. “At some point in the nineties, they had a CEO who was obsessed with taking his employees on team-building exercises. It drove me crazy, because they were usually at the weekend, and I was left at home with the babies. On one occasion, they went on a city break to Europe, I honestly can’t recall where. After they returned, I noticed a frostiness between Mark and Richard. I asked my husband about it. He said Mark couldn’t keep up with the drinking and had buggered off in a huff.”
“Did they actually argue about it?”
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