Ice Cold Blood

by David W. Millar

  Euan

  After your display of juvenile petulance last week I think it is time to call a halt to our relationship. I don’t feel you are aware of my needs and you are often not connected to me emotionally. Suggesting we move in together was premature and clearly unworkable when there is this distance between us. I don’t know what that could hope to achieve. Yes, we might be good on the hills together or scaling a mountain, however there is much more to a relationship than sports and hobbies. I need my views and principles respected.

  You are entitled to your opinion, but you are certainly not entitled to rubbish or undermine mine.

  Maybe we could meet up for a coffee in a few weeks to see how things are between us and have a frank discussion to see if restarting our relationship might be worthwhile. There would need to be a lot of soul-searching on both our parts. To facilitate this there is also the possibility of couple’s counselling if you feel you are up to the prospect of positive change.

  Ellie

  He put the single sheet of paper down on the table and rubbed his eyes. Reading the letter had brought back memories of sleepless nights and the difficulty of concentrating at work. He had phoned her once, but the conversation was strained and unproductive, an argument never far away. They never went for the coffee or the counselling.

  Chapter 31

  Tosh was feeling pleased with himself. He had new information on Serafini. There was no hurry to use it and he hadn’t told McIntyre about the phone call. It was obvious that information about Serafini’s arrest and then release had got out and some people knew who he was. While the woman had asked to remain anonymous, she was willing to testify if necessary. He knew Serafini’s solicitor was sharp and might well terminate the meeting if she thought her client was at a disadvantage. Better to have a preamble first, get something down on the recorder, then drop the depth charge later. That way it would have maximum effect. So after the machine was set up and the date and time recorded he started the interview.

  ‘I take it that you still deny any involvement in the murder of Ellie Saunders?’

  When Serafini merely nodded, Tosh asked him for a verbal reply into the recorder.

  ‘I didn’t kill her,’ he replied loudly. ‘I have repeated this on a number of occasions.’

  ‘Did you ever consider leaving your wife and moving in with Ms Saunders?’

  ‘No, never.’

  ‘Did Ellie ever ask you to leave your wife and live with her?’

  ‘No, Ellie had her private life and I had mine.’

  ‘So it was simply a matter of sexual gratification for you both.’

  ‘My client has already indicated that he and Ms Saunders had sexual relations together. I think that implies some sort of gratification.’

  Tosh made a placatory nod in the solicitor’s direction, although McIntyre’s remark wasn’t unreasonable. It asked the question about what emotional involvement existed between them and that surely was pertinent to the investigation. It was the delivery of the question that was poor, McIntyre being inexperienced in these matters where a defence solicitor was always keen to make his or her presence felt by admonishing any loose comments.

  ‘I think my colleague was simply requesting information regarding the closeness of any relationship between Mr Serafini and Ms Saunders.’

  ‘We were close but there was never any discussion about us ever living together. Does that answer your question?’

  ‘And Ms Saunders was complicit in that understanding?’

  ‘Yes,’ Serafini replied wearily.

  ‘Did Ms Saunders share her innermost thoughts and feelings with you?’

  ‘It’s what people tend to do when they’re counselled.’

  ‘Is that a yes?’

  ‘Yes, it’s a yes,’ Serafini groaned, rolling his eyes and looking at his solicitor.

  ‘In our last meeting you mentioned Euan Hunter as someone who was emotionally involved with Ms. Saunders. I wonder if you could maybe expand on that, how Ellie felt about him and what happened between them.’

  So Serafini told them about the struggles between her and Hunter that Ellie had revealed during their counselling sessions. There was the fight in the bar in the Red Mountain ski resort and the acrimony he often showed towards her male friends. He told them Ellie swung from thinking she loved Hunter, because he cared so much about her, to feeling his jealousy was suffocating her. There was the success and failures of her medication, both natural and prescription based, the mood swings that blighted her life and therefore Hunter’s, and the pain she felt on learning that Hunter was having a relationship with Annabel, that pain becoming magnified when Annabel fell pregnant. Then there was their attempt to resurrect the relationship further down the line, Serafini indicating he knew it was doomed to failure.

  ‘From your discussions with Ms Saunders, and your training as a counsellor, how would you describe Euan Hunter? ‘

  ‘Chief inspector, I don’t know anything about your personal life. Maybe you’ve met the perfect woman and you’re in the perfect relationship. Falling in love for a want of a better expression can have a devastating effect on a man. You want to be with that person all the time and you want to make that person happy. It’s like you’re on heroin, always wanting another shot of reassurance that she loves you. A row can be devastating, like the end of the world. You wonder who she’s with; who she’s talking to, is there someone else out there whom she loves? It’s exhausting. I think Euan Hunter knew that Ellie had casual sex with men. That would be pretty devastating.’

  Looking at Serafini, Tosh felt the counsellor’s words resonating in his brain. It had been a bit like that with Alison. He’d made most of the running, sending texts, buying flowers, surprise presents. He would suggest weekends away and kept asking her if she was happy. Any thoughts of her seeing someone else did orbit the far recesses of his mind but were usually dismissed as paranoia.

  ‘Could he have murdered her?’ McIntyre asked as his boss ruminated on past events.

  ‘Come on gentlemen,’ Andrea interrupted wearily. ‘You’re asking my client to speculate on the killing potential of a man he’s never met.’

  ‘Yes, my apologies,’ Tosh soothed. ‘What my colleague is getting at is whether Ellie ever hinted in your sessions together that Hunter had been violent towards her.’

  ‘No, Ellie never suggested that Hunter was a physical threat. As I have already indicated he was consumed by her. I’m sure you’ve both encountered people who have murdered the ones they loved or used to love, so you are better placed to make these judgements.’

  ‘Indeed, we are,’ Tosh agreed. ‘But you’re a psychosexual counsellor, was there any indication that Hunter and Ellie engaged in violent sex?’ Tosh made exclamation marks around the word violent. ‘Maybe tied her up, used handcuffs that sort of thing.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you ever practise violent sex with Ms Saunders?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you ever engage in violent sex with other clients?’

  Serafini scanned Tosh’s face for clues; it remained impassive. The question had taken him by surprise and already his hesitation in replying felt incriminating. Sensing his discomfort his solicitor asked for a ten-minute break. Tosh agreed immediately with what Serafini thought was a knowing smile on his face.

  ‘I once smacked a woman, a client, on her bare bottom,’ Serafini confessed when the two detectives had left the room. ‘I was fully clothed; she was naked, and her boyfriend was also naked. The client wanted her boyfriend to smack her and he wasn’t keen on it so the idea was that I would smack her while he watched then he would join in.’

  ‘And the purpose of this…?’

  ‘Sometimes in a controlled environment people can safely indulge, for want of a better word, their fetishes. It can move them on. She wanted to engage in more adventurous sex and felt thi
s was important for their relationship and I was asked to help facilitate this.’

  ‘So what happened?’ Andrea asked, clearly struggling to keep a smile from her face.

  ‘She was across my knee, wanting me to hit her harder and harder. I was aroused and she started to rub my crotch. I asked her boyfriend to join in and for some reason he hit her very hard on the buttocks, possibly to punish her for touching me. Anyway, she got angry and remonstrated with me, saying she felt hurt and humiliated. There was a red weal across her buttocks, and I told her it was her boyfriend who hit her that time. She wouldn’t listen, saying that it was assault. She was crying. I wasn’t sure if they were playing some sort of game. Then the pair of them hugged each other, got their clothes on and left. It was one of the most bizarre sessions I’d ever had.’

  ‘Did she make an official complaint?’

  ‘No, and I always have written statements when engaging in sexual roleplay. It was her decision for me to smack her. Both agreed to the session before it started. I never heard from either of them again. She never settled her account and I never pursued her for the money. And it was over 15 years ago.’

  ‘So you’re worried in case she’s found out about your involvement with Ellie Saunders and contacted the police?’

  ‘It’s possible.’

  ‘Well that’s certainly something I’ve never encountered in my time as a solicitor,’ she declared wryly. ‘My advice would be to divulge this information now making the usual noises about patient confidentiality. That way we’re not suddenly confronted with an awkward situation in court.’

  ---oOo---

  The chance to go to New Zealand came out of the blue. The timing, regarding what he had just learned about Ellie’s child, appeared to be an amazing coincidence, but Flint reminded himself that he’d had plenty of offers before to join expeditions in various countries. A co-leader from a rival company had injured himself in a fall and desperate for an experienced climber Flint had been approached at the last minute. He would have to be up and ready to go within five days

  He had asked for a day to consider the offer, despite knowing he would accept the position. The money was good and if nothing else the experience gained would be beneficial if he decided to run future climbs there with his own company. He was free to book a later flight back to the UK, meaning he might have time to meet up with John Dylan. And there was the possibility of checking out adoption agencies in New Zealand.

  Realistically Flint knew there was little hope of turning up anything worthwhile. His online research indicated that if his name as the father was not on the birth certificate, and he had to assume that was likely to be the case, then he had almost no rights regarding the boy.

  So two days before he was due to leave, and after several texts, he finally managed to convince Hunter to meet for a drink in Glasgow. Waiting nervously inside, and wondering whether he would show up, Flint eventually saw a familiar figure enter the pub and look round. Raising a hand in greeting, he directed Hunter over to his table by the window.

  They shook hands, Flint trying unsuccessfully to gauge the mood of his visitor by his facial expression. Leaving him to remove his coat Flint went to the bar to order another beer. When he returned, he noticed Hunter rummaging in a rucksack before removing a transparent plastic wallet. Deciding to say nothing and let Hunter make most of the running Flint put the pint down on the table and took his seat.

  ‘Thanks,’ Hunter nodded while taking a swig from the glass. ‘It’s cold out there.’

  ‘Still a fair bit of snow on the hills and I think there’s some good skiing on the Lecht.’

  ‘Your company getting regular bookings?’

  Flint nodded; Hunter’s small talk was friendly at least. It might augur well when they got down to business.

  ‘Yeah, can’t complain.’

  The two men drank their beer in silence before Flint nudged the conversation in a more productive direction.

  ‘Do you think Serafini killed Ellie?’

  ‘That’s for the police and the courts to decide.’

  ‘You must be happy at least that they traced him?’

  ‘It won’t bring Ellie back,’ Hunter growled. ‘Now what did you want to see me about?’

  Flint winced as Hunter appeared to be reverting to type, the chance of a friendly chat evaporating. He decided to go for broke.

  ‘It looks like Ellie had her child adopted in New Zealand.’

  Hunter stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. ‘I know that.’

  Flint fought to control the rising anger. ‘You knew?’

  ‘I doubt Ellie ever loved me the way I loved her, but she always shared her thoughts with me. She always confided in me.’

  ‘So how long have you known and why didn’t you tell me.’

  ‘I’ll get us another drink.’

  When he returned Flint, despite his frustration, thanked him politely. It was important to keep the man onside.

  ‘I didn’t know until quite recently that the child might be yours.’

  ‘Well thanks for telling me anyway even if there’s not a lot I can do. Tracing the boy is almost impossible and even if I could…’

  ‘She never really forgave me for my relationship with Annabel and when Ellie knew Annabel was pregnant, she became very angry and refused to speak to either of us. Then when we split up, Ellie got back in touch and we eventually started going out again.’

  ‘And that was after Ellie came back from New Zealand?’

  ‘Yes, Eilidh was only about two then.’

  ‘Do you think Ellie used me to get her pregnant to get back at you?’ Flint suggested before finishing his beer and putting it on the table.

  ‘Maybe,’ Hunter nodded before emptying his own glass. ‘She never told me until very recently that she’d had a child.’

  Flint picked up both empty glasses. ‘I need another drink.’

  Hunter had arranged some papers on the table when Flint came back. He was intrigued but for the moment content to sit back try to look relaxed.

  ‘Thanks, I can’t remember the last time I had three pints at lunchtime. I doubt I’ll make it back to work. Being a consultant does have its advantages.’

  ‘I’m staying in Glasgow overnight so I’ve no problems either,’ Flint smiled raising his glass in return.

  Nothing was said between them for a few moments before Hunter looked over at Flint.

  ‘Do the police know anything about this?’

  ‘Not yet, but Annabel will tell them if I don’t.’

  ‘Try and get her to put it off for a bit.’

  ‘How long’s a bit?

  ‘Have you ever been to New Zealand?’

  ‘No, but surprisingly I just got an offer to co-lead a climb there by another company.’

  ‘No doubt you would want to see the country when you were there? I might be able to suggest a place of particular interest but that depends.’

  ‘Depends on what?’

  ‘On you not telling the police until you get back.’

  ‘What difference does it make?’

  ‘Let’s say it makes a difference to me.’

  ‘So what have you got to stop me going to the police?’

  ‘It’s the last known address in New Zealand where the person who might be your son was staying.’

  Chapter 32

  ‘I don’t think he did it,’ Tosh declared to Shona when they were lying in bed after a delicious afternoon off work, devoted to food, drink and then love making. ‘A woman called in anonymously to say he’d hit her quite hard during a counselling session when she was naked with her boyfriend. Despite her bravado on the phone, I doubt she would have testified in court at the end of the day. And God knows what it was all about. Serafini admitted to it during questioning. Now while there were rope marks on Ellie’s body, it�
��s a big step to going from tying someone up to sticking an ice axe through their head.’

  ‘What about him not wanting his wife to find out? Maybe he just thought he’d get away with it.’

  ‘She appears to be supporting him now that it has all come out.’

  ‘What does Mac think?’

  ‘Guilty, next case please,’ Tosh laughed. ‘For some reason Ian doesn’t like Serafini and that’s clouding his judgement.’

  ‘Well Serafini’s surely your most likely suspect.’

  ‘I don’t know, there’s Euan Hunter in the mix. He doesn’t have a firm alibi for the evening, and I could see him killing her in a fit of rage, but there’s no DNA match and I can’t find anything else to pin the murder on him. I don’t want the wrong person convicted of her murder.’

  ‘So, back to a random killing.’

  ‘It’s so unlikely Alison. No, I’m missing something.’

  The look on Shona’s face told him something was wrong. Then he remembered he’d called her Alison.

  ‘Oh God I’m so sorry. I don’t know where that came from.’

  ‘I suppose it was bound to happen at some time. I called my boyfriend by the wrong name once. Don’t worry about it.’

  ‘Thanks, but I’ve a feeling you’re just saying that to make me feel better.’

  Tosh knew the conversation with Serafini had been increasingly unsettling and the counsellor’s earlier treatise on love had made him think more about his failed relationship with Alison. On the way back to Fort William he’d asked McIntyre to drive and again dodged any conversation by pretending to be asleep. He’d tried to focus on the case but thoughts about the failed relationship with Alison ran on an unbroken loop in his head. They’d had a few screaming matches near the end, both sides hurling abuse before one party stormed out. He’d pleaded with her to stay, all a bit undignified. Maybe like Euan Hunter, he’d tried too hard. Then again maybe Alison had never really loved him. She had said once that there was no spark between them, just the convenience that being a couple brings. It made Tosh wonder what spark was generated when she met her new man.