Castle Killings: A DCI Keane Scottish Crime Thriller (Deadly Highlands Book 4)

by Oliver Davies

  As I walked across the complex back to my own quiet little office suite, I found myself wondering how da would react if we took this case. He’d probably be relieved, I decided. I wasn’t the only one finding it hard to relax at home these days, and a relatively safe little trip up to Caithness would be a lot less worrying for him than the thought of Shay and I attacking a series of dangerous climbs together. Da could have gone back to Florida or Texas once our little crisis was over, but he’d made it quite clear that he’d seen enough whilst he was over there. He could finish the job at home, with occasional video conferences when required.

  “Besides, those Americans are very odd people,” he’d said. “They’re alright individually and in small doses, but collectively they’re rather worrying. As a nation, there’s something very off about their shared worldview. That country is pretty messed up, not that most of them give a fig about how the rest of us see them.”

  It hadn’t particularly surprised me to hear him say it. I doubted anyone in Europe could really figure out what the hell was going on over there. The US seemed far more polarised and divided than the UK was these days. It was a violent place too. They’d had over sixteen thousand murders last year, and we’d had fifty-nine. Alright, their population was about sixty times greater than ours, but it still meant that the place was nearly five times as dangerous as Scotland.

  Their ‘gun control’ legislation didn’t help them there either. Christ! I couldn’t imagine what we’d have to deal with if almost half of Scotland had guns. The very idea of it was insane.

  Caitlin looked up inquiringly as I walked in. “So, what did the Chief want?” she asked casually. “or aren’t you supposed to say?” I stopped briefly to perch on the edge of her desk.

  “He’s offered me a case, up in Caithness.” I kept my voice down so as not to disturb the others. Walker and Mills were out, but Collins and Bryce were busy at their desks on the other side of the room. “It’s up to Shay whether we take it or not. Anderson won’t push if he says no. I’ll let you know when we’ve read the file and talked it over.”

  She gave me one of her amused looks. “A murder?”

  I nodded, and she snorted quite loudly. Collins and Bryce both looked over at us a little curiously, but I caught their eyes, and they got straight back to work

  “You’d turn that down? Either of you?” Caitlin asked incredulously. “Not very likely. Why would you?”

  “Simon Philips, for one thing. I have to include an experienced DI in the team, and McKinnon’s only offering a choice of him or Morgan.” I didn’t need to elaborate. Caitlin knew that wasn’t any sort of choice at all.

  “You can handle Philips. He won’t cause any trouble either. He’ll be on his best behaviour, trying to impress you. How large a team?”

  “Six. You, me, Shay, Philips, and two of our DCs.”

  She pulled a face. “That’s rough. You’re going to have two disappointed people on your hands if you do take it.”

  “I know.” It was a shame for those I’d be leaving behind but not a deciding factor. “That’s just the way the job is sometimes. Nobody has to like it.”

  “I guess you’d better go and figure it out then,” she said with a shrug and a smile. “I’ll just think about what to pack, shall I?”

  “Don’t count your chickens,” I advised her placidly as I got up again.

  That got another snort, but a quieter one this time. “I wasn’t. I was counting my hunting hawks.”

  She was right, of course. The chances of Shay refusing the case were very low. If Anderson wanted us up there, it wasn’t going to be something straightforward or simple, and my cousin did like an engrossing challenge.

  I went into my office and opened up the file. It was better to wait until I’d read it myself before sending it to Shay.

  Three

  Our victim was originally from Delft, in the Netherlands. He was twenty-nine years old, and his name was Kaj Visser. That first name was pronounced ‘Kai’ just like the Welsh ‘Cai.’ He’d been working for VOW (Vik Offshore Windfarm) for the past eleven months as one of the contracted crewmen operating their crew transfer vessels.

  His body had been spotted in the water by trippers out near Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, about three miles north of Wick, last Saturday morning. At first, it had been assumed that he’d simply fallen off the cliff the night before. There were no unaccounted for vehicles in the car park, which was a few minutes’ walk away, but he could easily have reached the place on foot. As to why he’d decided to go out there, that was anyone’s guess.

  It was almost a hundred feet from the cliff top to the rocks below, and Visser’s physical injuries, to an untrained eye, had not appeared to contradict the theory of a fall, followed by a subsequent battering in the surf. The forensic pathologist who’d examined the recovered body soon realised that particular theory didn’t hold up. The physical injuries simply did not correlate to a fall from that height, and much of the damage had possibly preceded his death. It can be difficult to distinguish between Ante mortem and Post mortem bruising, but the commendably thorough pathologist had decided to run some tests. Ante mortem bruises contained a chemical, ‘inflammation leukotriene B4’, that was not found in injuries inflicted after death.

  The results were conclusive. Kaj Visser had been severely beaten before he drowned.

  Perhaps he’d stumbled into the water afterwards, or perhaps he’d been thrown in, conscious or unconscious. Either way, he’d gone into the water from down by the shore, not from the cliffs above. Even if she wasn’t looking at a murder victim, the pathologist had seen enough to believe that there was a case here for culpable homicide, our equivalent of manslaughter.

  The SPA lab in Aberdeen had sent back the results of the blood and urine tests yesterday. Kaj Visser had not only been drinking before he died but had also imbibed a large quantity of methanol. Certainly enough to kill him within a day if he hadn’t received treatment. Traces of ketamine had also been found, but that was a pretty common street drug these days. The methanol was more puzzling. Had he been drinking some local, hazardous moonshine? A batch that had gone horribly wrong? We’d have to check with Caithness General Hospital to see if they’d had any cases of alcohol poisoning recently that might also have been the result of methanol ingestion.

  Area Commander Rory Munro had set his people to make some enquiries as soon as the pathologist had submitted her initial report. They hadn’t made much progress. Kaj Visser had been out drinking with a couple of his crewmates on Friday night. He’d stayed with them through visits to three pubs in town, but they’d lost him at the third, which they’d said was quite usual. Visser often found some girl to chat up when they went out together.

  That had been around ten, they thought, and they didn’t know how much longer Visser had stayed there after that. The other two had stuck together, and the staff at the third pub, Harpers, confirmed that they’d been there until closing time. There may have been another man with them when they got there. Friday night was a busy night, so they couldn’t say for sure.

  Munro’s people had also been to see Kaj’s manager and crewmates down at the VOW offices. They were told that he’d been an exemplary employee, reliable, experienced and highly competent. He was generally liked, a good man to have with you when conditions were rough, and usually willing to cover a shift for a colleague when asked. No, they weren’t aware of Kaj making any enemies here. Everyone seemed to like him.

  Those reports left a great deal to be desired. We’d need to talk to those people again ourselves, and a lot more of Visser’s colleagues too.

  Shay jumped at the opportunity, of course. He called me less than ten minutes after I’d sent him the file. After we’d gone over what little information there was, my cousin already had a considerable list of things he wanted to start looking into.

  “I’ll check out the accommodation options first, get us nicely sorted. As for what Munro might offer us at Wick station, if I don’t like the setup, I
’ll only go in there when you need me to. What do you think Anderson meant with that ‘cleaning house’ comment?”

  “Exactly what it sounds like. Any new boss taking control of an established force is going to spend some time going through personnel files and assessing the people he’s inherited. It’s normal.”

  “Fat lot of good reading the files will be,” he scoffed. “Records of written warnings for minor misconduct get wiped from the records after a year. Plus, let’s face it, the whole complaints system is a disgraceful mess.”

  “There’s definitely room for a lot of improvement,” I agreed. “Look, can we not get side-tracked just now? We’re not going up there to poke into any possible problems within Munro’s staff. That’s his job. Ours is to work the case.”

  “I know that.” The following disgruntled sniff was clearly audible. “It seems a bit odd, though, Anderson warning you not to expect much help up there.”

  “Not if it’s all some convoluted strategy they’ve cooked up between them. The local CID team probably won’t be thrilled about being supplanted by a bunch of outsiders. If the new boss gives us a cool, minimally co-operative welcome, he’ll certainly gain some trust points there...”

  “Right, and Anderson might want us on the case, but he’s not ready, or willing, to set us loose on our own again just yet? Is that it?”

  “Pretty much. That was my take on it, anyway.”

  Shay sniffed. “Alright then. Forewarned is forearmed. Do we head up there today or first thing tomorrow?”

  “It’s not worth splashing out on rooms for tonight, and I have to tie things up here first, anyway. We’ll head up there in the morning.” We could drive it in well under three hours, even with a rest stop halfway. “I should get the team together for a briefing later. Can you come in at four for that?”

  “If I must. I’ll send you what I can by two, so you can prepare properly. Which DCs are you taking?”

  “Mills and Collins.” I’d already decided that. Bryce was the least experienced of my DCs, so he was out, and Walker didn’t need it. She was already firmly on the fast track for promotion. The competition for sergeant’s slots was fierce, but Walker was a shoo-in. Most people spent their entire careers as constables, in uniform or not. Being picked for a MIT like this would look good on Darren and Mike’s records, and they both deserved it.

  After Shay had hung up, I called Anderson and let him know we wanted to take the case. I think he’d been expecting that answer, but he still sounded pleased to hear it. Then it was McKinnon’s turn. Yes, he’d send Philips round at four and make sure Morgan had desks ready for Walker and Bryce. They could head his way at the same time and get themselves settled in ready for tomorrow.

  “Are you sure your cousin’s up for this, Conall?” James was concerned, naturally. I think some small part of him suspected that Shay had acted out of a sense of personal obligation because of the part McKinnon had played in getting him out of Edinburgh. He hadn’t, but the boot was firmly on the other foot now.

  “If you knew him like I do, you wouldn’t even ask. He’s fine. Fit as the proverbial fiddle and raring to go.”

  “Aye, well, if you were talking about anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it.” He’d read Shay’s file, psych evaluations and all. Not that those could be trusted. They’d got a few bits right, but not much. “I suppose he’s still adamant about not letting June and Gary thank him in person?”

  “He doesn’t like that sort of thing, James. It makes him very uncomfortable. I understand why you felt you had to tell them about him, and they deserved to know, but they’ll just have to be satisfied that their letter was appreciated.”

  Shay hadn’t read that either, but I had. Jimmy’s parents had put a lot of thoughtful effort into their heartfelt thank you. Most people didn’t understand that unless you were entirely alone in the world, every selfless act of bravery could also feel like a shitty and selfish thing to do. The firefighters who felt compelled to enter burning buildings and get people out knew exactly what they were putting their own families through, however supportive and proud they usually were.

  After speaking to McKinnon, I still had another call to make. Jen had been planning to come over for the weekend tomorrow evening, and I’d already cancelled on her twice this year. This time it was on pretty short notice, too.

  “Shit, Conall! Again? I was really looking forward to this weekend.”

  “So was I. A lot. Look, we can do it next week or the week after instead if you still feel like it, okay? I’m really sorry, Jen.”

  “You’d better be. I’m pretty sure you could have wriggled out of this job if you’d wanted to.”

  “We could,” I admitted, “but we didn’t want to.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute, thinking that through.

  “If you say he’s fine, then I believe you, but if Shay’s going hyper again, I can understand why this might be a welcome opportunity to distract him. Call me when you get back. I’m going to see if I can swap my days around so I can stay an extra night, so do your best to make it next weekend, alright?” Jen was a real brick. There was never any need for long explanations there.

  After that call, I popped out to the break room to fill up my thermos. Walker and Mills were back by then. Good. Collins and Mills first, then. They both reacted very positively to my news. I’d been slightly worried that they might not be too keen on the sudden, unexpected assignment, but there was no sign of that from either of them.

  Bryce, when I asked him into my office, took my news and my decision very well. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew that it was the correct choice. His turn would come, eventually. Walker, when I called her in to see me, was more inclined to try to make me think again. She didn’t like being left behind, which was understandable, but we all had to get used to little disappointments like this.

  “May I ask why, Sir? Why them and not me?”

  I wasn’t obliged to explain myself but refusing to give her an answer wouldn’t be at all constructive.

  “It’s very simple. I had three equally deserving candidates to fill two spots with. You’ve already had more support and encouragement from me than either of them. It’s just their turn, Walker, and they have seniority in terms of time served, too, don’t forget. Anything else wouldn’t be fair.” She didn’t like that answer much, but it didn’t leave her any room for argument. “Just buckle down and get the work done, alright? It will only be for a few days with any luck. Morgan won’t be much help to you, but you’ll have Bryce, and he’s a lot more useful than he was a year ago.”

  “He is,” Walker agreed, trying to sound cheerfully resigned about the situation but not quite succeeding. Luckily, my DCs all got on really well with each other, so there shouldn’t be any hard feelings to deal with after we got back, which was as it should be.

  I spent the next fifteen minutes going over our open cases with her. They were all pretty straightforward, nothing she couldn’t get on with perfectly well without real supervision. After she’d gone, I stopped the recorder, leaned back, and kicked my chair into motion. Studiously ignoring that unfortunate little crush while it lasted had worked out well in the end. She’d handled it very admirably, too, although the others had certainly noticed. Still, you couldn’t be too careful about that sort of potential trouble. It was only sensible to keep records of every private interview, just in case. What Walker didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

  I turned my attention back to the new file and began work on an action plan and provisional task list. In a case like this one, a first priority was finding out more about the victim’s lifestyle, routine and the people he’d known. Shay would be working on a background check on Kaj Visser, but we wouldn’t be able to build much of a picture of his life in Wick until we got up there. There had been no phone on the body. That had either been removed before he went into the water or was lost to the sea.

  Still, Shay would look into Visser’s social media accounts and should be able to a
t least get some metadata from the phone company. Times, dates, and numbers contacted if nothing else. The vast majority of murder victims were killed by people they knew, so we definitely wanted those. It was only the nut jobs who picked random strangers to target, and this one didn’t smell like another of those.

  Running through the Features of Offenders checklist was automatic.

  Motive: Unknown, but the way that Visser had died certainly made it seem like someone really didn’t like him very much. Revenge? Jealousy? Gain? A mixture of those?

  Number: Unknown but probably more than one. Getting him down to the shore would have been a hell of a struggle for one person.

  Planning: Yes. This hadn’t been spontaneous. But what level of planning? What steps had they taken to avoid detection?

  Scene Disguise: They’d taken Kaj to a remote spot where they were unlikely to be observed but hadn’t made any attempt to hide the body. Ignorance of the currents or deliberate lack of concern?

  Escape Routes: There was only one road leading to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe. That had been their only choice of route in and out by land, but a boat was also possible.

  Recognition: No steps had been taken to disguise the identity of the body. Whether they’d disguised themselves was another unknown.

  Travel: Vehicle or boat or on foot? On foot seemed unlikely, given the condition Visser must have been in. Supporting or carrying him that far would certainly have attracted notice. They’d been in town earlier that night, we knew that much.

  Approach to Scene: Again, there was only one road in and out, and the water.

  Relationship: Could I establish one between the offenders, the scene and the victim? Not yet anyway. That was a lot of blanks to fill in.

  I pulled up a map of the area. If they’d driven from town, they’d have gone up past Papigoe and Staxigoe. We could see if there was any footage of passing traffic to be found there, unlikely but possible. I didn’t like the boat idea. Surely, they’d have dumped him further offshore if they’d had a boat? If they’d weighed the body down properly, it might never have been discovered. Besides, that was a very rocky stretch of coast. Taking a boat in that close, at night, would have been stupidly risky, especially in rough seas. A weather check confirmed that conditions would have been poor up there last Friday.