Shallow Water

by Hunter J Walker

  Douglas grimaced. ‘It’s all a load of bollocks, don’t listen to him.’

  Frank laughed, an unpleasant sound, and retorted: ‘If it was a criminal offence Dougie would be banged to rights. How many girlfriends are you up? At the last count we made it six.’

  The sergeant arrived, interrupting the banter; which in Douglas’ mind was getting close to abusive. He wondered if Frank had set his sights on one of the Fan Club and was prepared to take revenge. He had better be careful this evening, Frank dominated this squad and he would be on his own if things turned nasty.

  The van pulled out of the car park and into its designated place in the convoy of vehicles heading in the direction of the Blind Piper.

  The van stopped at the end of the road leading to the rear of the block of buildings where the Blind Piper sat somewhere in the middle. The sergeant looked around the back of the van. ‘Ready everyone, we go on my mark.’ There was a shuffling and clatter as the riot gear was picked up and distributed to those who would be first into the rear door of the pub. The sergeant looked at his watch and said: ‘Ashburner, you remember to keep to the back…three, two, one…GO.’ The doors of the van flew open and the squad swarmed out and ran along the road towards the rear of the Blind Piper.

  The angry mob bursting out of the back door of the Blind Piper were escaping from the large force of police going in the front door and they found their escape route blocked by the small squad running towards them. Like the Highland Charges of old, the sheer ferocity of the enraged mob made the policemen halt and attempt to deploy defensively. The two largest policemen were in front with full size riot shields and they stopped and braced themselves against the shields to meet the charge, but the foremost of the mob, a tall sixteen stone man, leapt into the air and crashed in the riot shields at full speed. The two policemen went down in a flurry of arms and legs and the rest of the mob surged forward wielding pool cues, bottles and chairs legs. They overwhelmed the rest of the squad in seconds. As the fully armoured officers went down, Douglas realised his lightly armoured body was in greater danger and he turned to flee from the mob.

  He ran full tilt to the end of the road and rounded the corner before he heard the mob right behind him and turning his head he caught a glimpse of the barman, Gordon McKenzie, hurling a pool cue and before he could duck, it caught him a glancing blow on the side of his head. Stunned, he went down full-length on the pavement and his pursuer was onto him, kicking and stamping.

  *****

  The A&E waiting room in the Infirmary had the usual litter of late-night drunks, bums and other flotsam and jetsam of humanity, overflowing bins and old papers discarded on the cheap plastic chairs. They had been waiting for more than an hour and Nicola was apoplectic with rage at the delay. He tried explaining he just had a few bruises.

  ‘Dougie, you need to be examined, that numpty could have damaged parts you don’t know about yet and it’s procedure; the Chief likes to know when his property has been damaged.’

  ‘The important things are working, I’m wearing a stab vest under this and that took the force out of his kicks.’

  ‘I know all you’re concerned about is you’re downstairs kit – just so long as that’s fine, your female fans will be happy.’

  Douglas sat there thinking, oblivious to the surroundings. Before he said quietly: ‘The worst bit was when he stopped hitting me.’

  ‘I think he’s damaged your head. I’d be glad if some numpty stopped hitting me.’

  ‘McKenzie had me on the ground and was hammering me really hard when his mate pulled him off and said, that’s Arseburner you egit. He stopped straight away and actually pissed himself – a ruddy great stain started round his crotch and then down both legs. Then his mate said: You’re a dead man. I’ve never seen the sort of the fear I saw on that man’s face. From the way he hobbled away, he’d probably shit himself as well. How does my name put that kind of fear into a Glasgow hard man?’

  Nicola looked at her shoes for a bit before she spoke. ‘We both know how. Shona’s official boyfriend would have that sort of effect.’

  ‘Official boyfriend?’

  ‘The one approved by the head of clan Doherty.’

  Douglas sighed deeply. ‘That’s what’s depressing me. I don’t want to be the sort of man who makes people piss themselves with fear at the mere mention of his name.’

  ‘Douglas, you’re the only one that can fix that…you have to tell her it’s over and mean it.’

  ‘Douglas Ashburner,’ a voice called from the far side of the waiting area. Douglas wearily stood up and hobbled after the nurse, through the double doors into the examination area. She led him into a bay and he had to stop by the trolley, while a wave of pain racked his chest; when the pain had passed he managed to roll himself onto the trolley. The nurse opened his shirt to examine his chest and revealed the black vest. ‘What’s this?’ she exclaimed.

  ‘How long have you been a nurse? It’s a stab vest,’ Nicola said.

  The nurse’s face looked as if she’d seen him crawl out from under a stone. ‘You’re Police!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘Yes, what’s that got to do with anything? You’re supposed to be a professional.’

  ‘What would you lot know about being professional?’

  Nicola was starting to see red now. ‘OK, so the next time some ned nicks your car and you turn up at the station, we’ll say: sorry come back tomorrow we’re having a bad day, shall we?’

  A Doctor came at the sound. She looked around the bay and glared at Nicola. ‘If you don’t calm down, I will get the police to arrest…’ She stopped speaking and stared at the figure on the trolley. ‘Douglas, I didn’t know you were here. Nurse! What have you been doing? How long has he been waiting?’

  Nicola breathed a sigh of relief, backed out of the bay and through the double doors to the waiting room; glad that Douglas was safe in the hands of another of his fans.

  *****

  Nicola felt a cold blast of night air as the automatic double doors opened. Looking up she saw a good-looking woman, long auburn hair loose over her shoulders, in a long grey coat over a silver dress. Nicola took a second look at the woman; who was now looking carefully at everyone in the waiting room in turn, until she looked straight at her and there was a spark of recognition and the woman made a beeline for her. The woman was almost upon her become she recognised Susanne, looking very different from their last encounter in the high court.

  ‘Good morning Detective Inspector, I’m looking for Douglas, is he here?’

  ‘Through there,’ Nicola pointed towards the examination area. ‘Second cubicle on the left, a Doctor Geraldine O’Connor is attending to him.’

  ‘Oh, she is, is she?’ Susanne said and then she smiled, in a way that reminded Nicola of a lioness about to eat a tasty gazelle, and then she said calmly: ‘Excuse me, Inspector; I have to go and throw some hysterics.’

  Nicola watched her stride towards the double doors and go though them. A scream echoed from beyond doors, followed by a screech, and a burst of swearing. The security guard, sitting dozing near the entrance, jerked his head upright and looked around. The screech was repeated. The guard jerkily stood up and stumbled towards the double doors, where the sound of an argument started and rapidly increasing in volume. When he opened the doors, Nicola caught a blast of swearing that would put a fishwife to shame.

  The guard escorted a weeping Susanne back through the double doors holding her by the arm, half in support and half in restraint. He escorted her to one of the nearer chairs and let her collapse, sobbing, into it. Nicola stood up and walked over to the guard. She flashed the guard her warrant card. ‘Leave her with me,’ she said and he looked relieved at the prospect of dropping the responsibility for this distraught woman on somebody else. He muttered his agreement before scuttling back to his chair by the entrance.

  Nicola waited until he was seated again. ‘Nice performance, Doctor Geraldine should keep her claws out of Douglas from now on.’


  Susanne giggled. ‘Was it over the top?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s two in the morning and nobody is going to write a criticism for the papers.’

  Susanne stretched out. ‘You can go, Inspector, I’ll take him home when he’s been checked out.’

  Nicola stifled a yawned. ‘I’ll take you up on that offer…and tell him not to come in unless the doctors agree he’s fit enough.’

  Susanne snorted. ‘I’ll try telling him.’

  Nicola arched her eyebrows. ‘That’s men for you.’

  Chapter 12

  Tuesday

  Nicola looked across at Sergeant McCray sitting on top of her new safe with his legs dangling over the front. Julie, Tanya and Colin sat in a row in front of her desk. ‘They wouldn’t discharge Douglas from the hospital until he stops passing blood, the doctor reckons he’ll be out of action for a day or three. I’ve asked DCI Caddell for more manpower, but he hasn’t come back to me on that.’

  ‘I’m not going to hold my breath,’ McCray commented.

  Nicola grimaced. ‘You could be right sergeant, but we must carry on as best we can.’

  ‘Do we add the assault on Douglas to the list?’ Julie asked.

  ‘If you happen to trip over the man do arrest him, but it’s down to the local CID to investigate, not the MIU.’

  ‘Doesn’t it fit with the assault at the Blind Piper?’

  ‘From what Dougie said last night in the hospital it was just a mistake.’

  ‘So the guy just said: Oops, sorry and buggered off,’ McCray muttered.

  ‘That’s about it,’ Nicola answered.

  ‘What’s on this morning’s agenda?’

  ‘According to intelligence Tony Doherty arrives back from Spain today on the 9.45 flight from Alicante,’ Nicola said. ‘Colin, you and I will meet him off the flight.’

  ‘Doherty’s a big bugger,’ McCray said. ‘Better if I come along, ma’am.’

  Nicola considered this. ‘OK, you come as well, Sergeant.’ She paused to consult one of the files before continuing. ‘The video from the reception area of Computing & Software Utilities shows a meeting between Marcus Triffit and Annabel Sutherland in the lobby of the company office. The time stamp dates it to four weeks ago and it’s taken Dozy Dave a while to find it. Julie and Tanya, I want you to go back to Triffit’s flat and look for anything that could connect Annabel to the flat and after that check the evidence room for the same.’

  ‘What are we looking for?’ Tanya asked.

  ‘Letters, photographs, cards, diary entries, books, gifts, anything that connects her to the flat or to Marcus.’

  ‘Were her prints found in the flat?’

  ‘No report yet,’ Nicola replied. ‘I need to have words with the Forensic boys about that,’ she said and scribbled on a post-it note before peeling it off the pad to stick it on the telephone. ‘And while your there, see if you two can find where the signals from the CCTV camera near Triffit’s flat ended up. According to the techie guys it’s a wireless camera.’

  She glared at them. ‘Off you go…and, Sergeant, check the flight’s on time…and we’ll need a car.’

  *****

  Douglas saw Susanne coming and laid the magazine on the bed. ‘Hello, darling.’

  ‘Hi, no Doctor Geraldine?’ Susanne replied.

  ‘That’s not fair; she was only looking out for my best interests.’

  ‘That’s what worries me,’ she said and sat of the edge of the bed before leaning over to kiss him gently on the forehead.

  Douglas picked up the magazine and dropped it into Susanne’s lap. ‘Have you seen this article about your parent’s estate?’

  ‘Herreck House?’ Susanne said and flicked through the magazine until she found a photograph of the house and grounds from the air. ‘I wonder if they know about this?’

  ‘It’s all about the history of the place – apparently the original house was the centre for one of the conspiracies against Mary, Queen of Scots, in the sixteenth century.’

  She folded the magazine and put it in her bag.

  ‘I was reading that!’

  ‘You can finish it at home, Douglas. On more important matters: do you know when they are releasing you?’

  ‘I’m waiting for doctor’s rounds. My pee is clear now and if it keeps up the nurse thinks I will be going home this afternoon, but it depends on the doctor’s verdict.’

  ‘Do I need to take time off?’

  ‘No, the boss has offered to pick me up; I think she’s feeling guilty.’

  Susanne pursed her lips. ‘So she should, cocking up the raid like that. All that time and money wasted.’

  ‘She didn’t actually plan it, I think that was Caddell.’

  ‘Another incompetent, he’ll be for the axe if he carries on in the same way.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  Susanne ignored the question and kissed him again before picking up her bag and coat. ‘Bye, darling, and if Collins doesn’t put in an appearance give me a ring.’

  Douglas waved goodbye and laid his head back on the pillow. He was annoyed that she had taken the magazine; he had just reached the interesting part. The article said the early history of Herreck House was buried in the mists of time and only from the late sixteenth century did any written material survive. Although tales from the earlier period were recounted in the records – one of these related to the period of the Rough Wooing of Scotland by Henry VIII when the daughter of the house was kidnapped and forcibly married to one of the most desperate of the Reivers, known as the Ash Burner for his merciless depredations of the border country. Douglas wondered if Heather Woods had read the article, or written it – he would have to look up the author when he got the magazine back from Susanne.

  An hour later the doctor, on her rounds, reached his bed; a young woman whose roots, Douglas guessed, lay in the Indian Subcontinent; although her accent was refined Glaswegian. She told him his injuries didn’t pose any problems now his urine was clear and she would discharge him, but it would be another hour before the paperwork would be ready and if he wished to ask someone to collect him he should do it now. Douglas sent a text message to Nicola’s phone saying he gratefully accepted her offer to pick him up from the hospital.

  *****

  Nicola looked up as Sergeant McCray put his head into her office.

  ‘The flight’s landing at 10:05 and there are hold-ups on the M8, better leave now, boss,’ he said.

  ‘I can chase up those forensic numpties from the car, let’s go…where’s Colin?’

  ‘Waiting in the car, boss.’

  She picked up her jacket and followed McCray downstairs.

  The three slowly moving columns of traffic barely exceeded twenty miles an hour and McCray, fuming in the front passenger seat, muttered unhelpful instructions to Colin. Nicola felt compelled to intervene. ‘Sergeant, if we miss him at the airport we’ll pick him up later.’

  As were at junction 23 before she remembered the fingerprint problem and phoned the head of the fingerprint section. Five minutes later, after a lengthy explanation of the logistical problems facing the fingerprint section, Nicola was no wiser as to when the answers to her particular problem would come off the end of the production line.

  Much to his relief Colin negotiated the traffic expertly and with a final flash of the blue lights, they reached the terminal approach road only five minutes after the expected time. Colin waved the remote key at the machine and the barrier lifted allowing him into the road leading directly to the terminal entrance. Colin slid the car to the kerb between two buses and McCray jumped out of the car followed by Nicola. They hurried to the entrance and across the arrivals hall, towards the restricted area. But they waited an age before a Border Agency officer appeared to grant them admission.

  *****

  The officer tapped irritatingly with his pen on the desk. ‘No, he’s not on the flight,’ he repeated.

  ‘He’s on the passenger list,’ Nicola retorted.


  ‘All I can say is he didn’t come through immigration at this end.’

  ‘He can’t have disappeared.’

  The officer audibly sighed. ‘I’ll have a word with the airline and see if anything happened after boarding,’ the officer said and picked up the phone. ‘It says on the request that you wanted to question Mr Doherty?’

  ‘Yes, we need to ask him a few questions, that’s all.’

  While McCray stood impassively by the wall near the door, Nicola paced around the small office listening to the disjointed conversation, which left her none the wiser. Finally the officer put the phone down after a final thank you.

  ‘Mr Anthony Doherty got off the plane before departure from Alicante, complaining of stomach pains. And before you ask, the amended passenger list is on its way…or so they say.’

  ‘Is he on another flight to Glasgow?’

  The officer turned to the computer on his desk and typed rapidly in bursts for several minutes. ‘Sorry, he’s not booked on any of the Glasgow flights from Alicante today or tomorrow.’

  Nicola groaned. ‘OK, thanks for your assistance; I’ll put him on the notify-on-entry list.’ Nicola nodded to the officer and headed for the door.

  McCray followed her out of the office. ‘Doherty’s not going to leave his operations in the hands of anyone else for very long?’

  ‘I’d like to know why he left that flight at the last minute,’ Nicola added.

  At the end of the maze of corridors they walked out into the arrivals hall and Nicola looked around: ‘Has Colin got his radio with him, or do we have to ring his mobile?’

  ‘No need, boss, he’s sitting over there having a nice relaxing cuppa.’

  *****

  The nurse pulled the curtain around the bed to save the other occupants of the side ward from the sight of Douglas’ multicoloured bruises. The nurse departed and Douglas sat on the bed contemplating the colours of his body from a dark black to a delicate shade of pink and a complete rainbow spectrum in between. The painkillers alleviated some pain, but moving slowly his shirt took an age to put on, as he took care not to bend his arms too far. His underpants and trousers followed later and the socks and shoes much later still.