Shallow Water

by Hunter J Walker

‘Did your neighbour Shona know about this relationship?’

  ‘Not to my knowledge.’

  ‘How did you make contact with Kenny and Danny Shaw?’

  ‘I met them at the University Union ages ago.’

  ‘Did they give you a phone number?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did anybody give you any contact details for them before that meeting?’

  She shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘When did you leave the house in Edzell Drive?’

  ‘Three days ago.’

  ‘Where have you been since then?’

  ‘Staying in a Travelodge.’

  Douglas paused and looked across at Tanya’s writing on the statement pad to summarise his thoughts before he asked the next question.

  ‘Why didn’t you return to your home?’

  ‘Marcus Triffit’s disappearance,’ she paused and looked at him. ‘I didn’t want to suffer his fate.’

  ‘Why did you think you would suffer his fate?’

  ‘He was ferreting around in the Bank’s computer system and found a lot of files he wasn’t supposed to behind a firewall. He put the files onto a DVD and gave them to me saying that it was dangerous stuff and I should put it in a safe place in case something happened to him.’

  ‘Did you look at the files on the DVD?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Whom did you send the DVD to?’

  ‘Anthony Doherty.’

  ‘Why him in particular.’

  She shrugged. ‘Who was I going to trust – my father?’

  Douglas decided to divert onto the subject of her father’s disappearance. ‘Do you know where your father is?’

  ‘I haven’t really spoken to my father in ages, I don’t know.’

  He knew this line of questioning was going nowhere but he pressed on. ‘Do you know where your father would go if he wanted to hide.’

  ‘Probably one of his creepy Director friends.’

  ‘Do you know the whereabouts of Henry Cameron-Smythe?’

  ‘Not at present.’

  ‘Do you know if Henry has any of the Banks money?’

  Annabel recoiled slightly. ‘What?’ she exclaimed.

  ‘It is possible that a large amount of money was removed from certain of the bank’s accounts.’

  ‘I knew the man was a shit, but not a thief.’

  Douglas when through the motions of asking the rest of the questions and gave Tanya a chance as well, but no further information was forthcoming. Slippery Sam waited until Tanya had finished writing before she asked: ‘What about the Shaw brothers?’

  ‘Annabel has confirmed their statements and they will be released on bail.’ Douglas replied.

  She stood and nodded to Douglas before picking up her jacket and briefcase. ‘Come Annabel, you’re free to go.’

  *****

  Douglas felt drained after the hours they’d spent interviewing the girl and trudged up the stairs to the office. Tanya said she had to see HR before she left him in the corridor. He sat at his desk and checked the time on the computer before switching it off – it was five-thirty.

  Julie made her way over. ‘Are you off now, Douglas?’ she asked.

  ‘I have been interviewing Annabel Sutherland for hours and got almost nothing out of her. None of it was her fault; she has no idea who was after her. The abduction was a piece of theatre. The Shaw brothers did not kidnap her and she knows nothing about the bank or any missing money.

  ‘What did she actually say about the bank?’

  ‘She passed details of the bank system to Marcus Triffit as part of his work for the bank, he was writing software and needed to test if before it was uploaded. She was following her supervisor’s instructions and she suspected he didn’t have a clue what he was doing. Basically she claimed that she didn’t know he was stealing the data and she didn’t steal the passwords for him. All the information she passed to him was documented and the release of it signed off by the bank management.’

  ‘What about Slippery Sam?’

  ‘She might be 36E, you know, Julie.’

  ‘That woman is just flashing her tits to distract you, Douglas.’

  ‘She didn’t like Tanya much.’

  ‘I told you she wasn’t that way inclined, and you owe me a dinner, it was after noon by the time the Sutherland girl walked into the station.’

  ‘Yes, fair enough, but I think she doesn’t fancy tall women, just those she can look down on.’

  Julie punched him lightly on the arm.

  ‘Careful, Sergeant McCray will see you…anyway what about Samuel Sutherland?’

  ‘First, where and when are we having dinner?’

  ‘I’ll get back to you on that; Susanne is around all this weekend and I don’t know what’s happening next week.’

  ‘Don’t forget, Douglas.’ She turned to look at the approaching Sergeant. ‘Nothing more, he’s not on any of the planes or the yachts and there is only the Audi un-accounted for.’

  ‘Perhaps he got the bus?’

  ‘Edinburgh has all the bus and train stations covered.’

  McCray sighed. ‘Alright, two you can bugger off now, but keep your mobile phones with you in case he surfaces.’

  *****

  Douglas walked the mile home in the late afternoon sunshine, his steps propelled forward by the thought of an ice-cold beer on the terrace. The front door was unlocked and he walked straight through to the terrace. ‘Hi,’ he called on the way through the living room.

  ‘I’m in here,’ Susanne replied.

  He backtracked through the hall to the bedroom, where he found her busy packing clothes into a brown holdall, while wearing only her underwear. Dropping onto the bed he propped his head up on the headboard to watch her. Five minutes later, her patience wearing thin, she snapped at him: ‘We have to be off to my parent’s soon, so you can stop ogling me and get in the shower!’

  ‘Well, mien Furher,’ Douglas said. ‘Why not wear the black leather skirt; it would compliment your mood?’

  She glared at him and continued packing.

  He emerged from the shower to find Susanne had simply piled a selection of his clothes next to another holdall. Her matching holdall sat on the floor by the door. He pulled underpants and jeans from the pile and put them on. ‘I assume were taking your car again,’ he shouted. When Susanne didn’t reply he opened the bedroom door and padded through to the living room on bare feet. She sat on the sofa looking at the television in the leather skirt, red shirt, black tights and black shoes.

  ‘Happy?’ she said looking up at him.

  ‘Very,’ he replied sitting down next to her and putting his hand on her knee. ‘When do we have to arrive at your parents?’

  She looked at him. ‘Don’t even think about that until this evening is over.’

  Judging she was still angry with him he backed off for now. ‘I’ll finish getting dressed then.’

  ‘And I’m driving this time.’

  ‘Fine,’ he conceded.

  He returned five minutes later with both bags. ‘Ready to go?’ Assuming Susanne’s move towards the front door was an affirmative he picked up the two bags and followed her. She made a short diversion into bedroom and returned wearing a black leather jacket, which matched the skirt.

  ‘I’d forgotten you had that,’ he said.

  ‘See, I do think of you sometimes and you can wait until this evening is over before getting your hands under this outfit.’

  *****

  On the A8 section of the journey Douglas remembered the news and asked Susanne which channel it was.

  ‘It’s sixteen on this radio,’ she replied and after a lot of searching he found it. The first item the female newsreader read was the one he was eager to hear:

  ‘…Police from the Financial Crimes Division raided the house of Edinburgh banker Samuel Sutherland early this morning. Sutherland is the Chief Executive Officer of the Scotia Investment Bank and is thought to be involved in an alleged money launderi
ng operation to conceal potential losses at the bank. He was not in the house when the police arrived. Police are eager to question him and ask…’

  ‘Do you want some music now?’ Douglas asked.

  ‘Yes, that was the father of the kidnapped girl you’ve been hunting?’

  He grinned at her. ‘Yes – and there is a whole set of odd occurrences which make up the jigsaw, but I can’t see how all the bits fit together.’

  ‘Who was trying to make the arrest?’

  Susanne flicked the radio round to Radio 3 and Douglas paused until the sounds of a piece of classic music filled the car. ‘Collins and Caddell were there while Edinburgh were making a great show of trying to arrest Sutherland, but he wasn’t there when they arrived at the house, which suggests he was tipped off.’

  ‘Who would have done that?’

  ‘No idea, but there is a lot of manoeuvring going on in the background, so it may have been a deliberate leak by someone, or an organisation.’

  ‘Organisation?’

  ‘Your father mentioned a few interested parties.’

  *****

  They turned off the A68 and after half a mile they drove through the twin pillars into the estate. Susanne parked the car next to the old Land Rover and she walked across the gravel to the kitchen door while Douglas retrieved the two holdalls out of the boot. He followed her into the kitchen to find Susanne embracing her mother.

  ‘You two must be enjoying life together, you both look shagged out,’ Jacqueline said when she finished greeting her daughter. She came over to him and embraced him, finishing with a kiss on his cheek.

  ‘Douglas has been in hospital, mother; I told you about it,’ Susanne said.

  ‘Yes, you did, but I thought Douglas was a big butch detective and used to that sort of thing,’ Jacqueline said and ran her hand down his arm.

  ‘His team were outnumbered three to one thanks to Caddell’s planning. They all rushed out the back door while the main raiding party were trying to get in the front and found his small team were in the way.’

  ‘I trust they didn’t injure anything important,’ Jacqueline said and taking his hand she led him across the kitchen to a chair by the table. ‘Sit down, Douglas, and play the injured hero while your partner makes you a cup of coffee.’

  Douglas did as instructed and Susanne reluctantly filled the kettle.

  *****

  Douglas was unpacking his bag when his mobile phone rang. He retrieved it from his jacket pocket and said: ‘Ashburner.’

  ‘We have a problem, Dougie, the bastard’s getting away.’

  ‘Hello, Detective Inspector.’

  Nicola continued: ‘Sutherland’s Audi is heading down the A7 towards the border. Edinburgh’s helicopter is out of action and the Glasgow one is re-fuelling. Can you get on the road and follow him?’

  ‘Don’t Lothian and Borders have any cars of their own?’

  ‘They’re playing silly buggers, moaning about resources and other commitments…and they’ve discounted the sighting anyway.’

  ‘So you want me chase after him?’

  ‘That’s the idea.’

  Douglas considered the problem for a couple of seconds. ‘It’s an Audi A8 – the only thing we can hope to catch it with is the Bentley.’

  ‘What’s the problem then?’

  ‘I can’t drive it and I’m not chancing two-hundred grands worth of car in a pursuit when I’m not insured.’

  ‘Who usually drives it; the chauffeur?’

  ‘OK, I’ll ask and get back to you,’ Douglas said and ended the call.

  Downstairs he found Malcolm and Jacqueline in the kitchen with Susanne, who was laying the table. ‘This is awkward,’ he said to introduce the problem.

  Jacqueline looked at him. ‘Spit it out, Douglas.’

  ‘Samuel Sutherland, head of the Scotia Investment Bank, is heading this way in a fast car and my boss wants me to tail him and the only suitable car is the Bentley.’

  ‘My God Douglas, life with you in the family is not going to be dull. I’ll get the keys and tell Mrs Heatherington we’re going out.’

  Douglas called Nicola and told her they were on their way.

  *****

  Jacqueline glanced at Douglas in the front passenger seat as they approached the A68. ‘Which direction?’

  ‘South,’ he replied and looked back at the map on his lap. ‘The last report has him on the A7 going south and I think he’ll cut across to the A68 and join the A1 at junction 58 near Darlington.

  Jacqueline had an intimate knowledge of the traffic cameras and trusting that there weren’t any camera vans, or men with radar guns, she put her foot down. Within twenty minutes they were at the outskirts of Earlston and she slowed to thirty. Out of the small town she sped up again and five minutes later they were at the Ravenswood Roundabout. Sutherland could have joined the road from the A7 at this point. Douglas decided that they were still behind him and with any luck he would try to stay near the speed limits to avoid drawing attention to the car.

  *****

  ‘That helicopter is overtaking us,’ Susanne said and pointed upwards. ‘It’s been hovering around for the past few miles.’

  Douglas leant forward and looked up through the windscreen. A dark blue helicopter was slowly overtaking them – it had a large bulge under the nose. ‘It’s a Squirrel and it looks like a news gathering machine.’

  ‘Squirrel?’

  ‘It’s made by Eurocopter, also called the Twinstar,’ Jacqueline said. ‘I had a trip in one of those a couple of months ago.’

  ‘What’s it doing?’ Susanne asked.

  ‘Probably reporters trying to find Sutherland,’ Douglas replied.

  ‘Could it be a police one?’

  ‘They usually have Police written all over them,’ Susanne said.

  Douglas turned his attention back to the road and caught sight of a large Audi in the distance. ‘Forget about the helicopter, that could be him,’ he said and Jacqueline put her foot to the floor.

  The car surged forward. ‘Be careful, rolling this on a bend wouldn’t help anyone,’ Douglas said.

  ‘You know, Douglas, I’ve had lessons from F1 champions. Malcolm wouldn’t let me drive this otherwise; so just hold on and don’t lose your nerve.’

  Each time Douglas glimpsed the Audi on the twisting road it was nearer until they were only three hundred metres or so behind it. After looking at the map Douglas said: ‘Round the next bend there’s a straight followed by a slow right-hander. See if you can overtake him on the straight.’

  The Bentley swept towards the bend at ninety miles per hour and suddenly Jacqueline braked fiercely, throwing Douglas and Susanne forward against the seatbelts. He looked up and to his horror he saw a lorry cutting the corner ahead of them. The lorry swerved back towards its side of the road. Douglas’ mind raced as Jacqueline twitched the massive car towards the left-hand verge – almost incidentally he noticed the large rotating drum on the back of the lorry and the damaged nearside front bumper. He turned his head as the cement lorry passed close to the Bentley’s offside. He watched it pass, but didn’t catch the registration as it disappeared out of sight round the corner.

  Beyond the bend Douglas glimpsed tyre marks on the road heading to the right towards the valley.

  ‘Pull over, I think that cement lorry hit something,’ he said.

  ‘What?’ Jacqueline said and slowed the car.

  ‘Back there, something went over the edge,’ Douglas said. ‘Even if it’s not Sutherland we’d better have a look.’

  Jacqueline braked the car and as it slowed she scanned the road ahead for a place to stop.

  ‘Just here,’ Douglas said as he spotted a short parking bay.

  Jacqueline pressed harder; the bakes juddered briefly as ABS operated and the car stopped short of the end of the bay.

  ‘It’s about two hundred yards up the road,’ Douglas said and started to run along the road, crossing over as he went, to look down the slope. He s
topped where the skid marks ran off the road and over the edge. The low fence just below the road was intact and he looked further down the long slope. The blue Audi was upright about three hundred metres down the hillside. He could see it was badly damaged. The first fifty metres of vegetation and the fence were untouched by the car. Douglas guessed the car must have been doing over a hundred to fly that distance without touching the ground. Past the fifty-metre point the grass and reeds were flattened by the passage of the car where it hit the ground as it somersaulted.

  He turned to look back along the road, Susanne stood by the Bentley and Jacqueline sat at the wheel. He shook his head to let them know that Sutherland was probably dead and started walking back along the road towards them.

  ‘It the Audi, but it’s a long way down the hill and he’ll need a helicopter judging by the state of the car,’ Douglas said when he reached the car.

  ‘It’s him?’ Susanne said.

  ‘Looks the right car and he must have been going some speed when he left the road to go that far.’

  ‘An Audi A8 can do over a hundred and fifty miles per hour.’

  ‘Phone for an ambulance and the police. I’ll go down and have a look.’

  Jacqueline got out the after checking the SatNav. ‘We’re just over the border into England.’

  ‘That complicates things a bit,’ Douglas commented and left Susanne to pass on the message to the emergency services. He left the road and as he trudged through the heather towards the wreck he called Nicola on the Airwave Radio. When she responded he said: ‘I have a blue Audi, which left the A68 at high speed and it’s now about a quarter of a mile off the road, down a hill. I’m going down to the wreck now and I’ll call you with an ident for the driver.’

  ‘OK, Dougie, call me as soon as you have it.’

  It only took a glance to tell him it was Sutherland. The head was angled over to one side like a broken doll. Douglas reached in through the shattered window and touched the neck. Feeling for a pulse he found the slightest hint of blood pulsing under the skin. He called Nicola again.

  ‘It’s Samuel Sutherland all right, he’s unconscious and his pulse is weak. He’s not bleeding out, but he could be hurt internally. They’ll need to cut him out of the car.’

  ‘Can you do anything for him?’