‘Sounds like blackmail to me,’ Steve said severely. ‘I don’t think I heard you saying that. Blackmailers are the ones who end up with a tag round their big toe in the morgue. Talk to me about it before you run yourself into trouble.’ He downed the remains of his drink. ‘Anyway, I’m off. Got a hot date tonight.’
‘Oh?’ Grant was immediately interested. ‘You’ve kept that one to yourself.’
‘Joke, Grant,’ Steve said with elaborate weariness. ‘Do keep up. It’s work.’ Turning to Sascha, he said, ‘Nice to meet you. See you again, maybe?’
‘Oh, probably,’ she said. She’d certainly got useful information but there had been no sign of Richard Sansom and now Grant was moving in closer.
‘Want another drink, pet?’ he said.
She was just about to make an excuse about getting back for the evening meal when the door opened and there, at last, was Sansom. ‘Thanks. Just a quick one,’ she said.
‘It’s nothing grand,’ Kelso Strang said as he held open the door of his local for Kate Graham. ‘It’s got a nice view out over the Forth, though, if we’re early enough to get one of the tables by the window – oh good, there is one.’
Kate went over and took a seat as Kelso went up to the bar. There were two or three of the regulars there who greeted him warmly, as did the barman.
‘Your usual, Kelso?’
‘Not tonight, thanks, Jacky. I’m going to be driving so it’s a Beck’s Blue, I’m afraid. Glass of wine for you, Kate?’ As she nodded, he became aware that every eye was turned on her. Idiot! he said to himself savagely. It had seemed the ideal opportunity to carry out JB’s request that he pump her for information about Halliburgh but he hadn’t calculated on the assumptions that were likely to be made by his sister and his friends. He could only hope that Kate herself wasn’t under any illusions.
He came back with a menu. ‘I can recommend the fish. Down here it more or less leaps out of the water and on to your plate.’
‘You’ve convinced me,’ she said. ‘That’s a problem in the Borders – since the supermarkets arrived the fishmongers have closed. There’s a fish-van comes round, but you can’t always get to it. Fish and chips sounds great.’
‘Good choice. Make that two, Jacky,’ he said, collecting the glasses and sitting down. ‘Now tell me, how’s life in Halliburgh?’
Kate shrugged. ‘Well, it’s home. Never lived anywhere else, so I can’t see it dispassionately, but it’s a nice wee place to live in. Good community. It’s been a bit rough of late, though – you probably read about Anna Harper’s son?’ Her round, pleasant face darkened at the memory.
Kelso nodded sombrely. ‘I hear you were right in the middle of that.’
‘Yes. It was quite awful, being totally helpless as the kid died. I try not to think about it. The great Anna is a cold fish, but his sister, Cassie – she’s really hurting.’
‘Mmm. Any idea where he got the stuff from?’
‘Locally, if you ask me. There’s definitely more of it around, just like they were saying today.’
He’d meant to chat about more personal things before he broached the topic he’d been commissioned to raise, but they’d got there rather sooner than expected. It was obviously preying on Kate’s mind, but he didn’t want to seem to be interrogating her.
‘It’s difficult, isn’t it?’ he said carefully. ‘What are you noticing?’
‘Hard to pin down. But what they were talking about today – you know, the county lines stuff? Well, there’s always been some drug taking but I’ve got the feeling that there’s more of it in the community now and it’s not just weed, either. And too often I’m seeing kids I don’t know, sometimes hanging around the bus shelter where they found Felix Trentham. A few of them are locals and I’ve stopped to have a word once or twice but they just say the others are their pals. The thing is, they’re not actually doing any harm and some of the older ones are pretty savvy about their rights. There are the usual signs, though – expensive trainers, smartphones, that sort of thing, but I can’t just seize a phone and check out the address book, more’s the pity. I’ve mentioned it to DI Hammond and he said he’d keep an eye.’
Kelso considered that. ‘How would they get to Felix, though?’
Kate pulled a face. ‘The truth is, Felix would have got to them, given half a chance. But poor Cassie was convinced he’d turned over a new leaf and that someone who knew about his problems had slipped it to him deliberately. Murder, she was claiming. Wanted it investigated.’
‘Murder? You wouldn’t have much to go on.’
‘I know. Nothing, really. But the family always wants to believe it when an addict says he’s clean.’
‘Can you see any line you could pursue? Is your DI following that up?’
There was a long, long pause. Then she said, ‘Can I talk to you in confidence? I’m worried, and I don’t know who I could talk to without losing my job, but we go back a long way …’
The arrival of the food gave him a moment to consider what to say. He wasn’t going to lie to her and say he wouldn’t tell anyone when he would be reporting back to JB, but on the other hand it sounded as if this was something he really needed to hear.
Once the niceties of vinegar or sauce had been settled, he said, ‘I promise you that your name will never be mentioned, but if there’s something that has to be tackled I can’t brush it under the carpet, can I? I suspect you wouldn’t want me to.’
Kate bit her lip. ‘I know. It’s a big risk, but I trust you. You were the one who almost came to blows after the ethics lecture with that guy who said you were a fool if you fought clean when the other side were fighting dirty.’
Kelso sighed ruefully. ‘Oh yes, I remember. He’s done very well for himself – I saw he’d got promotion the other day. So …?’
Her hands twisted together. ‘Right. Here goes. We got a new DI a couple of months ago – Steve Hammond. Very sharp, very able – impresses the Divisional Commander no end. Gets things done and has the stats to prove it, but – well, we all know they’re fake.’
‘You’d have to say there’s a lot of that about.’
‘OK, given the bureaucracy everyone’s struggling with you can understand it. But this is more than that – claims to have investigated when nothing’s been done, doesn’t allocate a crime number when there’s a complaint so that a failure won’t show up, that sort of thing. Doesn’t want to open up any sort of scandal that might tarnish his reputation for efficiency. And though I hate to say this, there’s what the English guys call blue curtain stuff going on – though I suppose, given the colour of our uniforms it should be black curtain here.’
Kelso was concerned. ‘That’s bad news. Are you sure?’
‘Do I have proof, do you mean? No. They take good care that nothing comes my way but there’s a lot of sniggering conspiratorial stuff going on in a little group that centres round Hammond – his satellites, really. I do know that one of them got a speeding ticket recently – I heard them talking about it, and it was obvious it was just going to be dropped. One of the young PCs told me she thought they did that for pals as well if the money was right.
‘Then there was a complaint from one of our habitual problems – a nasty drunk, violent and abusive with a mouth like a sewer. Claimed he’d got beaten up when he was arrested for starting a brawl in one of the pubs, and quite honestly, he’d asked for it so often it wouldn’t be surprising if someone snapped. But no fewer than three officers just happened to be around to swear that he’d been staggering and fell and hit his head.’
Kelso grimaced. ‘It’s sickening, that. When you’re meant to be fighting crime and it’s right here in the centre spreading corruption from the inside out.’
‘The worst of it is that whenever we get someone new, like the PC who told me about the speeding points stuff, they get drawn in before very long. They don’t try it with me, or a couple of the other oldies—’
‘Oh, come on, Kate!’ he protested. ‘You’re not a
n oldie – or if you are, what does that make me? Prime of life, we’re talking here.’
She laughed and agreed, but there was a look on her face that suggested she felt that time had passed. ‘Anyway, being left out is hard if you’re a new officer when you have to find your mates in the force. And I know the idea that moving officers around is officially to spread good practice, but that cuts both ways. Grant Wilson – he’s a DS – was always a creep, but since Hammond came he’s got a lot more cocky.’
‘Mmm. You are in a difficult position, aren’t you?’ Kelso said with considerable sympathy. ‘But to go back to the Felix business – I know Detective Chief Superintendent Borthwick was taking an interest. Is there anything, anything at all that you think might be worth following up?’
‘I’m not CID,’ she pointed out. ‘I can’t muscle in and start investigating if Hammond is just brushing it aside. And I can’t afford to lose my job. Dad needs me at home.’
Jacky came over to clear the plates. They waved away the dessert menu and ordered coffee.
‘How are you coping, Kate?’ Kelso asked. ‘With all that responsibility you’re not getting the chance to use your talents. Are you happy with that?’
Her blue eyes filled with tears, which she rapidly blinked away. ‘A lot happier than I’d be if Dad was in a home dwindling away and I was off somewhere pursuing some grand dream of a career. I’m all right. But do you think there’s anything you can do about what I’ve told you?’
‘Leave it with me,’ he said. ‘Give me your mobile number and I’ll come back to you. I promise we won’t come in with hobnailed boots.’
Kate smiled at him. ‘It’s a load off my mind, actually. I can just keep my head down and leave it to you.’
Betsy was in bed and Finella was watching a game show when her brother came in, but she switched it off immediately. ‘Well!’ she said with heavy emphasis. ‘What a nice girl! I’m so happy—’
Kelso looked at her in horror. ‘For goodness’ sake, Fin! Kate is a colleague. We had things to discuss – professional things, if you’re interested – and since I knew her way back, I thought we could talk over a meal. And it was very useful.’
Finella smiled. ‘You don’t have to make excuses to me – or even to yourself, come to that. Time’s passing and Alexa would want you to move on.’
He looked at her coolly. ‘Yes, that’s what they always say, isn’t it? But would she, really? We’ll never know.’
‘Of course she would!’ Finella protested. ‘She was so warm and generous. She wouldn’t want a life of mourning for you.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘Perhaps not.’ He went to the fridge and took out a beer.
‘Now, Kate seems really nice. And you’d have a lot in common—’
Kelso flipped the lid off the bottle and chucked it in the bin with a violent gesture. ‘Yes, Kate’s a nice woman. But do you remember Alexa?’ He compressed his lips and when he spoke again his voice was hoarse. ‘The first time I met her, the world went crazy. I couldn’t believe anyone so perfect existed. It was the middle of the night but suddenly the sun was shining. We used to say, a nightingale sang in Charlotte Square.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some work to do.’
He paused on the way to his bedroom that acted as a study as well. ‘And I don’t want to have to meet even one more of your divorced girlfriends. All right?’
Finella switched the TV back on but she wasn’t hearing the inane remarks and the canned laughter. She did, indeed, remember Alexa. She was unforgettable – so lovely, so brimming with life that it was all but impossible to believe she was dead. And she’d seen Kate – sweet-faced, with round blue eyes and pink cheeks, a little on the plump side. Kelso was good at covering up, but she knew he was still suffering badly and she hated to see it, but he clearly wasn’t ready to move on. She just hoped that Kate, who had looked at him so admiringly, hadn’t read too much into their ‘professional’ evening.
Whoever was out there would have heard the TV so she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t in and she couldn’t pretend she was asleep. Getting up on to shaky legs, Cassandra went to the door. It wasn’t late; normally she’d have opened it without a second thought, but there was a peephole and she peered through it.
She could make out that it was a man who stood on the doorstep, but it was too dark to see his face properly. As if he had realised what she was doing, he called, ‘Don’t worry, miss – police. DI Hammond,’ just as she switched on the outside light and recognised him. He’d spoken to her a couple of times about Felix; he’d said all the right police-type things, with practised coolness, which wasn’t comforting when you were falling apart. Thank God for Kate, she thought as she let him in.
He waited politely to be offered a seat, then settled on the sofa opposite. She felt awkward in her lounging pyjamas, perfectly modest though they were, and even more awkward when she noticed the sex scene that was playing out in lurid detail on her big-screen TV. She snapped it off hurriedly.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered, ‘I wasn’t expecting visitors.’ She gestured to her clothes. ‘Not very appropriate for a police interview.’
He laughed easily. ‘No, you’re all right. It’s just a chat, really.’ He leant forward to look more closely at her. ‘You’ve had a nasty knock, haven’t you?’
Just for a moment there she’d let herself hope that he’d come to say they’d found the bastard who had killed her brother, but of course they hadn’t; she could tell from the way Kate had spoken that they weren’t even planning to look.
‘Oh!’ Cassie put her hand up to her cheek. ‘I’d almost forgotten about it. Is – is that why you’re here?’
‘A complaint has been made—’
‘Oh. My mother. Right?’
‘Not at liberty to confirm or deny.’ He made a joke of it. ‘I just need to get an idea of how that happened from you. This morning, was it?’
While she gave him the details, he listened in silence, never taking his eyes from her face. She showed him the bandage on her leg and a small graze on her hand.
‘That’s the sum total of my injuries,’ she said. ‘Oh, and one mangled bike. Not really enough to make a fuss about.’
‘You were very lucky,’ he said. ‘It’s not thanks to the driver that it wasn’t a lot worse. Now, I need to take you through this. You were cycling down to Halliburgh, at around the usual time for going in to work, riding on the left-hand side, yes? When did you become aware of the car behind you?’
Cassie frowned. ‘Oh, a moment or two, I suppose. I heard the engine.’
He pounced. ‘What sort? Big car, small car?’
‘I … I don’t know. I didn’t think about it. Just, someone was coming so I tucked in as far as I could, like I always do. I’ve had a few close shaves before now. I sort of supposed it would have been one of those big 4x4s since they take up so much of the road, but I haven’t any evidence.’
‘Can you think? None at all? Not a glimpse, not a smell?’
She shook her head. ‘Sorry.’
‘It could even have been a small car?’
‘Yes, I suppose so. I’m sorry, I haven’t been much help.’
‘Don’t worry about it. We picked up your bike and I’ll get someone to check it for paint flakes, anything like that. Had you been passed by any other cars before?’
‘No. It’s a very quiet road.’
‘Any afterwards?’
‘No. I could have used one – it was a long way limping down to the Foundation.’
‘Right,’ he said, and stood up. ‘If we find we have something to go on, I’ll get someone to take a proper statement. Thanks for your time. I’m sorry to have butted in on your evening.’
‘That’s all right. Thanks for looking into it. I wouldn’t mind getting someone to pay for the damage they did to the bike.’
‘Do you have another one? If you’re planning to go on—’
‘I know, I know, be very careful,’ she finished for him. �
�It’s rather put me off, and as it happens my mother’s insisting her driver takes me to and fro.’
‘Very sensible,’ he approved.
It had all been so down to earth that she was feeling better as she showed him to the door. Then just as he went out he turned and said unexpectedly, ‘I should ask, really – there isn’t anyone at the Foundation, say, who might have a grudge against you, is there?’
Her shock probably showed in her face but she managed to say lightly, ‘Not enough to try to kill me, I hope!’ and he nodded and went off down the path. But she was feeling cold all over again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Just as Sascha Silverton had assumed he would, Richard Sansom came over to speak to Jason Jackson, though without any obvious enthusiasm. She heard Jason say, ‘Let me buy you a drink and you can come clean about Anna Harper.’ She saw Sansom stiffen and she stepped away from Wilson, who was ordering their drinks, to take the opportunity to say hello.
She was gratified by his reaction. Clearly he hadn’t noticed her that morning; his eyes widened in appreciation as she smiled up at him. ‘We almost met earlier at the Foundation. I’m one of the writers – Sascha.’
‘Yes of course,’ he said quickly. ‘You looked hard at work when I came in. Are you finding it useful?’
‘It’s such a luxury, not having to do anything except write. It’s a wonderful facility—’
She was rudely interrupted by Jason. ‘Do you want that drink or not, Richard?’
‘Thanks, but I’m just going to have supper. I’ll get a drink at the table.’ He turned back to Sascha. ‘Are you heading off back to the Foundation? I gather the evening meal is part of the package.’
‘Oh yes, it’s very generous. But I end up eating more than I really want to and I noticed they’ve got a smoked salmon starter here that would suit me better.’
‘Why not join me, then?’ Sansom said. ‘From a professional point of view, I’d be interested to hear how you heard about the week and what you think of the show so far.’
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