Avenge the Dead

by Jackie Baldwin

  ‘There’s a possibility that Mario Lombardo is supplying drugs in the area and using kids like Aaron Sullivan to move them around. Aaron hung around with one of his low-level stooges, Barry McLeish.’

  ‘I’m not liking Mario Lombardo for the murder of the kid,’ said DCI Buchanan. ‘If he found out who murdered his daughter, he’d snuff them out in a heartbeat, but he’s more ruthless businessman than killer.’

  ‘I agree. Unless, Aaron threatened to expose what was going on to the police. Barry McLeish is still in the wind as well.’

  ‘Dead?’

  ‘Who knows?’ said Mhairi.

  ‘There’s something else,’ said DCI Buchanan. ‘The reason I wanted to speak to you on your own first.’

  ‘Go on,’ said Mhairi, her body tensing.

  ‘It’s DCI Lind. He’s been showing signs of increased awareness. His next of kin has specifically requested that DI Farrell not be informed.’

  ‘You mean Laura?’ snapped Mhairi. ‘Lind is his best friend. He has a right to know.’

  ‘Maybe if he hadn’t gone round there shooting his mouth off …’

  ‘You know about that?’

  ‘The Super here, Crawford Cunningham, gave me a heads-up. Look, Mhairi, it’s not as if he’s sitting up in bed talking. It’s early days. He could continue to progress or he could sink back deeper.’

  ‘I wish you hadn’t told me. How can I keep this from him?’

  ‘You must. If he finds out he’ll be tearing up to Glasgow and it could completely destabilize him. He was already clinging on by a thread before coming down here.’

  Chapter 43

  Farrell had managed to speak to the senior fiscal depute sent down from Edinburgh to deal with the accused lawyers. Fortunately, it had been someone sensible who agreed with him that given the recent stresses the court lawyers had been under and the apparently deliberate nature of the provocation, nothing was to be gained from throwing the book at them.

  It was agreed that the best and most expedient course of action was to charge all five of them, including the fiscal depute, with a simple breach of the peace. Sheriff Granger wouldn’t be happy, but the sheriff clerk discreetly conveyed to him that the sheriff principal had already been on the phone and seen off that likely rebellion with judicious use of both carrot and stick.

  Farrell waited in Court 3 as all five accused were led up from the cells directly into the dock to protect them from prying eyes. With no ceremony, the visiting sheriff came onto the Bench and fixed the embarrassed lawyers with a penetrating stare as the sheriff clerk read out the charge.

  ‘How do you plead?’ the sheriff clerk asked each of them in turn.

  ‘Guilty,’ they all murmured, one by one.

  ‘Anything to add, Fiscal?’

  ‘No, my Lord, this has been utterly disgraceful behaviour from Officers of the Court. However, there have been mitigating circumstances, as my Lord has no doubt been made aware. In light of these, the Crown would respectfully ask for as lenient a disposal as possible, given the circumstances.’

  ‘Anything to add?’ the sheriff scowled down at them.

  ‘No, my Lord,’ they all chorused.

  ‘Very well, each of you is fined £100 payable within seven days. I also expect each of you to apologize personally to Sheriff Granger for your conduct. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, my Lord,’ they said.

  ‘You’re skating on very thin ice, gentlemen,’ the sheriff snapped. ‘I expect you all to be of exemplary behaviour from now on or the consequences will be dire.’

  Four lawyers exited the dock leaving Gabriel Ferrante standing alone. He was calm and composed despite what was to come. He was to be charged with assaulting Fergus Campbell to his severe injury. His actions had gone way beyond self-defence. He was also to be charged with assaulting Mhairi and resisting arrest. It would likely mean the end of his legal career.

  ‘Call the case of Gabriel Ferrante,’ said the sheriff clerk. He read out the charges.

  ‘How do you plead?’

  ‘Not guilty,’ replied Ferrante.

  ‘Trial fixed for 15th August,’ said the sheriff clerk.

  ‘I move for bail, my Lord,’ said Ferrante, looking tense.

  ‘Any opposition, Fiscal?’ asked the sheriff.

  ‘None, my Lord.’

  ‘Very well, usual conditions apply,’ said the sheriff.

  ‘All rise,’ shouted the sheriff clerk, as the sheriff left the Bench.

  It was done.

  Farrell walked up to Ferrante who was standing apart from the others. They were understandably wary of him now that they had seen what he was capable of.

  ‘Rough morning’ he said.

  ‘One of many, DI Farrell.’ He sounded tired and strained, his face grey with exhaustion.

  Joe Capaldi barrelled into the court through the public entrance but relaxed on seeing his boss and took a seat in the now-empty court to wait for him.

  ‘Tell me, how is Fergus Campbell? I phoned the hospital but no one would give me any information. He swung at me first, but I deeply regret losing my temper. I wish it was me in that hospital bed. I lost control. I couldn’t even allow him the dignity of beating me after he found out I’d been sleeping with his wife.’

  ‘I phoned before coming in to the court,’ said Farrell. ‘The injuries to his face will heal. The injury to his pride is another matter.’

  ‘I fear I may have lost my moral compass, DI Farrell. It’s something I’ve held fast to for a long time.’

  Farrell couldn’t help warming to the man. He was convinced that despite his recent transgressions, he had a good heart.

  ‘I’ve heard you were a Roman Catholic priest,’ said Ferrante. ‘I was raised a Catholic. Sometimes I crave the luxury of unburdening myself.’

  ‘Confession can provide a welcome release for a troubled soul,’ said Farrell, uncomfortably aware that this conversation was veering off course. ‘You can’t go far wrong with Father Jim Murray at St Margaret’s,’ he said. ‘It might bring you a measure of comfort. I imagine you’re missing her?’ he said, looking deep into Ferrante’s eyes and seeing no guilt reflected back at him.

  ‘More than I can say. Goodbye, DI Farrell.’

  He left with Joe Capaldi.

  Farrell sat down on a pew at the back of the small court for a few minutes. It wasn’t as imposing as the other two courts and most punters didn’t even know it existed on the top floor of the courthouse.

  His brief chat with Gabriel Ferrante had moved him in some way he had yet to fathom. He felt a sudden surge of longing for the faith that he had abandoned. An urge to realign his own moral compass.

  Chapter 44

  Farrell landed back at the station to find Mhairi looking pale and subdued. The events of yesterday must have got to her more than she had let on. The bruising round her eyes was really coming out now. Mind you, he was a bit frayed round the edges himself.

  ‘Let’s grab a roll from the canteen,’ he said. ‘I can update you on what happened in court.’

  ‘Sure,’ she said, attempting a smile. ‘I’ve posted the briefing for 11 a.m.’

  They made their way downstairs and were soon sitting at a table with their rolls and coffee. Farrell wanted to ask her about her date with Sandy, but didn’t like to pry. If he was still there this morning when he phoned, they must have really hit it off. He wanted to be happy for her but felt instead a pang of anticipatory loss.

  ‘Well, how did it go?’ asked Mhairi.

  ‘They were done for breach of the peace and fined. Given the severity of Fergus Campbell’s injuries, Gabriel Ferrante was charged with assault to severe injury and also for resisting arrest and assaulting you.’

  ‘He didn’t mean to assault me. I thought I’d made that clear in my report.’

  ‘You sound like you want to give evidence for the defence.’ He smiled. ‘It’s not up to us, remember.’

  ‘I take it he pleaded not guilty then?’

  ‘Yes. If h
e’s convicted, he’ll be disbarred. Probably needs time to put his affairs in order.’

  ‘The look in his eyes,’ Mhairi shuddered. ‘It was as if he’d taken complete leave of his senses.’

  ‘That’s what I thought too,’ said Farrell. ‘Like a switch had flipped in his head and he was somewhere else entirely. He seems genuinely remorseful.’

  ‘You missed DCI Buchanan,’ said Mhairi, casually.

  ‘She was here?’

  ‘Yes, I caught her up with the investigations and she touched base with the Super. She’s given us the green light to poke around into the case of Colette Currie in Jedburgh. It’s to be done in our own time unless we discover something material to the present cases.’

  ‘Maybe we can nip up to Jedburgh first thing tomorrow morning?’

  ‘Fine by me.’

  ‘Is she sending more bodies down?’

  ‘No, they’re stretched at the moment. She promised to have someone put a hustle on all our outstanding test results though, particularly toxicology and the drug analysis of Aaron’s hair.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Nope,’ she replied, springing to her feet. ‘Come on, it’s time for the morning briefing.’

  Farrell followed her out of the canteen, his antenna twitching. What wasn’t she telling him?

  Farrell walked to the front of the MCA room and held up his hand for silence. The heat was already oppressive.

  ‘Despite an extensive search, the murder weapons still haven’t been found. Accordingly, we can’t yet say with any certainty whether the murders of Gina Campbell and Aaron Sullivan are linked. It’s perhaps safer to assume for the present that there is a connection given that Max Delaney’s household was clearly being watched. PC Rosie Green stayed with the family last night but is returning to other duties in the investigation from today. We’re installing a panic button just in case.’

  ‘Barry McLeish switched his phone on briefly a few minutes ago, sir,’ said DC Thomson. ‘We got a ping on his location and a couple of uniforms have been sent to pick him up.’

  ‘Excellent. Perhaps he can shine a light on what happened to Aaron Sullivan. Mhairi and I will handle the interview. I’m hoping we can persuade him to talk.’

  ‘Do you think he could have done it?’ asked Thomson.

  ‘It’s possible but unlikely,’ said Farrell. ‘Any samples obtained from the letters Beth Roberts placed on the court table?’

  ‘There was only one set of fingerprints,’ said DS Byers. ‘Also, no saliva; the flaps were tucked in to the envelopes, not sealed.

  ‘One of the two letters said that Jack Kerr had been sleeping with Beth Roberts. It seems unlikely that she would be the instigator in those circumstances,’ he said.

  ‘Unless that’s what she wants us to think,’ said Mhairi. ‘That aside, is there any evidence to suggest that Jack Kerr was in fact sleeping with her? He doesn’t seem the type.’

  ‘He was questioned about that last night,’ said Byers. ‘He looked so astonished, I tend to think it never crossed his mind.’

  ‘The whole thing could have been staged to act as a diversion but from what? The fight is starting to seem more and more orchestrated,’ said Farrell.

  ‘This time Peter Swift was targeted. That could be another potential connection to the death of Colette Currie in Jedburgh,’ said Mhairi.

  ‘How so?’ asked Byers. ‘He wasn’t even in Jedburgh then.’

  ‘No, he wasn’t,’ said Farrell. ‘But it was his fiancée who died in his aunt’s cottage, and he was the sole beneficiary of his aunt’s estate, so someone could have been targeting him. His fiancée might have been collateral damage.’

  ‘DI Moore, have you got anywhere with Mario Lombardo?’

  ‘Yes, Organized Crime reckon that the whole retiring to be near his daughter version was just to save face as he’d been burned in Glasgow. The rumour was he’d been extorting someone high up in the judiciary and bitten off more than he could chew. Whoever it was apparently took out a hit on him and he was lucky to escape with his life. Since then, he’s been keeping a relatively low profile. His house is like Fort Knox: CCTV, electric gates and the kind of dogs that don’t want their tummy rubbed.’

  ‘So, it’s conceivable that this person he tried to extort went after his daughter and his business distribution network as part of a wider vendetta,’ said Farrell. ‘If only we knew who that might be?’

  ‘Our only hope is persuading him to tell us, but he’s not likely to do that as he’d be looking at serious jail time himself. I’ll have another crack at him,’ said DI Moore.

  ‘Have you developed any rapport with him as FLO, PC Green?’

  Rosie shook her head.

  ‘Sorry, sir, I’ve done my best, but he’s giving me nothing. Either he’s being super cagey about his daughter, Gina, or they weren’t all that close. He seems more angry than upset.’

  ‘What about his grandchildren?’ said DI Moore. ‘He’s never mentioned them. Does he see them?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ replied PC Green. ‘All I can say is that he’s never mentioned them to me. Thinking back, I can’t recall seeing a single photo of them in the house.’

  ‘That’s rather odd,’ said DI Moore. ‘Like I say, I’ll pay him a visit and see what I can dig out of him.’

  Chapter 45

  ‘Toxicology results have come in for Gina Campbell,’ said DS Byers as he came in to the MCA room after lunch.

  ‘And?’ said Farrell.

  ‘They found faint traces of barbiturates in one of the glasses but not the other one. So, she likely shared a glass of wine with her killer and then was stabbed once she’d become unconscious.’

  ‘If that’s the case then the killer was definitely someone she knew well enough to let into her home,’ said Mhairi. ‘There were two wine glasses, but no bottle that I could see. Dave can you look up the inventory of stuff from the house?’

  DC Thomson typed for a few seconds.

  ‘There were no empty bottles either in the house or in the rubbish. The only wine bottles inventoried were full and unopened.’

  ‘There were snacks on the table too, weren’t there? Olives and chorizo,’ said Mhairi. ‘Things that would make it harder to detect the barbiturates in the wine. Whoever killed her obviously didn’t have the nerve to tackle her without overcoming her resistance first,’ she said. ‘Maybe it was a woman?’

  ‘It certainly rules out an attack in the heat of the moment,’ said Farrell. ‘This murder has been carefully planned and executed down to the last detail.

  ‘I’m not liking Gabriel Ferrante for this now,’ he said. ‘However, if the husband, Fergus Campbell, had found out about their affair he might have been angry enough to plot his revenge in cold blood. He did come across as very unemotional, given what had just occurred.’

  ‘It’s odd that Campbell wasn’t hitting back at Gabriel Ferrante, yesterday,’ said Mhairi. ‘Think about it, you’ve discovered your colleague was running around with your wife. Are you really just going to lie there and take it when he thrashes you in public? I’d have expected to see real rage there.’

  ‘Don’t forget we got there at the tail end of that particular battle. By all accounts Fergus Campbell swung first. Taking a beating from Ferrante might have been a strategy to deflect suspicion away from himself for the murder,’ said Byers.

  ‘Or Ferrante might simply be a better fighter,’ said DC Thomson.

  ‘The victim was strong and fit. She might have been willing to sit down and have a drink with the nanny, Jane Pearson,’ said Farrell.

  ‘She’s certainly got motive,’ said Mhairi. ‘I suspect she was eaten up by envy. She could have planned to get Gina out of the way, so she could take over her life.’

  ‘I can’t see them sitting down together,’ said Byers. ‘Pearson couldn’t stand Gina and, more importantly, it sounds as though Gina couldn’t stand her either.’

  ‘Yes, but we only have Jane Pearson’s word for that, don’t we?�
� said Mhairi. ‘She might have been acting alone or she could have planned it all with Fergus Campbell.’

  ‘Equally, he could simply be a product of his upbringing,’ said Byers. ‘All that stiff upper lip stuff could have prevented him from reacting in what we would perceive as a normal way.’

  DC Thomson looked up from his computer.

  ‘I’ve heard back from the fiscal’s office. They’ve arranged for us to be invited as guests to the dinner with the help of the Dean of Faculty.’

  ‘I’d forgotten about that,’ said Farrell. ‘Tomorrow night, isn’t it? Mhairi, I assume you’ll be partnering with me?’

  ‘Er, if it’s all right with you,’ mumbled Mhairi, ‘I’ve invited Sandy Gillespie, the pathologist. I thought it would be more convincing that way,’ she said, her red face causing the others to grin.

  ‘Looks like DI Moore draws the short straw then,’ said Farrell.

  ‘Actually, the Super has already invited her as his guest. He’s going to be making a speech, so she’ll be with him at the top table, right beside Sheriff Granger,’ said DC Thomson.

  Mhairi shuddered. ‘Rather her than me.’

  ‘Looks like I’ll be flying solo then,’ said Farrell. ‘Byers, are you still bringing Laura?’

  Byers avoided his steady gaze and looked conflicted.

  ‘You may as well,’ said Farrell. ‘She’s been before a few times so will blend right in. That’s settled then. We’re not undercover as we’re there as ourselves. You can have a few drinks but no getting legless. I want you all to be able to pick up on any tensions or arguments developing.’

  He glanced at his watch.

  ‘Barry McLeish?’ he asked.

  ‘Still in the wind. We found where he’d been staying. Basically, he’s couch surfing. Not staying more than a couple of nights in each place. He’s clearly still running scared.’

  ‘He might have good reason,’ said Farrell. ‘I need him in custody as soon as possible, for his own protection as much as anything else.’

  ‘You don’t think he could have killed Aaron Sullivan, then?’ asked DS Byers.