See Them Run

by See Them Run (epub)

  ‘Not really. We’d end up not covering either location adequately. Better if we can find out which it is.’

  Clare took out her phone. ‘I’ll try Sara at the hospital again.’

  Sara answered on the second ring. ‘I was just about to call you, boss.’

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Dryden’s awake. I’m heading back to St Andrews now.’

  ‘Who’s with him? Teresa?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Good. Come straight to the station. ASAP, Sara. We need every officer we can get at the moment.’

  ‘On my way.’

  Clare hung up.

  ‘Good news?’ Chris asked.

  ‘I hope so. Come on – we’re heading to Ninewells. Dryden’s awake.’

  Chapter 22

  ‘Only a few minutes and I don’t want him upset,’ the doctor warned.

  ‘We won’t be long,’ Clare assured him.

  They entered the bay. Clare couldn’t help noticing that the elderly man who had occupied the other bed on her last visit was gone now, his bed stripped bare. She hoped it was because he had recovered.

  Nat Dryden was propped up in bed, surrounded by pillows. His head was bandaged, battered and bruised and the cage over his remaining leg was still in place beneath the bedclothes. There was stubble round his face and Clare marvelled that the body, even in the face of such trauma, carried on with its normal functions. Looking at him now, helpless and exhausted, Clare found it hard to believe he was capable of such depravity. Then she remembered the images taken from his laptop and her heart hardened.

  Chris put down two chairs and they sat, one on either side of him.

  ‘Mr Dryden, my name is Detective Inspector Clare Mackay and this is Detective Sergeant Chris West. We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you feel up to it.’

  Nat raised his hand slightly.

  ‘Mr Dryden, before we proceed, I must caution you that you do not have to say anything and that any statement you give will be noted and may be used in evidence.’

  Nat’s eyes flicked from Clare to Chris and back to Clare again.

  ‘Do you understand the caution?’

  He gave the merest nod.

  ‘We need your help urgently to prevent another murder and, if you do assist us, I will make sure that it is noted if you are subsequently charged with other offences.’

  She paused to let this sink in and, again, he raised his hand a little.

  ‘We want to ask you about Thursday nights. You go out on Thursdays, don’t you?’

  He closed his eyes. Exhaled through his nose.

  ‘We need to know where.’

  Nat licked his lips and his eyes moved to a side table where there was a water bottle with a straw. Chris stepped round the bed, picked up the bottle and held the straw to Nat’s lips. He sucked and a little water dribbled down his chin. Chris dabbed him gently with a tissue.

  ‘Mr Dryden, was the house you visited near Newburgh?’

  Nat frowned and he took a shallow breath in. He shook his head.

  ‘Not Newburgh then? Was it Gundor Lodge?’

  He moved his head slightly to the side.

  ‘Is that a no, Mr Dryden?’

  A nurse approached. ‘I think, officers, that’s long enough for now. Mr Dryden’s looking tired.’

  Clare turned to her. ‘Just a couple more questions. A man’s life may depend on it.’

  The nurse’s eyes widened. ‘Only if I can stay and see he’s not upset by your questions.’

  ‘Of course.’ Clare turned back to Nat. ‘Was the house near Tentsmuir, Mr Dryden?’

  Again, he licked his lips and this time the nurse picked up the bottle and held the straw to his lips.

  ‘Mr Dryden.’

  There was no response. His eyes were closed now.

  ‘He’s very tired,’ the nurse said. ‘I really do think—’

  ‘Please,’ Clare said, ‘let me ask him just once more.’

  ‘Muh,’ said Dryden. ‘Mor—’

  ‘Mortaine?’

  A slight nod.

  ‘You went to Mortaine Castle on Thursday evenings?’

  He closed his eyes and gave another nod. Clare rose from her seat. ‘Thank you, Mr Dryden. That’ll be all for now.’

  As she turned to leave, he raised his hand again.

  ‘Yes? Was there something else?’

  He swallowed, with some difficulty, then whispered, ‘Sorry.’

  * * *

  In the car park, Clare threw the keys to Chris. ‘You drive, I’ll phone the DCI.’

  DCI Gibson answered immediately. ‘What did you get?’

  ‘It’s Mortaine Castle. Out towards Tentsmuir Forest. But, sir, I don’t want us going in mob-handed. We need Fergus alive.’

  ‘I don’t want another death, Inspector. We’ve dallied long enough on this one.’

  ‘Please, sir, it won’t be dark for another couple of hours. Can you at least wait till I get back and we can look at the area together?’

  ‘I’ll speak to Drew, Inspector, but he’s keen to have his men in place well before dark. However, if you can get back here in the next half hour, we’ll hold off.’

  ‘Any chance you could look into who lives there while we’re driving?’

  ‘I’ll get one of the lads to do that. Just get yourself back here.’

  They reached the car and Clare jumped in. ‘Foot to the floor,’ she told Chris. ‘We need to get back there before the ARU set off for Mortaine Castle.’

  * * *

  ‘We’re potentially looking at making three arrests, for very different reasons,’ Clare said to Drew Walsh and DCI Gibson. ‘Fergus Bain for some of the hit-and-runs, an unknown female for the other attacks and the owner, or occupant, of Mortaine Castle for sexual offences. Who lives there? Do we know?’

  The DCI lowered his specs and looked at his notepad. ‘Edward Collinson. Made his money in property, sold the business and bought Mortaine Castle ten years ago. We’ve got the landline number for the castle but nothing so far for Mr Collinson.’

  ‘Anyone else live there with him?’

  ‘Not that I can see. He divorced before he bought the place. Wife got a big payout, as I recall. Read about it in the papers at the time.’

  Clare sat back and thought for a minute. None of this was going to be easy. ‘We need Fergus alive and well, if we’re to stand a chance of convicting Edward Collinson. He’s been clever enough not to appear in any of the photos. The only direct evidence is the photographs of the wood panelling in the house and he could argue he was away on Thursdays and unaware of the activities.’

  ‘I doubt a jury would believe that,’ DCI Gibson said.

  ‘I’d rather not take the risk, sir. We need to take Fergus Bain alive.’

  ‘Armed men don’t tend to give themselves up.’

  ‘I know, sir. But I don’t want Collinson slipping through the net for lack of evidence. Nat Dryden’s not out of the woods yet. If anything happens to him, Fergus might be our only hope of convicting Collinson.’

  Drew checked his watch. ‘I’d like to get my team in place as soon as possible. That lad’s running round with a shotgun. For all we know he could be there now, watching the property. I won’t have the team put at risk.’

  ‘Anything more on Fergus Bain’s background?’ the DCI wanted to know.

  ‘Not much. No girlfriend, a sort-of aunt in the town somewhere. We don’t have a name for her yet.’

  ‘He was brought up in a children’s home,’ said Chris.

  ‘Interesting. Any idea where?’

  Chris looked at his notebook and leafed back through a few pages. ‘The ceilidh band leader mentioned it. Here it is – Garthley House.’

  DCI Gibson sat forward. ‘Garthley House?’

  Chris nodded. ‘Is there something we should know?’

  The DCI seemed to be choosing his words carefully. ‘It was hushed up at the time. No charges were brought in the end. But there were rumours…’<
br />
  ‘Abuse?’ Clare asked.

  ‘Yes. But nothing could be proved so the investigation was closed.’

  Clare sat back, processing this. ‘So now we know why he’s doing it,’ she said. ‘He’s been a victim himself.’

  ‘But surely, I mean, I know for a fact that Bruce Gilmartin had nothing to do with social work. And he wasn’t old enough to have abused someone of Fergus Bain’s age.’

  ‘I’m guessing it didn’t matter to Fergus,’ Clare said. ‘If he couldn’t find his own abusers, then he’d go after men who were abusing other youngsters. I’d say he’s been trawling the dark web to find local paedophile rings and exacting his own form of justice. For all we know, these five men could just be the start of it.’

  ‘If you’re correct, Inspector,’ the DCI said, ‘then Edward Collinson is the last member of the paedophile ring. The Thursday night group.’

  ‘I agree. The one behind the camera and Fergus’s final target.’

  ‘We could go now,’ Drew said. ‘Pick him up before it gets dark.’

  ‘The evidence against him is flimsy, at best,’ DCI Gibson said.

  Clare was frowning. ‘If we arrest Collinson now, and Fergus Bain is watching the house, we’ll lose him. But, if we leave Collinson in situ, as bait…’

  ‘That’s a dangerous game, Inspector. If Bain is successful then we have another death to explain. One we could conceivably have prevented.’

  ‘Surely,’ said Chris, ‘this Edward Collinson must know the others have been killed and he’ll be staying safely indoors? He can’t be run over in his front room.’

  ‘But Fergus Bain has a gun now,’ DCI Gibson said. ‘What do you think, Drew?’

  Drew considered for a few moments then said, ‘I’d like to recce the area. We can use thermal imaging. If Bain is hiding in the bushes we’ll find him. If there’s no sign of him and we can escort Mr Collinson out safely, I think we should do it.’

  Clare looked at him. ‘If you can do that, I’ll sit in the house, put the lights on, that sort of thing. Let Fergus think there’s still someone there.’

  ‘Absolutely not, Inspector,’ DCI Gibson said. ‘I won’t take a risk with your life.’

  ‘I’ll wear a vest, sir. And if it makes you happy I’ll have a couple of Drew’s guys with me. I don’t want to lose him at this stage. Drew will tell you how resourceful I can be.’ She looked right at him, daring him to contradict her.

  Drew looked directly at the DCI. ‘Clare was one of my finest officers and I was sorry to lose her. I’d have her back in a heartbeat.’

  Clare, too, looked at the DCI. He was silent, weighing it up.

  ‘Let’s wait and see if we can pick up Edward Collinson first,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll decide.’

  Clare rose to leave but Chris put a hand on her arm. ‘Hold on,’ he said.

  They turned to look at him.

  ‘There’s someone we’re forgetting – the other driver. The one we think is a woman. She could be someone from his past. A fellow victim from Garthley House.’

  ‘Good point, Sergeant,’ the DCI said. ‘Get someone looking into that, please.’

  Drew rose. ‘Right. We’ll get down there now. I’ll take the long way round and have the team in place before darkness. Radio silence from ten o’clock.’

  * * *

  Out in the main office, Clare took Chris aside. ‘How’s your acting, Chris?’

  ‘Non-existent. Why?’

  ‘Fancy making a call to Mortaine Castle to see if he’s in?’

  ‘Saying what?’

  ‘The usual sales rubbish. PPI or something.’

  ‘Why can’t you do it?’

  ‘I’m crap at stuff like that.’

  ‘You think I’m any better?’

  ‘Go on. And use the desk phone, not your mobile.’

  Chris went to the phone behind the counter and dialled the number for Mortaine Castle. After a few minutes he hung up.

  ‘Just ringing out,’ he said.

  ‘Doesn’t mean he’s not at home. He might be holed up, scared.’

  ‘Or he might have legged it.’

  ‘True. Check DVLA for cars registered to him or to that address. If he’s gone we can maybe check ANPR camera records to find out where he’s heading.’

  Chris went off to check this, returning a few minutes later. ‘He has an old Jaguar and an Audi Q5. I’ve written down the registration numbers. Want me to ask Traffic Control to check?’

  ‘Yes, please. Go back to last Friday. Before the killings started.’

  ‘He could be taking back roads, of course.’

  ‘I’d rather not think about that, Chris.’ She looked at her watch. ‘We’re in for a long night. I’m going to pop home to grab some food and I’ll be back in an hour. Phone me if anything turns up.’

  ‘Stay off the vino, now.’

  ‘Not funny, DS West.’

  * * *

  ‘Neither car has passed any ANPR cameras in the past five days,’ Chris told her as she arrived back. ‘The Jag showed up going to Edinburgh a week last Tuesday but it also showed up coming back again. If he’s legged it, he’s gone by the back roads.’

  Clare saw Drew signalling to her from the incident room and she went to find him holding a Kevlar vest. She looked at it. ‘I’d forgotten how cumbersome these are.’

  ‘Take it or leave it, Clare. But you’re not coming along without one.’

  Clare went to put the vest on. When she came back, Drew and the DCI had the whole team assembled in the incident room. She saw Pam Cassidy standing in the corner. Clare eyed her and then looked away, avoiding further eye contact.

  When the room had quietened down, Drew stood to address them.

  ‘Right,’ he said. ‘The primary purpose of tonight’s job is to arrest this man.’ He indicated a recently procured photo of Edward Collinson which had been added to the whiteboard. He looked to be in his fifties, balding, running to fat. He wore a dinner jacket in the photo and was smiling broadly. Clare thought she would enjoy arresting him very much.

  ‘This is Edward Collinson,’ Drew went on. ‘We believe he’s the leader of a paedophile ring. He’s also the owner of Mortaine Castle, out towards Tentsmuir Forest. I have two men out there now. They’ve had a look round and it seems that no one is at home. He has two cars – a Jag and an Audi and the Audi isn’t there, as far as we can see. Our lads have gained entry through a cellar door and there’s no sign of anyone in the house so I think we can assume he’s gone driving in the Audi. The number plate has been lodged with the ANPR database and they’ll contact us immediately if it passes one of their cameras. As soon as Edward Collinson is spotted, he should be advised to come into protective custody for his own safety. We want him voluntarily if possible. If he refuses then he should be detained in connection with enquiries into the sexual abuse of minors. Make absolutely sure he is cautioned properly. He’s not daft and we don’t want him wriggling out of any possible charges. A vice team will be here tomorrow to take over questioning him, but we need to get him first. Clear, so far?’

  Heads nodded and Drew went on.

  ‘Okay. Our second target is one Fergus Bain.’ Again, he tapped a photo of Fergus up on the board. ‘We believe him to be armed with a Remington pump-action shotgun and, as such, he is considered highly dangerous. He is also the driver of a Land Rover Defender, currently with false plates which include the letters SJ and the number seven. It will have substantial damage to the front, where it hit a lamp post, but we know it’s still drivable. We believe Fergus and an accomplice are responsible for four hit-and-runs, three of which resulted in the death of the victims. We also believe these victims are members of Edward Collinson’s paedophile ring.’

  ‘Sounds like he’s doing a bang-up job, this Fergus Bain,’ one of the armed response team said. This drew a sharp look from Drew but no comment.

  ‘We believe Fergus Bain will try to finish what he started, by attempting to kill Edward Collinson, possibly tonight. S
o, as I have said, Mr Bain should be regarded as highly dangerous. I don’t want any of you taking chances. That said, we need him alive if at all possible. Without his evidence the Vice cops may not be able to secure a conviction against Collinson.’

  ‘Are we authorised to shoot, sir?’ one of the ARU team asked.

  ‘If you believe it’s the only way to stop him, yes. If you or your colleagues’ lives are threatened then shoot to kill. If he’s escaping, then shoot to wound.’

  Drew paused to let that sink in. ‘Now we know Bain has an accomplice, a female, but we know absolutely nothing about her, other than she possibly has one finger shorter than the others. So you should also be on the lookout for any females around the area. Anyone found in the grounds of Mortaine Castle – male or female – should be detained.’

  Drew looked across at Clare then back round the room. ‘Finally,’ he said, ‘DI Mackay here is going to sit in the property, along with two armed officers. She has met Bain and may be able to talk him out of doing anything silly, if he does manage to get into the house. DI Mackay has a vest on but I don’t need to tell you that her protection is your top priority.’

  * * *

  Clare and Chris drove in silence, taking the right fork for Tayport at St Michael’s junction. As they drove along the road, they passed fields, punctuated by dense pine woods.

  Chris glanced at the satnav. ‘It’s just round the next bend, I think. There’s a drive through the trees and the house is in a clearing.’

  They rounded the bend and saw the stout stone pillars flanking the entrance to the drive. Clare turned the car in. There was no sign of any police activity at all. Drew’s team were well concealed.

  The trees gave way to a circular drive of pea-gravel, beyond which sat an imposing sandstone dwelling. To call it a castle was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it was an impressive house, all the same. It had been built in the Scottish Baronial style, with a round tower at one end and crow-stepped gables. As they drove round towards the front entrance they were flagged down by a member of Drew’s team.