The Reborn

by Lin Anderson

  He’d managed to obtain a search warrant for the Stewart-Smith home, but he still wasn’t sure if they now had the clothes Sandie had worn at the funfair. Sandie had been distinctly unhelpful. Owen Hegarty had been more co-operative, although Bill suspected the boy, like Bill himself, rarely noticed what women wore.

  He took a mouthful of tea and waited for the woman to break the silence.

  ‘My husband told me you thought Sandie was corresponding with a middle-aged man called Coulter.’ She paused. ‘Have you any proof of that?’

  ‘Why do you ask?’

  She hesitated. ‘Two years ago, when Sandie wasn’t quite sixteen, I discovered she was meeting a man much older than herself. I saw them by chance in town. When I questioned her, she denied it.’

  ‘Can you describe this man?’

  ‘Medium height, with dark hair, in his thirties. Good-looking, I suppose, if you like that type. Around the same time, Sandie’s behaviour began to change. At first I thought she was taking drugs. She became secretive, manipulative and prone to lying, often quite blatantly.’ She hesitated. ‘I also think she became sexually active.’

  ‘And you think she was sleeping with this older man?’

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘Did you discuss this with your husband?’

  She shook her head. ‘I had no real proof. I tried to raise the subject with Sandie myself.’ She winced at the memory. ‘She told me to mind my own business.’

  ‘What happened then?’

  ‘I think either she stopped seeing him or he rejected her. She was very low for a while, then she took up with Kira Reese-Brandon and her crowd. At first I was pleased because she seemed happier, but something went wrong between them. Sandie was very upset and very angry.’

  ‘What makes you think Coulter is the man she met back then?’

  ‘Sandie had been very depressed about Kira, but she suddenly cheered up. I found her reading a letter, and when I asked her who it was from, she said she had a pen pal through school. I didn’t believe her. I checked her room when she went out and found it.’ She paused to collect herself. ‘It was very badly written, almost illegible. He called her Caro. Sandie’s middle name is Caroline. She preferred it to Alexandra.’

  ‘Was the letter signed?’

  ‘Just initials. JC. There were other letters too. I would find her sitting reading, a funny smile on her face.’ She grimaced at the memory.

  ‘I’d like to show you a photograph of Coulter, so you can tell me if it’s the man you saw with Sandie.’

  She nodded, and he phoned the incident room to ask DS Clark to bring a photo.

  When it was put in front of her, Mrs Stewart-Smith stared at it for a long time.

  ‘Yes, that’s him,’ she said finally. ‘That’s the man I saw with Sandie.’

  So Magnus had been right. Caroline and Sandie were one and the same person, and Coulter had met her when she was underage. No doubt he’d told a good story, charmed her into starting a sexual relationship. Bill recalled what he’d read in the diary. It made sense now.

  Mrs Stewart-Smith was watching him with apprehension.

  ‘Did the letters come by post?’

  She shook her head. ‘There was no stamp on the envelope. That was another thing that worried me. I thought she must be seeing this man again and he was giving her the letters personally.’ She was growing more anxious by the second. ‘Why are you so concerned about this man Coulter?’

  ‘Two years ago, Jeff Coulter killed the baby of his former partner, Geri Taylor. He was committed to the State Hospital. We know he’s been writing to someone on the outside whom he calls Caroline.’

  Her hand shot to her mouth. ‘My God. And that was Sandie?’

  ‘We suspected it was. What you’ve just told me suggests we were right.’

  ‘But what does this have to do with Kira’s death?’

  ‘We believe Coulter was manipulating someone on the outside to do his bidding.’

  He watched as the meaning behind his words sunk in.

  ‘You think he persuaded Sandie to harm Kira?’

  ‘It’s a possibility.’

  ‘No.’ She shook her head wildly. ‘No! My daughter could not have done that.’ She stared at him. ‘I should never have told you about him. Oh my God, what have I done?’

  ‘Mrs Stewart-Smith, Coulter is a psychopath. If Sandie was under his influence, this would mitigate in her favour.’

  ‘But you let Sandie go. You haven’t charged her with anything.’

  ‘If she was present at the scene of crime, forensic will find evidence of that and we will call her back in.’

  Her voice sank to a whisper. ‘I’ve betrayed my daughter.’

  ‘No. By telling me about Coulter, you may have saved her.’

  55

  Bill and Magnus were both silent and lost in thought for most of the journey across the moorland.

  Coulter would know they were coming, as the baby’s discovery had been announced on the national news. Initially, Geri’s name had been held back, but soon both major Scottish tabloids had declared their own exclusives, stories gleaned from neighbours keen to reveal what they knew about Geri and the arrival of the baby. The only consolation was that, although both papers mentioned the baby Coulter had killed two years ago, neither of them suggested any involvement in this case or mentioned his ongoing relationship with Geri. She’d moved into the flat in Exeter Drive after his incarceration and had apparently kept quiet about him.

  That part of the story would no doubt come out in time, and be endlessly discussed. Broadsheets and specially commissioned documentaries would revive the ‘is he mad or bad?’ debate which had dominated Coulter’s trial, and the usual names would be wheeled out as examples of men who persuaded their women to kill. Fred and Rosemary West. Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Perhaps even Charles Manson, whose mostly female followers had murdered four people including the heavily pregnant Sharon Tate.

  The tabloids would denounce Coulter as ‘evil’ and pass judgement on the immorality of today’s teenagers, even the rich and privileged ones. None of the articles, features or programmes would get anywhere near the truth, or an understanding of how Coulter had persuaded Dr Shan, Geri Taylor and Alexandra Stewart-Smith to do his bidding.

  Magnus wondered if the current outcome was what Coulter had planned all along and that was why he’d sent the diary in the first place. By exposing it to scrutiny, he was placing himself at the heart of the crime. It had been a game, played out with as much dexterity as a champion chess player. In this case, if attention was the prize, Coulter was the winner whatever the outcome.

  Magnus recalled his feelings after that first interview, his sense that he’d started on a journey with Coulter that he would live to regret. It was strange how the unconscious mind tried to warn us, he thought to himself. Perhaps he should have listened to his intuition. Not read the diary, refused to engage further with Coulter. But Magnus knew that could never have happened. Psychology was driven by the need to know why people act the way they do, and he could never have turned down that challenge from Coulter.

  He consoled himself with the thought that if he hadn’t answered Coulter’s call and interpreted the diary, they might never have found the baby. Less welcome was the thought that their interest had simply driven Coulter to commit more crimes by proxy. Maybe that was why both Melanie and David had died.

  On arrival they were met by the same young lady that had greeted Magnus on his first visit.

  ‘You’re back,’ she said brightly.

  Magnus acknowledged her welcome but could think of nothing pleasant to say in return. She didn’t seem perturbed by this, merely handed them their badges and rang through for someone to collect them. Magnus wondered if it would be Dr Shan.

  Bill read his thoughts. ‘Dr Shan is on leave until the investigation into her relationship with Coulter is concluded.’

  Magnus wasn’t surprised, but he was sorry.

  A man met them on the
other side of security. He introduced himself as Dr Forth. He was short and balding with dark-rimmed glasses. The only scents Magnus picked up from him were shaving foam and toothpaste.

  ‘This is a terrible business,’ he offered as he led them down the corridor.

  Magnus wasn’t sure if he was referring to Dr Shan’s suspension, Coulter’s suspected involvement in the funfair killing or both. Whatever it was, Bill chose not to comment and Magnus followed his lead. When they reached the interview room, Dr Forth said, ‘I’ll have to leave you here, I’m afraid. Orderlies will bring Mr Coulter along shortly.’

  They waited in silence, Magnus sensing that Bill didn’t want to open a conversation before Coulter’s arrival. The plan was for Bill to do the interview with Magnus observing. If Bill wanted him to take over, he would indicate this. As far as they were aware, Coulter knew about the discovery of the baby. He would also know that Sandie had been arrested in connection with the foetal theft.

  Magnus could smell the guy when the door opened. A waft of aftershave, sweat and the buzz of adrenalin. Coulter strode in and gave them a wide smile that reached his vivid blue eyes.

  ‘Hi, guys. Back again. How can I help you this time?’

  Magnus felt Bill bristle as Coulter took his seat opposite, as though he’d just entered a pub and was joining his mates. Bill had asked that a recording device be set up so the interview could be taped as it would be in a police interview room, and now he set it going and announced the date, time and names of those present. Coulter smiled happily as he did so.

  ‘Pity you’re not taking a video. I’d like to have seen how I do.’

  Bill chose to ignore that remark, saying, ‘Geri Taylor’s in hospital.’

  ‘I heard,’ Coulter said in a sympathetic tone. ‘Too bad. But it’s not the first time she’s lost it.’

  ‘The last time being when you killed her baby.’

  Coulter shrugged. ‘If you ask me, she was better off when the kid died. She couldn’t cope with it crying all the time.’

  The remark was so devoid of feeling Magnus caught his breath.

  ‘You gave her a replacement,’ said Bill.

  Coulter smiled at his own generosity. ‘Yeah. I made her a Reborn. You saw it, Professor.’ He turned to Magnus. ‘Little Melanie. Way cute and she doesn’t piss, shit or cry.’

  ‘No,’ said Bill. ‘You gave Geri a real baby.’

  Coulter affected amazement. ‘How would I have managed to fuck Geri in here?’ He waved a hand to indicate the presence of the orderlies, then a smile curled his lips. ‘Now Rose Petal, she’s a different matter.’

  His loaded remark was followed by a tense silence as the two orderlies exchanged brief looks. Coulter continued, enjoying his moment. ‘She smells so good. Oil of roses. Rubs it all over.’

  ‘Let’s talk about Caroline.’

  Coulter appeared momentarily disappointed not to continue down his chosen route, then acquiesced. ‘Sweet Caro. What do you want to know?’

  ‘When you met her.’

  He assumed a puzzled expression. ‘I told you, I haven’t met her. She just writes to me. Lovely letters.’

  ‘You met her two years ago, when she was fifteen. Her real name is Alexandra Stewart-Smith.’

  He sniggered. ‘So I pulled a posh bird. More than one if you count Rose Petal.’ He turned to Magnus. ‘How do you feel about Rose Petal, Professor, now you know she’s been . . . taken?’ He leered. ‘I saw you take a sniff at her.’

  Bill continued. ‘We know about your involvement in the death of Kira Reese-Brandon and the removal of her unborn infant. We know you ordered Sandie to give the baby to Geri.’

  Coulter leaned back in the chair with an exaggerated sigh. ‘I’m a prisoner, in case you hadn’t noticed. I can fuck my doctor, but I can’t touch anyone outside these walls.’

  ‘We know you contacted Sandie using Dr Shan’s mobile.’

  ‘Rose Petal was so willing in so many ways. So keen to help me get better.’

  ‘Both Sandie and Geri will testify to your involvement in Kira’s death.’

  This time Coulter laughed out loud. ‘My women don’t go against me. They love me. I make them feel special. You two should learn how to do that.’

  The interview had provided them with what they wanted to know. From Coulter’s coded replies and heavy innuendo, it was obvious that everything they had thought was true. Coulter had manipulated and controlled Sandie and Geri from inside the hospital. But without a confession from him or the women involved, they had no case against him. It was utterly depressing. To add to it all, Dr Shan had provided Coulter with the means to carry out his plan. Magnus only hoped that what Coulter had said about a sexual relationship between him and Dr Shan wasn’t true. The doctor might survive her error in judgment over the mobile, but sex with an inmate could end her career.

  56

  Rhona was conscious that the only thing that would nail Sandie would be undeniable proof that she was at the crime scene, and that she had cut the baby out of Kira’s uterus, leaving her to bleed to death in that tent.

  All the work, all the sleepless nights, all the endless thoughts, discussions and arguments, all the evidence they’d uncovered, circumstantial or otherwise, had brought them to this point, but now they needed concrete proof.

  She was quietly confident, though, as she flashed the results of her latest investigation onto the overhead screen.

  People always forgot their shoes. You couldn’t put them through the washing machine or send them to the cleaners. They didn’t burn easily. If they didn’t throw them away, then most people tried to wash them. But microscopic drops of blood got everywhere; wedged in the spaces between the upper and sole, between the rough grooves on the sole, between heel and sole. Scores of tiny places for it to hide. Much smaller than the human eye could detect, the droplets stayed despite all efforts to get rid of them.

  Sandie’s red leather boots were no exception. Their quality had probably meant she had to hang onto them to allay suspicion, or maybe she’d thought she’d done a pretty good job of cleaning them. She was wrong.

  ‘I’ve identified blood from three sources on the accused’s boots,’ said Rhona. ‘They come from Kira, the umbilical cord, and David Murdoch. DNA testing of contact evidence on the cuffs and neck of the clown suit retrieved from the River Kelvin proves that it was worn by the accused. The outfit came from a fancy dress shop called Razzle, and an assistant there has identified the accused as buying it a week prior to the murder. Since the suit has Kira’s blood on it, it was the one worn that night. Inside the suit I found microscopic silk fibres, which match a silk scarf that Sandie wore at the funfair, according to Owen Hegarty’s account.’ The atmosphere in the room was electric, already verging on celebratory, but she wasn’t finished yet. ‘This trace evidence establishes Sandie was there, but it doesn’t prove conclusively that she was the one to operate on Kira. However, the knife retrieved from David Murdoch’s body does. As you know, the knife has a shark skin handle criss-crossed by leather.’ She clicked onto a photo of the knife. ‘We found a partial print on the leather, but it was insufficient for a match. However, when the leather was cut away, we found three items of trace evidence lodged beneath. Kira’s blood, blood from David Murdoch and – crucially – skin flakes belonging to Sandie Stewart-Smith, linking her directly to the murder weapon.’

  It was what they had been waiting for. Bill nodded over at her, beaming. She let the din die down before she continued. ‘As to who smothered Melanie, this has proved more difficult. We can link the knife to Melanie’s bedroom because we found a dentricle on Melanie’s clothes. However, Sandie had visited Melanie’s bedroom when she was still friendly with the Daisy Chain gang, so any DNA of hers we turn up isn’t admissible. We did identify David Murdoch’s DNA on Melanie’s mouth and arm, but not her nose, which we would have expected had he tried to smother her by hand. We know David vomited in the bath and it’s likely he attempted to wipe away his presence in the room usi
ng a hand towel, which is still missing. Forensic evidence, however, throws doubt on David’s death being suicide. David Murdoch was right-handed, but his hands were arranged on the shaft as though he were left-handed.’

  They moved on to other evidence. CCTV camera footage was shown of Geri Taylor walking along Dumbarton Road towards Exeter Drive just after midnight.

  ‘She was picked up by three successive cameras,’ Bill said. ‘She was carrying a bag identified as belonging to Kira, which we believe contained the newborn. The bag wasn’t in Geri’s flat when we searched it, so I would like us to find it if possible. It would provide a link between Sandie, Geri and the baby.’ Bill looked to Superintendent Sutherland. ‘I believe we have enough to bring Sandie in and charge her.’

  ‘I agree, Detective Inspector.’

  This time he had proof that the schoolgirl he was about to interview was a killer. He was satisfied with the outcome, but not happy about it. How could anyone be pleased to discover a seventeen-year-old girl had murdered three people? He recalled Sandie’s mother sitting across the desk from him, anxious to help her daughter; her sudden realisation that what she’d told him might have condemned her instead.

  He turned in his chair to look out of the window. What would he be feeling now if one of his kids had been murdered? Or had become a murderer? He made a mental note to spend more time at home when this was over, with Margaret and the kids. Except they weren’t kids any more, not really, and neither was Sandie.

  He drank the last dregs of cold tea and put his mug on the desk, then picked up the phone to call Margaret.

  ‘Is everything OK?’ She sounded worried.

  ‘I’ll be a bit late. I’m taking the team out for a drink.’

  ‘You’re charging someone?’

  ‘Sandie Stewart-Smith.’

  There was a moment’s silence. ‘She’s only Robbie’s age!’

  ‘I know.’

  The incident room was deserted, only the hum of computers breaking the silence. He’d sent the team to the pub and ordered DC Campbell to tell the barman the drinks were on the boss and that he’d be over later to pay. Only DS Clark remained.