Clare nodded. ‘It’s starting to look that way. If it was random, why leave the numbered cards? It doesn’t make any sense. And if our driver is targeting these men, they must be into something pretty heavy duty.’
Chris exhaled. ‘Could be anything. Drugs, money-laundering, people-trafficking, even. But, I agree. It must be something pretty major for him to attempt three murders.’
‘Or her.’
‘Seriously? You’re thinking it could be a woman?’
‘Why not? The victims are all men and it doesn’t take brute force to drive a car. And our witness tonight – she thought it might be a woman.’
Chris didn’t reply. Clare went on. ‘Can you see Bruce Gilmartin as the kind of guy to be involved in organised crime? Successful businessman, pillar of the community?’
Chris shrugged. ‘Hard to tell sometimes.’
‘Well, whatever it is, we’ll have to get to the bottom of it. And if this is some kind of countdown…’
‘…there are another two potential victims,’ Chris finished.
‘Exactly. Chris, we need to find them and warn them they’re in danger. And with three attacks in less than a week, time’s not exactly on our side.’
‘You want to go public?’
Clare started the car. ‘I’m not sure. If we do, and we manage to warn the other two, we could save their lives…’
‘…but they’ll disappear.’
‘Precisely. Then we’ll never find them; or find out what they’ve been up to. If they escape our driver, they also escape the law.’
‘Nat Dryden might help.’
‘You think so?’
‘If we offer him a deal.’
‘Mm, I’m not sure about that. It won’t be soon enough for us, anyway,’ Clare said. ‘It could be days before he regains consciousness, if he ever does. Even then, he might clam up.’
Chris frowned. ‘You want a news blackout?’
‘I’m not sure. I’d like to know what’s on that laptop, before the attack on Nat hits the presses but…’
‘…if we have another murder and you didn’t inform the press…’
‘…they’ll blame us for not alerting the potential victims.’
‘So, how do you want to play it?’
Clare looked at her watch. Quarter to three. ‘Tech Support opens at eight, you said?’
‘Yeah, think so.’
‘Right. I’ll phone the DCI and get a twelve-hour news blackout. Our murderer picks his victims off late at night. We’ll get a statement to the press by three in the afternoon. That gives Tech Support a few hours to come up with something.’
‘It might take longer than that,’ Chris said.
Clare sighed. ‘I know. But we have to hope not. I can’t afford to sit on it much beyond three.’ She opened the car door and got out of her seat. ‘Can you drive while I phone the boss?’
In Hepburn Gardens SOCO had erected a tent close to the lamp post and they were busy combing the scene for possible evidence when Clare and Chris arrived back. One of the white-suited men looked up. His expression bordered on eager, unlike the SOCO officers Clare had encountered at the last two hit-and-runs. He stood to greet them as they approached.
‘Interesting crime scene, Inspector,’ he said.
‘Sorry to drag you out of your bed, em…’
‘Raymond. Raymond Curtice. No problem. I don’t mind night-time work. Usually no press or onlookers.’
Clare found it difficult to work out how old Raymond was. He was clean-shaven and, thanks to the forensic suit, she couldn’t see his hair. He might be thirty or he might be fifty. She introduced herself and Chris. ‘What’s interesting about it?’
Raymond stepped back and indicated the damaged lamp post. ‘This, for starters,’ he said. ‘Most collisions with things on the pavement are glancing blows, but I’d say this lamp post was hit head on.’
Clare looked back at the road. It wasn’t wide. Raymond followed her gaze.
‘See what I mean? You have to sweep out then circle round to get the angle right.’
Raymond bent and pointed towards the lamp post. ‘This is the main point of impact. And I’d say,’ he looked back towards the other side of the road, ‘he’s backed up and gone for our man a second time.’
‘That fits with what the witness told us. She said the driver turned the car in, towards the lamp post and struck it twice.’
Raymond pointed to some markers on the narrow pavement. ‘The cops who were first on the scene marked out where the victim was lying. Looks like he tried to get into the gap behind the lamp post, hoping it would save him. But, see here,’ he indicated more marks on the ground, ‘there wasn’t enough protection and his legs were caught by the car.’
It was a grim prospect and Chris involuntarily put his hand to his mouth.
‘Try not to spew on the crime scene, Sergeant,’ Clare said. She turned back to Raymond. ‘Anything else of note?’
‘We’ve taken a scraping of the paint from the car. Should be able to narrow down the make, hopefully.’
Raymond looked down at the road. ‘No tyre tracks, though. Hard surfaces, you know. But we’ve taken some photos, here and there. The damp has given us a few marks but nothing clear. I wouldn’t hold out much hope.’
Raymond was clearly happy to chat away but Clare was conscious time was getting on.
‘Just one more question, Raymond.’
‘Yes?’
‘I don’t suppose you found a white card, by any chance?’
Raymond’s face lit up. ‘How did you know that? It was on the pavement near to where he fell. I wasn’t sure if it was connected but I popped it in an evidence bag anyway. I’m afraid it’s pretty soggy though. The drizzle. How on earth did you know?’ he asked again.
‘You weren’t at the last two, then?’
‘I’m just back from holiday. But the others said you’d had another couple of hit-and-runs.’ He walked across to their van and retrieved a clear, evidence bag. The ink had run on the card but Clare could still make out the number three. That confirmed her uneasy suspicions. If they didn’t catch this one soon, they’d be dealing with another two victims.
‘Could you have it checked for prints, please? It’s a long shot, I know, but all the same…’
‘Will do.’ And he returned to his examination of the scene.
‘Likes his work,’ Chris muttered, his hand still at his mouth.
Clare ignored this. She needed to think. Jim and Chris waited. ‘First off,’ she said, ‘I think we should all get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow. We need a list of local farms so we can check their vehicles. There can’t be too many folk living in the town who drive Land Rover Defenders.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ said Jim. ‘They’ve become quite trendy these days. Prices have shot up.’
‘All the same, if you two could pitch up about seven and make a start working through owners within fifty miles – and get me a list of farms too. Let’s say within twenty miles. We can look at it once I’m back. It’ll also give us something to tell the boss when he comes in. I’ll stand the Edinburgh lads down. They can come in for ten, once the briefing’s over. I’ll fill them in. Now get home, both of you.’
Confident she had done everything possible at the scene, Clare bid Raymond and the SOCO team good night and drove home. It was after three by the time she closed her front door. She was met by an enthusiastic Benjy, excited at this unexpected night-time activity.
‘No,’ she said sternly to his upturned face. ‘I’m looking at three hours’ sleep if I’m lucky.’
She climbed wearily into bed and switched out the light.
Chapter 13
Clare set off for the Tech Support office just after seven in the morning with Benjy perched on the front seat. The office was in a business park on the outskirts of Glenrothes, a post-war new town, twenty miles south of St Andrews. She wanted to be there when it opened to explain the urgency. With luck, someone would be
in early and make a head start. The roads were wet from the previous night’s drizzle, but the clouds were being blown away by a breeze and the sun was glinting on the wet road surface. Clare reached the office at twenty to eight.
She pulled into the car park in front of the building and killed the engine. Diane Wallace was just climbing out of her battered VW Golf a few spaces along, her long dark hair blowing in the breeze. ‘You’re an early bird, Clare. How are you?’
Clare smiled, glad to see a friendly face. She and Diane had worked together on a few cases and Clare never ceased to be amazed by the information Diane could pull out of phones and laptops.
‘Up against it, to be honest, Diane.’
‘I heard about your murders. Needing some help from us?’
‘Just a bit. You busy right now? I could do with a quick turnaround. We’d another attempted murder last night. Same MO. But there’s a news blackout until I find out if there’s anything on this.’
She opened the boot and took out Nat Dryden’s laptop.
‘Bloody hell, Clare. It’s non-stop laptops from you guys this week.’
‘I know. Sorry.’
‘Ach, no problem. Come away in and we’ll get this one logged with the others. We’ve not had a chance to look at them yet but they’re first on the list for this morning.’
‘I’ve a dodgy website for you to look at as well, Diane. Top priority.’
‘Is it ever anything else? Nice dog, by the way.’
Clare thought the Tech Support front office resembled the set from ‘The IT Crowd’ TV show. There were boxes of cables, assorted hard discs, computer towers and laptops sitting on every available surface. Diane saw her expression and laughed.
‘We do know where everything is,’ she said. ‘Promise!’
Clare put Nat’s laptop on the counter and waited while Diane took out a form to log it.
‘Leave it with me, Clare. Once I’ve done this I’ll fire it up and see what we can retrieve. I’ll call you later today, if I can.’
‘Any chance of a call by twelve? On this one at least?’ Clare knew she was chancing her arm but she needed all the help she could get.
‘Depends how easy it is to get into them,’ Diane said. ‘But I’ll look at this one first and do what I can.’
‘Thanks, Diane. Can you check this as well please?’ Clare handed her the piece of paper on which she’d written the .onion web address.
Diane looked at it. ‘Dark web.’
‘It was found beside the third victim’s laptop. This one here.’ She tapped Nat’s laptop.
‘No problem. I’ll be in touch.’
Clare and Benjy headed back to the station, arriving at ten to nine, just in time for the briefing. The DCI was in Clare’s office tapping away at the computer so she decided to head straight to the incident room to gather her thoughts. By nine o’clock the room was packed, Benjy standing guard as usual on the station counter.
DCI Gibson entered last, just after nine, and seated himself on a desk. He looked round the room. ‘Edinburgh lads?’
Clare raised her hand. ‘I told them not to come in until ten, boss. They were here late then had the drive back last night. We can sort out what’s needed and set them to work when they arrive.’
He nodded. ‘So, to business. Mr Dryden? Any update on his condition?’
Sara cleared her throat. ‘He survived the operation but he’s in an induced coma probably for the next forty-eight hours. Might be less. The doctors are reviewing his condition every few hours. If he’s stable they might start reducing his sedation a bit sooner. But he’s lost a leg and they may have to amputate the other one. They won’t know for a couple of days.’
‘So we’ll not be interviewing him any time soon. I presume there’s someone keeping an eye on him?’
‘Yes, Teresa from the Cupar station’s there now and they’ve someone relieving her when her shift finishes so we’re fine for today at least.’
The DCI gave her a quick smile. ‘Thanks, Constable. What about next of kin?’
‘His sister. Cindy Dryden. She’s been at his bedside since early morning. I can try and have a chat with her if you like?’
DCI Gibson frowned. ‘Maybe give it a few hours. Give her time to get used to what’s happened.’ He turned to Clare. ‘Update please, Inspector?’
Clare stood and walked to the front of the room.
‘We believe the same vehicle was used in the murders of Andy Robb and Bruce Gilmartin, and in the attempted murder last night of Nat Dryden. At each murder site, a card was left with a number written on it. First five, then four. Last night, a rain-soaked card with a clear number three was found. I believe the driver left in a panic, possibly because of the timely arrival of a dog walker.
‘SOCO are analysing a trace of paint from the damaged lamp post which we hope will help us identify the year the vehicle was manufactured. We believe that vehicle to be a Land Rover Defender, possibly an older model. We also have a witness to the attack, a Mrs Sally Knight, who was walking her dog further down the road. She remembered part of the number plate because it included two of her initials. So we are probably looking for a Land Rover Defender with a registration that includes the letters SJ and the number seven. So far this hasn’t matched with any vehicles either owned or stolen locally, so I’m afraid the plates may be false.’
‘What are you doing about finding the car, Inspector?’ DCI Gibson asked.
‘Chris will co-ordinate that with the guys from Edinburgh. We’re checking Land Rover Defenders registered to addresses within fifty miles of St Andrews. We’ll also check farms within a twenty-mile radius. The car is bound to be damaged at the front after last night so we’ll put out a shout to garages and body shops for anyone bringing in an accident-damaged vehicle.’
‘I think it’s worth going public on the Land Rover,’ DCI Gibson said. ‘No need to mention last night. ‘In connection with two recent accidents. That sort of thing.’
‘I’ll draft a statement for the press office.’
‘If you would, Inspector.’
‘Any update on the fingerprints?’ Chris asked.
Clare shook her head. ‘Not yet. SOCO said it would be hard to get prints from the card left last night because of the rain, but they’ll let us know. Should hear early afternoon, hopefully. In the meantime, we have reason to believe that the person whose prints are on the number five card is missing the tip of the middle finger on one hand. So we need to check everyone’s fingers. Connor and Steve were down at Swilcan Taxis last night. Didn’t hear anything from them so I’m guessing the staff there all checked out. But we also need to see Vicky Gallagher and her colleagues at Jensen’s Diner, Nat Dryden’s colleagues at the pub he worked at…’
‘The Harvest Moon. South Street,’ Jim added.
‘Thanks, Jim. Yep. Someone needs to get down there and interview the staff, as well as checking their fingers. Then…’ She paused to think.
‘What about the first victim’s wife,’ DCI Gibson asked, ‘and her boyfriend?’
‘I looked at their hands when I was over there and they both showed a full set. However, Angela Robb gave me a pile of broken laptops her husband had kept over the years. Jim took them down to Tech Support to see if they can find anything. More significantly, Chris and I examined a laptop at Nat Dryden’s house last night. Not only did it have Tor installed but there was a piece of paper beside the laptop with the address of a website on the dark net.’
‘Which is what, exactly?’ DCI Gibson wanted to know.
‘I’m not sure to be honest, other than it’s a website hidden from normal search engines. Weird address too – just a jumble of letters and characters. But apparently it leads to websites the general public wouldn’t want to visit.’
‘Illegal?’
‘Possibly. I took his laptop and the dark web address down to Tech Support this morning. I’m hoping Diane Wallace will be able to shed some light on it. I’ve asked for a call back by twelve. Not sure wha
t she’ll be able to detect by then, but hopefully it’s something we can work on.’
‘Manpower?’ asked DCI Gibson.
‘We could always do with a few more bodies if you can manage them, sir.’
‘I’ll see what I can do. Now, I’m concerned about this news blackout.’
Clare nodded. ‘Me too, frankly.’
‘Tell me your thoughts.’
‘Normally I’d want to go as public as soon as possible,’ Clare said, ‘with names, possible connections and so on, to alert what could be another two potential victims. But I’m concerned that all three victims – yes, even Mr Gilmartin – may be involved in some criminal activity. For that reason, I’d like to see if we can get anything off the laptops before going public. If there is evidence of crimes having been committed we could possibly identify and pick up the others before our killer gets to them. All three hits have been late at night so we should have a few hours.’
The DCI frowned. ‘It’s a hell of a risk. If our man gets to them first – they might even be entirely innocent.’
‘I’m aware of that, sir.’
DCI Gibson thought for a minute. ‘Okay, Inspector. Let’s review this at three o’clock. Meantime get the team to work. And keep me informed.’
He headed back to Clare’s office then stopped in his tracks. ‘Jennifer Gilmartin. Can she go back to the house now?’
‘We should be done by midday, sir.’
‘Go gently there, Inspector. She’s still pretty shaken.’
And without waiting for a response he went into Clare’s office, closing the door behind him.
Clare turned back to the team. ‘Okay… Jim, take one of the Edinburgh lads when they arrive and check fingers – Vicky and the staff at Jensen’s, and Nat Dryden’s pub. Make sure you get full staff lists too, including casuals. I don’t want anyone slipping under the radar. Oh, and not a word to the staff at the pub. Just that Nat had an accident last night. Again, check rotas at the diner and the pub. We want anyone routinely off on Thursdays, full set of fingers or not. Take photos of the victims with you and see if anyone remembers seeing Andy Robb or Bruce Gilmartin regularly on Thursday nights. That okay?’
See Them Run Page 12
