The Innocent Dead - Rhona MacLeod Series 15 (2020)

by Anderson, Lin

  She continued, ‘She liked that idea, because she thought she was getting somewhere. But that bloody diary scared her. It was like it was cursed, that’s what she said. She wanted it out of the house.’

  ‘Did you get to see what was in there?’

  Marge shook her head in a determined manner. ‘No. Today when she asked me to keep it, I thought I would take a look. Maybe photograph the pages.’ She looked at Magnus. ‘Was that wrong, Professor? We were all so worried about her.’

  ‘You were trying to help,’ Magnus said.

  ‘Anyway, I drew the map as she described it. She was quite cheery at that point.’ Marge pointed to the left of the map. ‘I asked what was after the rough ground. I thought it was maybe other houses. Karen said no, it was a wood where she and her pal Mary had built a den, so I made an attempt at trees. That’s when it all kicked off.’

  Magnus waited for her to go on.

  ‘She went white as a sheet. I thought she was going to faint and then she said they were in the woods before Mary went to the chapel.’ Marge looked at Magnus. ‘She said Mary told her she shouldn’t be wearing a white dress at all. She asked Karen if God would forgive her. You know what that means, Professor?’

  Religion wasn’t a contentious issue in Orkney. Mostly Church of Scotland residents, with a very small percentage of those of the Catholic faith, sectarianism didn’t exist and the kids all went to the same school, just like in the Highlands. Unfamiliar with the ways of the Catholic Church, Magnus had had to look up the whole confirmation ritual to understand the significance of the child’s dress and veil.

  Mary, it seemed, had known exactly what wearing it meant.

  Marge was looking at him, her eyes filled with tears. ‘Some man got to her, Professor, and made her ashamed to wear that dress.’

  Magnus recalled Alec McLaughlin’s words that Mary McIntyre had been pregnant and that was why she’d had to disappear. Maybe he was right.

  ‘After she said that, everyone was talking about what it meant. That’s when Karen got up and went out. I thought maybe she just needed to collect herself, but when she didn’t come back, I went looking for her. She was out in the car, ready to go, plus she’d taken back the diary.’ Marge looked at Magnus, her distress at this obvious. ‘I asked if she’d be back, but I knew she wouldn’t.’

  Magnus looked again at the map. The names were all there on the street that Marge had drawn. The McIntyres, the Marshalls, Alec McLaughlin. And across the road the two schools, one Catholic, one Protestant, and the hidden den in the woods.

  A broken line showed the path from the den to the school and on to the chapel, represented by a cross at the top of the map.

  Mary had walked that way and apparently never came back.

  The ominous silence while they both considered all of this was suddenly broken by the ring of Marge’s mobile.

  Checking the screen, she said, ‘It’s Beth from the recovery cafe.’ Answering with a quick, ‘It’s Marge’, she then listened carefully, her expression moving from pleasure to concern. ‘Okay, me and the Prof will take a look.’

  Ringing off, she broke the news.

  ‘We’ve found out where Karen lives.’

  37

  ‘So,’ said Chrissy, sticking her head round the door. ‘Time to shut up shop?’ Her voice held the traces of an appeal in it. ‘My eyes are crossing.’

  Rhona understood the feeling. She’d been focused entirely on the dress since her return from the meeting. Now cut up into areas of interest, it lay on the surface like a giant jigsaw puzzle, its pieces promising to complete the picture of who or what it had been in contact with. But as yet they were just that. Promises.

  ‘Any luck?’ Chrissy said.

  ‘Every contact leaves a trace,’ Rhona repeated Locard’s famous words.

  ‘And we can find more traces now than back when it happened,’ Chrissy said.

  Which is what everyone, police and public, would expect them to do.

  ‘So,’ Chrissy said, ‘are you up for a drink? Then you can tell me what happened at the strategy meeting.’

  ‘You mean you don’t already know?’ Rhona shot Chrissy a look of disbelief.

  ‘Well, I might know something that happened outside the meeting room at the end when you were talking to DI Wilson and J. D. Smart.’ Chrissy looked pleased with herself. ‘Which I’m happy to tell you over that drink. Plus you can tell me how it went with Dr Walker last night, which I note you have not yet revealed.’

  Chrissy was right: Rhona had avoided a discussion of last night’s event, mainly because she was still pissed off and unnerved by Edward’s sudden reappearance in her life. After she and Richie had walked out together, having missed the meal, they’d gone for a curry. Richie hadn’t asked her any more about Edward, which she was glad about. They’d eaten, and she’d gone home alone in a taxi to brood about Edward and his desire to offer Liam a job since he was coming home. Something Liam had not informed her about.

  ‘What’s up?’ Chrissy was saying as they got changed. ‘You look like thunder. You don’t have to go for a drink if you don’t want to.’

  Rhona decided there was no point keeping it a secret.

  ‘Edward turned up last night at the dinner.’

  Chrissy’s mouth fell open. ‘The Edward?’

  ‘That’s the one,’ Rhona said, slipping on her coat. ‘He even managed to sit at our table. So we left early.’

  ‘He spoke to you?’

  ‘Too right, he did. Made a point of asking me for our son’s contact details, so he might offer him a job on his apparently imminent return to Glasgow.’

  ‘What did you say?’ Chrissy was goggle-eyed.

  ‘I told him we didn’t have a son, since he’d denied Liam’s existence and that was after he’d wanted him aborted.’

  ‘Jeez,’ Chrissy said in admiration. ‘Wish I’d been there.’

  ‘Not sure Dr Walker felt quite the same way, although he did save me by quietly exiting and fake-phoning me from the lobby to ask me to attend a crime scene.’

  ‘I like that man,’ Chrissy said, impressed. ‘By the way, you never mentioned that Liam was coming back?’

  ‘That’s because I didn’t know.’

  ‘Ah . . .’ Chrissy now saw possibly the true reason for the anger. ‘You’d better contact Liam. See what’s happening.’

  Rhona knew she should, but she hadn’t. If she did, how could she ask the question she most wanted the answer to? Why did you not tell me?

  They were at the back of the jazz club, cutting down the path onto Ashton Lane. The evening was spring warm, and some folk were brave enough to sit at the rear outside tables.

  ‘No way,’ Chrissy informed Rhona when she saw her looking over at them.

  Heading downstairs, Rhona asked Chrissy to order the usual while she went to check if Sean was about. They hadn’t spoken to one another since the night he’d stayed over – although her real reason for seeking him out was to find out if Liam had been in touch with Sean, and he hadn’t got round to telling her.

  She found the office empty but heard sounds from the back room where artists hung out before performances.

  ‘Sean,’ she called and waited. If whoever was playing tonight was in there, she didn’t want to just walk in unannounced.

  The door opened and Sean, looking surprised at her appearance, said, ‘We were just talking about you.’

  ‘Who’s we?’ Rhona said, noting what she read as his slight discomfort.

  Sean threw open the door for her to see.

  ‘Liam?’

  The tall figure of her son stepped forward. ‘Hi, Rhona. I just got in from the airport. Thought the chances were you’d come here after work.’

  ‘You never said you were coming back,’ she heard herself saying.

  ‘A sudden decision,’ he said.

  ‘Why don’t we head upstairs and get a drink?’ Sean said.

  It was always thus, Rhona thought. Sean coping when she couldn’t. Part o
f her longed to ask Liam why he hadn’t told her of his arrival when obviously Edward knew, but she managed to restrain herself. Liam owed her nothing, apart for the fact she’d given birth to him. He had a mother and father, she reminded herself, and it wasn’t her and Edward Stewart.

  Sean was urging her on with a slight nod, which if deciphered might mean, We’ll speak about this later.

  Emerging into the bar, Liam stood unsure for a moment, until Chrissy, spotting his presence, shouted his name in delight and immediately headed his way for a hug.

  ‘It’s so good to see you, and you’re even taller and more handsome than ever.’

  The awkward moment over, for Liam at least, Rhona sought refuge in her waiting drink, while all she could think about was why he was back here, and where he was planning on staying, at his real parents’ place or with her? And the most horrific thought of all . . . was he seeing Edward?

  She found out shortly afterwards, because Liam told her.

  He’d come to stand next to her. At close quarters she couldn’t stop herself from noting aspects of Edward, especially when she’d first met and fallen in love with him. For she hadn’t always hated Edward Stewart. And she didn’t dislike his son, her son, for looking so like him.

  ‘I came back because I heard what happened to you,’ he said quietly.

  Rhona studied his face. What did he know and who had told him? She couldn’t bring herself to ask either question.

  ‘I wanted to see for myself that you were all right.’

  He had done that once before. Come looking for her to check if she was okay after the arson case in Edinburgh. And he’d come to her when he had needed help finding his missing friend, Jude.

  ‘I’m okay . . . now,’ Rhona said. ‘But thank you for being concerned.’

  ‘In case you’re wondering, I found out about the sin-eater case when I met a pal from uni. I got in touch with Sean and he told me a bit about what had happened, said that you’d gone to Skye to recuperate, but were back now and working.’

  ‘When did you contact Sean?’ Rhona didn’t like how quickly and shrilly she’d asked that question.

  ‘Firstly, when you were in Skye. Then today when I landed.’ He hesitated. ‘I should have come sooner, I’m sorry.’

  ‘No,’ Rhona said. ‘You shouldn’t. But I’m glad you’re here now. How long are you here for?’

  ‘A week. I’m going to see Mum and Dad after this, then I’m staying with a mate in town.’ He hesitated. ‘I thought we could eat together while I’m here? Sean says he’ll cook. What d’you think?’

  ‘I’d like that.’ She paused, and then came out with what she really wanted to know. ‘Has Edward Stewart been in touch with you?’

  He looked startled by the question. ‘No, why?’

  ‘He asked me for your contact details. For some reason he knew you were coming back.’

  Liam thought about that for a moment. ‘He has a son called Jonathan?’

  Rhona nodded.

  ‘We have a mutual acquaintance. He must have heard that way.’

  ‘He says he wants to offer you a job,’ Rhona found herself saying.

  Liam laughed out loud. ‘You’re joking? Why?’

  ‘Who knows if it’s even true?’ Rhona said.

  ‘And who cares,’ Liam told her.

  ‘I’ll drink to that,’ Rhona said, raising her glass.

  ‘So,’ Sean said later, after Liam had said his goodbyes, ‘when’s our meal?’

  ‘Tomorrow night if that works for you?’

  ‘Sure thing,’ he smiled. ‘Everything go all right with Liam?’

  Rhona wanted to ask why he hadn’t told her Liam had been in touch when she was in Skye, but then again how could he, when she’d told him not to call her, but to wait for her to contact him. Sean had stuck by her wishes and, she assumed, Liam’s too.

  ‘It went well.’ She touched his arm. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You give me too much credit. He’s a fine kid.’

  ‘Well, I can’t take any credit for that,’ Rhona said.

  ‘Hey, according to my forensic friend, a child takes fifty per cent DNA from each of their biological parents.’

  ‘With Edward and me as his biological parents, I’d say that Liam turned out the way he has because of nurture, not nature,’ Rhona said.

  Seeing Chrissy giving her goodbyes, Rhona indicated she would go with her.

  ‘You’re not sticking around then?’ Sean sounded sorry.

  ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner at my place,’Rhona promised.

  Once out of the crowd downstairs, Chrissy said, ‘I’m assuming you still want to hear what happened after the strategy meeting?’

  ‘Why else would I follow you out when we’re going in opposite directions?’ Rhona said.

  ‘Well,’ Chrissy began, ‘Magnus had coffee with Janice and told her that Karen Marshall’s married name is Johnston and he believes he’s met her at the women’s recovery cafe in Raploch, Stirling.’

  38

  When Rhona let herself into the flat, the cat came bounding to meet her as usual. She’d set up a timer on his food bowl, which meant Tom got to eat when she wasn’t around, but he still associated her arrival with food, or maybe it was now more about company and affection.

  Running before her into the kitchen, he sprang onto the table, waiting for whatever treat she decided to give him. Checking his food bowl, Rhona found it was by no means empty, so he certainly wasn’t starving. Nevertheless, she fished in the cupboard for the treats that Sean had introduced during her sojourn on Skye and, quite delighted by this, Tom bounded away with his prize.

  Now what was she going to eat?

  Rhona checked the fridge, but sadly the food Sean had bought was finished, which meant she was back to the delivery menus. She grabbed the Italian one and, calling the number, ordered a seafood pizza, while suddenly relishing the thought that tomorrow night someone would be cooking for her.

  Having been assured that her pizza would be with her in twenty minutes, she decided to have a quick shower in the interim. Standing under the hot water, she allowed herself to think of tonight’s events, re-imagining her first sight of Liam standing taller than Sean. How her eye had immediately assessed him against the last time they’d met, noting the squarer chin, the still-thick mop of blond hair (one good feature he’d got from Edward), his tentative smile when he saw her.

  I was too quick with the questions, she admonished herself. I let Edward get to me. When will I ever learn about that? This thought led to another, equally unpleasant: Edward Stewart, once he wanted something, was unlikely to give up until he got it.

  When she’d announced her pregnancy with Liam, Edward had immediately decided he didn’t want a child. When she’d ignored his orders to have an abortion, he no longer wanted her. Later, when she’d already had the baby boy adopted, he’d made sure she would at no time reveal him as the father should she ever broadcast the fact that as a teenager she had borne a child and given it up for adoption. He’d denied Liam before he was born as he’d denied him after.

  Why the sudden interest now?

  Rhona stepped out of the shower and towelled herself dry, annoyed that her pleasure at seeing Liam again was being marred by the thought that Edward had some sort of plan for the son he’d previously denied or ignored.

  Stop it, she told herself. Liam had laughed at the idea of a job with his non-father and that was unlikely to change – or was it?

  Edward had money and power. Who knows what he would do to get what he wanted? Fiona, his wife and the power behind the throne, immediately came to mind. Edward would never have made that move at the university dinner were Fiona not aware of it.

  Maybe it was Fiona she had to worry about?

  The buzzer went as Rhona was pulling on her clothes and she headed through to answer it.

  ‘Great to have you back, Dr MacLeod,’ Stevie, her pizza delivery bloke, announced. ‘I thought you’d given up on us or moved away. Or
even worse, you were sticking to curry and Chinese,’ he added with a grin.

  ‘Not when you make the best pizzas around here,’ Rhona told him.

  Carrying the box through to the sitting room, she lit the gas fire. By then the scent of hot food had brought Tom through to take up his place next to her on the sofa.

  While she ate her pizza, Rhona continued to contemplate what the reason for Edward’s interest in Liam might be. And then a thought struck her. Could it have anything to do with Jonathan, his son with Fiona?

  Edward had made it plain on a number of occasions that Jonathan was a disappointment to him. His manner of response to her enquiry at the dinner had echoed that, when he’d muttered something about art school, then shifted the focus. He’d been furious when Jonathan had chosen not to go to university . . . unlike Liam.

  God, what was he thinking? That he could somehow choose Liam as the favoured one? She could almost hear him at the press conference. How he’d found his son again and was so pleased to put things right between them.

  Get a grip, Rhona told herself as she went through to the kitchen to fill up her wine glass. Liam had too much sense to take anything like that on board.

  Heading back through, she took her laptop with her. The only thing that would stop her thinking about Edward was concentrating on work instead.

  Former DI McCreadie had given a pretty full picture of the previous investigation at the strategy meeting. His talk had now been made available online for those involved in the investigation, together with the transcribed notebooks he’d handed over to the police. Putting her concerns about J. D. Smart and his actual role in the investigation to one side, Rhona settled down to read the material.