One Hundred And Twelve Days

by Ian Todd

  “That’ll be Wilma Thain,” Bob Mackerel acknowledged.

  “It was DC Thain that raised the possibility of blackmail after establishing that the then madam of the establishment most frequented by Dr Walsh had been arrested, back in June 1956, for attempting to extort money from well-off businessmen by having them photographed in compromising circumstances. The madam, Margaret Johnston, who went on to use a string of aliases until finally settling on Bella McPhail in 1959 and her accomplice, now one of the city’s most prominent pornographers, Donald Dalgetty, more commonly known as Sleazebag Donald, were arrested, though never charged. This was due to the fact that the two prominent businessmen involved at the time didn’t want to pursue their complaints for fear of public exposure of them and their families. Unfortunately, though well-intentioned, the discovery of the colourful background of Bella McPhail narrowed the focus of the investigative enquiries into Dr Walsh’s death and the extortion angle became the prime motive for any foul play. After interviewing the brothel madam and her girls, along with the taxi driver who had dropped the victim off at home that night, no charges were ever levelled against Bella McPhail. At the time, forensics identified fragments from the rope used by Doctor Walsh to hang himself on his wrists to a mattress in a soundproofed ‘flogging room’ in the brothel. A week later, supposedly due to manpower issues and an upsurge of armed robberies in the city, senior officers concluded that without further evidence, Doctor Walsh had committed suicide.”

  “Aye, that’s right. The murder squad wur understaffed and pursuing nine live murder investigations, wan being a young school lassie who’d been raped and strangled,” Chief Superintendent Mackerel reminded everywan, trying no tae sound defensive, as another stream ae thick grey smoke hit him between they eyes ae his fur interrupting.

  “Of course, it was easy to see why over-stretched, senior investigating officers, who were under pressure, came to that conclusion,” she acknowledged, clearly no convinced, before continuing. “As stated, in the course of the investigation, it was established that Dr Walsh’s favourite pastime and sexual predilection was in being tied up, whipped, strangled and physically abused by heavily proportioned prostitutes…of a similar shape and size to Bella McPhail.”

  The wry smiles fae the men in the room wurnae lost oan Murdina as she continued.

  “Another name that was coughed up by the hapless Mr Murray that night, was that of an elderly farmer, who regularly supplied poultry to several of Pat Molloy’s frozen food businesses both in the city and out in Kirkintilloch. I needn’t go into the circumstances surrounding Farmer McPherson’s link with organised gangsters, other than to mention that he too, unfortunately, died during the night of Friday the 14th June, in his bed, along with his faithful dog, in what was again accepted, at the time, as just another unfortunate, tragic accident. It was believed that Mr McPherson stupidly set himself and the dog alight in his bed whilst under the influence of alcohol. I don’t know about anyone sitting around this table, but from where I come from, I find it hard to believe that a working collie would lie on a burning mattress beside his master whilst the said mattress was going up in flames, but that’s apparently what the poor unfortunate creature did. The scene of crime photographs distinctly show the charred remains of the dog and his master burned to the bone on the bed. Once again, this death has been the subject of a review elsewhere.”

  “These Dunbartonshire boys wur clearly no used tae dealing wae intricate murder investigations and obviously assumed it wis jist another tragic, drunken smoker’s fire. Tae be fair, Murdina, at first glance, us experts in the toon wid’ve probably jumped tae that same conclusion,” Chief Superintendent Mackerel admitted. “We took their word oan it at face value. It wis only later, when we goat oor hauns oan the scene ae crime photos, that we noticed that wee anomaly ye’ve jist pointed oot.”

  “Over the past twelve months, there has been a high-profile campaign led by a group of Rose Bain’s colleagues and other women’s groups in the city, calling for certain police files, regarding the nurse’s death, to be opened up to public scrutiny. Their claim has always been that there has been a conspiracy and cover-up of what actually happened on the night Rose Bain was run over. It’s important to state, however, that no evidence was ever found that would have led Strathclyde Police to disbelieve or to contradict the original conclusions made by the investigating officers, who examined the circumstances surrounding Rose Bain’s death…that was, until events started to unfold soon after the discovery of Mr Murray’s deathbed disclosures. Because of the persistent campaigning of Rose Bain’s colleagues and others through the media, coupled with the information made by Mr Murray and recorded in Inspector McPhee’s service notebook, the circumstances surrounding the death of two of the people linked to Inspector McPhee’s nocturnal visit that night, the doctor and nurse, starts to come into focus. Lizzie Mathieson, the actual nurse on duty, subsequently discovered in a newspaper article, that our farmer, also mentioned by Mr Murray, had also died as a result of smoking in his bed. It was Lizzie Mathieson, who correctly, as it turned out, linked all three deaths. Meanwhile, Inspector McPhee, took it upon himsel to investigate those same links, the same ones that Lizzie Mathieson had come up with. It was only later, after admitting what he was up to, that a review on how the police conducted the original investigation into Rose Bain’s death was sanctioned. Superintendent Daddy Jackson, though well-intentioned, called in Chief Inspector Bobby Mack, head of the north’s murder squad, and a station inspector to review the initial investigation. It’s this part of Rose Bain’s file that has been at the centre of the conspiracy theory. Unfortunately for us, the station inspector reviewing the case was none other than Paddy McPhee, better known as The Stalker, as our friends at The Glasgow Echo keep reminding us and the public. Everyone agrees that Paddy McPhee should never have been allowed anywhere near that file. The fact that nothing untoward regarding our initial investigation into the nurse’s death was found, is irrelevant. By letting Inspector McPhee access the file, it undermined the whole basis of our argument that a conspiracy into Rose Bain’s death was just a politically motivated excuse to undermine the police force in Glasgow. Superintendent Jackson, as everyone is aware, is currently suspended for that unfortunate decision…along with other alleged malpractice accusations that we don’t need to go into here. As if all of this isn’t bad enough, the young nurse that was on duty that night, Lizzie Mathieson, shares a flat with the girlfriend of Johnboy Taylor. Her name is Senga Jackson and she is a key player in the Rose Bain conspiracy campaign. We also know that she was one of the main leaders behind the scenes, pulling the strings of Michelle Hope, a serving police officer’s daughter, who led the charge, fighting to get Johnboy Taylor a retrial. The logical conclusion to all of this, is as follows. If Johnboy Taylor was freed by our esteemed law lords at The Court of Appeal in Edinburgh, as a direct result of what Inspector Paddy McPhee recorded in his service notebook on the night Sandy ‘Halfwit’ Murray confided to him, then there would be no reason to disbelieve that there was a cover up in the death of Rose Bain. The more one delves into this, the more surreal it all becomes,” Cleopatra reminded them, shaking her heid. “Despite misgivings about withholding the contents of Inspector McPhee’s notebook from Johnboy Taylor’s defence team, Glenda Metcalfe, as instructed when she was transferred, did a splendid job on behalf of The Crown, in keeping Inspector McPhee’s notebook from them. What isn’t widely known is that Glenda Metcalfe, on her own initiative, somehow persuaded Alan Small, Queen’s Counsel and Head of The Crown’s Criminal Division in Edinburgh, to request a force from outwith Strathclyde, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the young nurse’s death. It was being able to work independently, sifting through the available evidence, that I concluded that there was indeed a link between the deaths of Rose Bain, Dr Walsh and Farmer McPherson, and the deathbed disclosures made by Sandy ‘Halfwit’ Murray, that was recorded in Inspector McPhee’s service notebook. The evidence of why Rose Bain died was
always there. Oh, and I was also tasked to address wider issues that had been causing concern to The Crown Office for quite some time, such as police corruption and the undermining of the polis force, here in the second city of the empire,” Cleopatra concluded, a wee hauf smile appearing oan her face, as she lit up another wan ae her slim Panatelas.

  Silence.

  “There appears tae be a lot ae supposition in there, Murdina,” Mackerel finally came oot wae efter a long silence. “As ye’ve rightly acknowledged, there’s been reviews gaun oan wae regards tae maist ae the deaths and disappearances that ye’ve highlighted o’er the years since Tam Simpson wis murdered up in High Possil back in seventy wan. Making genuine mistakes sound like a dereliction ae duty, years efter the fact, is aw well and good, bit withoot hard evidence at the time and wae whit wis awready gaun oan elsewhere, it could be accepted in some quarters as being understandable. Ah mean, that wee strangled lassie’s murderer wis caught efter twelve days ae hard slog by a lot ae dedicated, professional officers, under pressure fae The Glesga Echo and the other trash papers in the toon.”

  “Yes, I can accept that,” she eventually purred, lying through they wine-coloured lips ae hers, sending another grey stream across the table tae the defensive, blustering idiot, sitting across fae her. “And of course, I’m not suggesting that any officers involved during Dr Walsh’s investigation were not dedicated in their pursuit to get results and justice for him and his family, but you do have to wonder. Whilst everyone and everything has been raining down about our heads, it hasn’t all been negative. Through dedicated undercover work, my inspector, Swein McTavish, has since been able to uncover reliable information as to what Paddy McPhee did next with the evidence that the deceased, Sandy ‘Halfwit’ Murray, passed on to him that night up in Stobhill.”

  “Ah, noo we’re getting tae the crux ae the matter,” Sam Bison said oot loud, accepting a fag fae his counterpart.

  “As I’ve already mentioned, Inspector McPhee, along with one of his Springburn sergeants, Finbar O’Callaghan, took it upon themselves to investigate various aspects of Mr Murray’s allegations, without going through the proper channels by seeking permission from Superintendent Jackson. It was only once they were both spotted in the city centre, searching for one of those mentioned by Halfwit Murray, an Eric Thomas, who, as it later transpired, had also disappeared under suspicious circumstances, now presumed murdered, did Inspector McPhee share the deathbed conversation he’d had with Mr Murray. This was after he was summoned down to Central to explain what he was up to. By that time, McPhee and Sergeant O’Callaghan had already caught up with ‘Wee Eck’ Thomas and managed to extract further information from him that confirmed some of what Mr Murray had claimed, including the fact that Johnboy Taylor was not in the bank when the two policemen were shot back in November 1972. Thomas also confirmed that he believed Johnboy Taylor was responsible for the death of Shaun Murphy. Of course, by the time McPhee disclosed this information, Thomas had disappeared. On Friday the 19th of September, my Inspector McTavish stopped a car being driven by Sergeant Shane Priestly. It was the beginning of a week-long holiday that he had been planning for some time. He was heading to a holiday cabin he owns in Balfron that he uses as a base for fishing. He was not expected to be contactable and wasn’t due to be back in town until the following weekend. After my inspector convinced Sergeant Priestly that it would be in his best interest to co-operate with a request for a little chat before he would be allowed to go on his way, Sergeant Priestly not only agreed, but provided a whole week’s worth of information about the ins and outs of the black meat trade in the north and west of the city. We got everything. For example, who was involved, whose hands in the police were being greased to turn a blind eye…you name it…Sergeant Priestly was only too happy to oblige…at a price, of course. He was also able to furnish us with the exact date of when he drove his partner, Sergeant Dave McGovern, out to Alexandra Park on the evening of Wednesday the 22nd of May, to meet One-bob Brown. That was eight days before Doctor Walsh, our first victim, apparently committed suicide in his house across in Pollock,” she said, letting that wee nugget hing in the air, before continuing. “And the reason for the meeting? McGovern disclosed to One-bob Brown what had been disclosed by Sandy ‘Halfwit’ Murray to Inspector McPhee in the intensive care room that night up in Stobhill. Not only that, but he also informed Brown that the only members of hospital staff on duty at that time of the morning, had been the young nurse and doctor and that the young nurse, Rose Bain, would almost certainly have overheard what had been said by the dying patient. Seemingly, the young nurse on duty, had found it necessary to practically evict the aggressive inspector, due to the stress being placed on the patient. Of course, as we all now know, it wasn’t Rose Bain on duty that night, but Lizzie Mathieson, the nurse that shares a flat with Johnboy Taylor’s girlfriend, Senga Jackson.”

  “Whit Ah don’t understaun is why Wan-bob didnae come back fur this Lizzie Mathieson and her flatmate efter finding oot he’d goat the wrang nurse,” Sam Bison mused. “It’s no like somewan like him tae miss a trick like that.”

  “This is only supposition, but I believe the connection with Senga Jackson probably saved her life. Johnboy Taylor is one of the so-called Mankys, led by Tony Gucci. Gucci is very close, not only to One-bob Brown and Charlie Hastie, but to The Big Man himself, Pat Molloy. I’ve heard it repeated in certain quarters that apparently, Gucci is the son that Pat Molloy never had. My hunch would be on the intervention by The Mankys, despite Gucci and Taylor being incarcerated in Dumfries Young Offenders Institution at the time. There would have been others back in Glasgow who could’ve intervened on behalf of Gucci and Taylor…Simon Epstein, being the most obvious.” she replied, before continuing. “So, we have a corrupt serving police sergeant who has confirmed that the death of the young nurse was, in fact, to silence her on what she may have picked up after listening in to the conversation between a dying gangster and a corrupt police inspector. Sergeant Priestly also confirmed that the information came direct from Inspector McPhee to his partner Sergeant Dave McGovern. As soon as that information was passed on from Inspector McPhee to Sergeant McGovern, that sealed Rose Bain’s fate…as you have already alluded to, Chief Superintendent Mackerel. Those responsible for Rose Bain’s death obtained the staff shift rotas, which hadn’t been amended for that night. We have the original staff rota as part of The Crown evidence. It is Rose Bain’s name that is on the list. There is no mention of Lizzie Mathieson. That is why Rose Bain died instead of Lizzie Mathieson. As I’ve also already stated, on Thursday the 6th of June, just fifteen days after the meeting between One-bob Brown and Dave McGovern in Alexander Park, Rose Bain was tragically run over and killed by a transit van as she finished her shift around eleven o’clock in the evening. We’ve been able to piece together enough credible evidence that has allowed us to charge One-bob Brown, Charlie Hastie, Paddy McPhee, Dave McGovern and Shane Priestly with the conspiracy and murder of twenty-year-old Rose Bain. If found guilty, four will begin life sentences and the other one? I’ll come to him in a moment,” Cleopatra said, smiling grimly, before nodding across tae the assistant chief constable.

  “That’s quite a tight timescale fur Wan-bob Broon’s meeting and this bent sergeant, Murdina. Ah mean, wid somewan like Wan-bob Broon hiv the resources tae access staff rotas ae an emergency ward in a hospital, before gaun oan tae murder the people who wur oan duty that night, as well as an auld farmer away oot in the sticks, in such a short timeframe?” the assistant chief constable wondered oot loud.

  “Oh, Ah widnae hiv any doubts oan that score, sir. The resources at Broon and Hastie’s disposal ur quite frightening. These animals hiv been allowed tae manifest in tae a huge cancerous growth that contaminates everything and everywan they come in contact wae at aw levels ae society,” Sam Bison said, clearly no realising the contradiction in whit he’d jist said, and the supposed role he hid in preventing something like that happening. “They boys ae mine in The Flying Squa
d wid testify tae that.”

  “Aye, ye’ve played a bloody blinder, you and they Highland boys ae yers, so ye hiv, Murdina, hen,” Chief Superintendent Mackerel said in way ae a compliment, managing tae get in there tae take the flair, as Cleopatra stubbed oot her cigar and reached fur her green case tae extract another wan. “So, oan the same day that Murdina here wis arresting the heavy boys and oor corrupt sergeants, before throwing the book at them, Honest John McCaffrey wis sitting parked up oan Woodside Road at approximately 11.20 in the morning ae Friday the 24th October, the same day as oor brave colleague, Inspector Dougan wis murdered, efter a red 250 CC Japanese Kawasaki motorbike pulled up aboot fifteen feet behind his stationary Rolls Royce. The pillion passenger goat aff the back ae it and calmly strolled up tae the driver’s side ae the roller and shot Honest John twice in the heid at point blank range wae a haungun, killing him instantly. The assailant then casually reached in through the driver’s windae and relieved the victim ae a broon leather bag containing the proceeds ae payments made tae him earlier that morning as part ae the money-lending and extortion racket he wis running. We’ve established that Honest John wis jist aboot tae meet up wae a well-known prostitute and skin-flick star, Candy Strachan, who he wis hivving an affair wae behind his wife’s back. Interestingly, while a lot ae witnesses heard and saw the motorbike arrive oan the scene and park up wae the engine running, none ae them could remember it speeding away erratically efter the shooting. This tends tae suggest that it wis a professional hit and no an opportune robbery. The only person tae witness anything ae real significance wis Candy Strachan hersel, who wis staunin jist alang the road, waiting fur Honest John tae pick her up. Strangely enough, the shooter…the pillion oan the back, gied her whit appeared tae be a wee friendly wave oan the way past, which tends tae suggest he knew who she wis.”