A Major Flaw

Brian knocked on the door of Chisolm’s office before sticking his head round. ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’

Chisolm indicated a chair. ‘Give me an update on Struthers, will you, Burnett?’

Brian sat down. ‘Examination of Gordon Struthers’ laptop hasn’t thrown up anything salient to our investigation.’

‘Hmm.’ Chisolm’s face darkened.

Shit! Brian’s mind raced. He’d better make this good. ‘Mind you,’ he added, ‘we’ve been working on a very narrow window. The solicitor wasn’t at all happy, and we don’t want to push our luck with Struthers, not with a guy like that. To make matters worse, the techies are snowed. They haven’t been able to go into it in any depth.’

Chisolm’s face darkened further.

‘There is just one thing, sir,’ Brian said, trying to mollify his superior officer.

‘And that is?’

‘There are a number of emails pertaining to Struthers’ partnership.’

‘In respect of?’

‘Equity.’

Chisolm glowered. ‘I don’t follow.’

‘As you’re no doubt aware, sir,’ Brian said, grabbing his chance to shine. ‘In common with other professional firms – solicitors, architects, whoever – equity is divided proportionately between the various partners.’

‘Yes,’ Chisolm said acidly. ‘You don’t need to spell it out.’

‘When a partner retires, sir, the others have to buy him out.’

‘Yes, yes,’ Chisolm repeated. ‘But I don’t see…’

‘If you’ll humour me, sir,’ Brian interrupted. ‘Some months ago, Gordon Struthers’ partner was diagnosed with a terminal illness, precipitating his early departure. Said partner is currently in a hospice. His prognosis isn’t good. When he dies, Struthers will have to come up with a sizeable sum of money, and find it fast. That gives us our motive,’ he added, basking in his moment in the sun.

‘Oh, come on, Burnett. Struthers must be earning a bomb, he’s most likely paid off his mortgage, and there’s only so many meals a man can eat in one day.’

‘I’m not so sure, sir. Their income must have taken a knock when the wife gave up her job, and things have been tight in Aberdeen these past few years, even for the professionals.’

Chisolm shrugged. ‘You haven’t convinced me.’

Brian reddened. ‘Would it help if I told you there’s correspondence relating to loan applications?’

Chisolm frowned. ‘There could be a perfectly simple explanation.’

‘Yes, but what alerted me is they’ve escalated in urgency over the past few months, both in frequency and size. What’s more, this escalation dates back to Sheena Struthers’ retention of the…’ He broke off, conscious of perspiration pooling in his armpits and prickling his brow. ‘Detective agency.’

‘That’s all well and good,’ Chisolm retorted. ‘But let’s not lose sight of the fact the only reason we have this information is because Gordon Struthers has given it to us voluntarily.’

‘Agreed, sir.’

‘So.’ Chisolm fixed Brian with a steely look. ‘Bang goes your motive.’

‘Sir.’ Brian was so hot under the collar by this time he was ready to melt.

‘It’s back to the drugs, then. I understand Struthers denies all knowledge of any meds: what was found at the scene or any other substance.’

‘Correct. Says they’ve never been great pill-takers, neither him nor her, and that’s likely why the wife didn’t let on she was using sleeping pills.’

‘What about his movements on the morning of the incident?’

‘Receptionist confirms he was at his desk just before 8am. There’s nothing to back his statement up until then, sir, not if the wife was out of it, so he’d have had the opportunity at any time that day until the cleaner’s usual starting time at nine. Or,’ he hesitated, ‘even during the previous night.’

‘Rohypnol’s way stronger than Zopiclone,’ Chisolm pondered. ‘It can take effect in twenty minutes and the effects can last for hours, depending on the dosage. So those two drugs combined could have put Sheena Struthers in a coma.’ Chisolm frowned. ‘It’s unlikely, though.’

Brian scratched his head. ‘I suppose.’

‘Is there a chance Struthers could have ducked out of his office, nipped back out to Bieldside?’

‘It’s possible.’

Chisolm eyed him. ‘Did either you or Dunn put the question, Sergeant?

Christ, Brian thought, I’ve cocked it up again. ‘No, sir.’

Chisolm’s lips compressed. ‘Thought not. Make sure someone checks out any CCTV opportunities along the route.’

‘Sir.’

‘However,’ he continued, ‘that’s not the only reason I asked for a meeting. There’s a major flaw in our hypothesis, and I wanted to bounce it off you.’

Brian waited.

‘What do you know about screening for so-called “date rape” drugs?’

‘Not that much, sir, other than they’re processed quickly by the body, so difficult to detect.’

‘Spot on, Burnett. If my memory serves me right, Rohypnol has a plasma half-life of eleven to twenty-five hours, so it and metabolites are likely to be found in urine for quite some time. GHB, on the other hand, has a blood half-life of only about twenty minutes, so it’s important to take a urine sample soonest. However, hospital samples are often taken, if at all, when only residual amounts remain in the body fluids, and it appears this was the case with Sheena Struthers. Added to which on admission…’ He reached for another file. ‘She’d become incontinent.’

‘I see where you’re going, sir.’

‘And as if that weren’t disappointing enough, the clinical tests done at ARI for hospital admissions are limited. For more sensitive screening they’d need samples from forensics. We’re screwed on both counts. Struthers’ laptop. Is it still in our possession?’

‘Don’t know, sir. I’ll check.’

‘Mmm. Pity we didn’t have more time. If there has been another drug involved, one that we can’t now test for, someone may have ordered it online.’ Thoughtfully, he stroked his chin. ‘So how did you leave things, Burnett?’

‘Struthers wasn’t too happy, sir, neither him nor his fancy friend. He’s screaming harassment.’ Brian rolled his eyes. ‘The lawyer I mean. Insists his client is a kirk elder, a model of probity. Says he can’t be held responsible for his wife’s…’

‘Ah.’ Chisolm offered a wry grin. ‘We’re back to women’s troubles now, are we?’

Brian ducked. ‘Reckon so.’ That was one place he didn’t want to go.

Chisolm snorted. ‘In summary, we have a supposedly intelligent man pleading total ignorance both of his wife’s use of narcotics and of a significant injury to her arm. We have questionable email correspondence. But we still haven’t established criminal activity.’ He challenged Brian with a hard stare. ‘What I need you to ascertain is whether there’s anything else Gordon Struthers has neglected to tell us.’

Brian nodded. ‘Sir.’

‘As to the wife, there’s only one thing we can do.’

‘What’s that, sir?’

‘Sit on our hands until she’s fully responsive.’