Half an hour later, Clare drew into the station car park. She was prepared for the press pack this time, pushing her way through them and into the station. Chris had also returned and was on the phone.
‘Clare’s just back, Diane. I’ll fill her in and she’ll call you if need be,’ he was saying.
Clare waited until he had finished. ‘So?’
‘Not much, really. Diane’s still looking at Fergus’s laptop but she has managed to get into his mobile. Only one number on it, though, and it’s untraceable. Probably a pay-as-you-go. He must have another mobile.’
‘Hm. Just the one number.’ Clare said. ‘Have you tried calling it?’
‘No. I wasn’t sure how you wanted to play it.’
Clare took out her phone and dialled the number and put the call on loudspeaker so Chris could hear. It went straight to voicemail. Clare left a message saying she had found this phone and wondered if the person she was calling could help her return it to its owner. Then she ended the call.
‘Not surprising, really,’ she said. ‘It looks as if Fergus has an accomplice.’
‘The person with the missing fingertip?’
‘Yes, I think so. Let’s recap the murders. Come through to the board.’
Chris followed Clare into the incident room where she indicated the photo of the first victim, Andy Robb. ‘Fergus has an alibi for Andy Robb’s murder. But the tyre tracks do indicate a Land Rover.’
‘And we have one set of prints on the number five card. The prints with the missing finger.’
‘Don’t forget the footprint on his shirt. SOCO thought it was a woman’s shoe.’
Chris frowned. ‘And while the accomplice is running Andy Robb down, Fergus is safely in the hotel with a hundred wedding guests for an alibi.’
‘Exactly. Now, let’s assume for the moment that he has a female accomplice.’
‘I’m not sure where that gets us, though,’ Chris said.
‘Nor me, but let’s go with it. Then we have Bruce Gilmartin. Now Fergus could have committed that murder, and that would make sense because the number four card showed a different set of prints.’
‘Fergus’s?’
‘Could be.’
‘Want his laptop sent to SOCO? Bound to be prints on that.’
Clare considered. ‘On balance, I’d rather see what Diane can find, first. I’m pretty sure he is involved. Prints can be done once we have him in custody.’
‘Yeah, fair point. So, we have two killers and they’re taking it in turns?’
‘I think so. And I’m betting whoever isn’t driving the Land Rover makes damn sure they have an alibi for the time of the murder.’
‘Right then. We have the female – if it is a female – doing the first murder and Fergus the second. What about Nat Dryden?’
‘Fergus has an alibi for that, so we’re back to the female. And last night, of course, Fergus went AWOL.’
‘By that reckoning, it’s the female’s turn for the next one,’ Chris suggested.
‘I’m not so sure. Things have gone a bit wrong for them, with Nat surviving the accident. Fergus went out the back, remember, so he must have known his house was being watched. I don’t know how much he saw at the garage last night but he might have recognised me. If he did, he’ll know we’re on to him. Things are starting to go wrong and that’s when mistakes are made. Also, we have no idea who this female accomplice might be.’
‘What about the ceilidh band? They might know.’
‘Good thinking. I have the number of the band leader. Hamish. If I dig it out, would you mind giving him a call? See what he knows?’
‘Yep, no problem.’
Left alone in the incident room, Clare took out her own mobile phone to check for messages. Her sister had sent a video of baby James and she was smiling over this when the door opened and Drew Walsh came in.
‘Hi, Clare. Taking five?’
‘Yes, just a wee lull in proceedings. I’m waiting for a call back that might help place the building where the photos were taken. Sorry to keep your guys hanging around.’
He smiled. ‘It’s fine. Nice to have a bit of a breather.’ He hesitated, as though he was going to speak.
Clare fixed him with her eye. ‘Something on your mind, Drew?’
‘Aye.’ He paced up and down then took a seat next to Clare. ‘Obviously, I’ve heard, you know, about the Ritchie family wanting a private prosecution.’
‘Yes, so?’
‘Well, hopefully it won’t come to anything. And if it does, then I just wanted you to know that I’ll be in that witness box, backing you to the hilt.’
She looked at him. ‘Why do I feel a but hanging in the air?’
‘Thing is, there’s one of the squad who was there that day… The Ritchies are saying they’re going to call her as a witness for the prosecution. I just thought you should know.’ He struggled to meet Clare’s eye.
She was silent for a moment. ‘For the prosecution? Who? Who is it?’
‘It’s Pam.’
‘Pam Cassidy?’
‘Yes.’
‘But Pam and I started together. We were at police college at the same time. We’ve been pals for years. Why would she testify against me?’
He spread his hands. ‘It makes no sense to me. Something about you and her being torch bearers for armed female officers, and you shooting that lad has set the cause back years. I think she wants to show that females can be trusted with guns.’
‘She’s not here? Not in your team today?’
He hesitated. ‘Sorry, Clare. I’d no choice. I’ve three off sick and two abroad on holiday. But I’ll keep her out of your way. She’s in the van just now.’
Clare’s knuckles were white. She tried to remember her counselling sessions and relaxed her hands, taking a breath or two before she spoke. ‘So, a colleague – an officer I worked closely with, someone I thought of as a friend – she’s saying now that I can’t be trusted with a gun.’
‘I think that’s what she means, yes.’
‘And what about you? Were you relieved when I resigned from armed duties?’
‘Absolutely not. Had that lad Ritchie’s gun been real he could have killed us all. And there was no way of knowing. I’d have done the same as you.’
She looked at him. ‘Would you, though, Drew? Would you really?’
He couldn’t meet her eye. ‘Clare, you have to know I’m one hundred per cent behind you.’
‘That’s not what I asked.’ She scraped back her chair noisily and walked from the room.
Chris was bent over his desk as Clare approached. She felt her face burning. She stopped at the water cooler and poured herself a cup of cold water which she gulped down.
Chris looked up. ‘Boss, are you all right?’
‘Absolutely fine. Just finding out who my real friends are.’ She took a couple of deep breaths and went on. ‘Any luck with that ceilidh band leader?’
‘Well, yes and no. I managed to get hold of him but he didn’t have much to offer. He’s never known Fergus to have a girlfriend or any other kind of friend for that matter. Says he’s more likely to spend his nights playing computer games. To be honest, he seemed more bothered because he can’t get a hold of him and they have a gig on Saturday night. He muttered something about finding another accordion player, permanently.’
Clare’s phone rang and she snatched it up.
It was Diane Wallace. ‘Hi, Clare. Not good news, I’m afraid. Fergus Bain’s laptop – the hard disc is encrypted.’
‘Oh. Does that mean it’ll take longer to get into it?’
‘Till the end of time, I’m afraid. Unless someone builds a quantum computer in the meantime.’
‘So, we can’t get anything off it?’
‘Afraid not.’
Clare swore under her breath. ‘No matter, Diane. We’ll get him somehow. Thanks for trying.’ She hung up. ‘No go with Fergus Bain’s laptop. Diane can’t get into it.’
‘Not surprising, really,’ Chris said. ‘If he’s managed to find these men on the dark web then he clearly knows his way round a computer.’
‘Suppose.’ Clare fell silent. She was running out of options. At this rate, the killer would claim victim number five and then disappear from trace. Her phone began to ring again.
‘Clare? It’s Geoffrey Dark. I managed to wrap my lecture up early, as you said it was urgent.’
‘I appreciate that, Geoffrey. Any luck identifying the building in the photos?’
‘I’ve managed to narrow it down. There are three buildings within a forty-mile radius of St Andrews. One south, towards the East Neuk, one to the west, and the other to the north. There are others in Edinburgh of course, but I had the impression that would be too far for your purposes.’
‘I think so,’ Clare said, motioning to Chris to pass her a pen. ‘But I may come back to you on that. If you could just give me the details…’ She began scribbling down the names of the three properties on her notepad.
‘And…’
‘Yes?’
‘That Morrocco exhibition. If you do fancy it – well, I’d love to take you.’
Clare took a breath. ‘I’d like that very much.’
‘Good,’ he said, easily. ‘It’s a date. And now, I’ll leave you to your enquiries. It’s been a real pleasure, Clare. Hope to hear from you soon.’
She clicked to end the call, suppressing a smile. Chris raised an eyebrow.
‘Geoffrey, is it?’
‘Shut up, you. Get hold of Drew. We need to see the DCI now.’
The four of them squeezed into Clare’s office and she began to explain. ‘The photos of the so-called Playroom show intricately carved wood panelling. I’ve spoken to an expert in sculpture who has identified the carving as the work of a late seventeenth-century woodcarver called Grinling Gibbons.’
‘How sure is he?’ asked DCI Gibson.
‘Very. Apparently, Gibbons always carved a little peapod somewhere in his work and, as luck would have it, the photos show a peapod carved into the wood panelling in the room. Now Gibbons worked mainly in England and took on only a few commissions in Scotland. Long story short, he’s given me the names of three properties within forty miles of here that Gibbons worked on.’
‘Three?’
‘Yes, but I think we can discount one of them. It’s eight miles south of St Andrews. If you remember, Vicky Gallagher told us Andy broke down one Thursday night and wanted her car. She met him near a crossroads north of the town So, I’m pretty sure it won’t be that one.’
‘And the other two?’
‘The first is Gundor Lodge. I think that’s the one to the west.’
DCI Gibson typed the name into the search engine and a map appeared. ‘It’s near Newburgh.’
‘Would Andy Robb go to that crossroads if he was heading for Newburgh?’ Chris asked.
‘He might, if he was trying to avoid ANPR cameras,’ Clare said. ‘But it’s certainly not the quickest way.’
‘And the second one?’ DCI Gibson asked.
‘Mortaine Castle. That’s T-A-I-N-E, sir.’
The DCI typed this into the search engine. ‘Out towards Tentsmuir Forest,’ he said.
‘Which is close to the crossroads at St Mike’s, I think,’ Chris said. ‘I’d say that one was more likely.’
‘Possibly,’ Clare said, ‘but we can’t take a chance on it.’
‘Can you divide your men between the two?’ the DCI asked Drew.
‘Not really. We’d end up not covering either location adequately. Better if we can find out which it is.’
Clare took out her phone. ‘I’ll try Sara at the hospital again.’
Sara answered on the second ring. ‘I was just about to call you, boss.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘Dryden’s awake. I’m heading back to St Andrews now.’
‘Who’s with him? Teresa?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Good. Come straight to the station. ASAP, Sara. We need every officer we can get at the moment.’
‘On my way.’
Clare hung up.
‘Good news?’ Chris asked.
‘I hope so. Come on – we’re heading to Ninewells. Dryden’s awake.’