The Baxter House
Lowther Hills
Eventually she had to sleep, she couldn’t help herself. And in her dreams Mackenzie saw the little girl she’d been, smiling and carefree. Her parents were there, forever young, her mother laughing, her father holding her hand, lending her his strength. He spoke but the words were lost. They didn’t matter; he was close and she was safe.
Something touched her breast – once, then again. Reluctantly, she felt herself lifted through the subterranean plateaus to the surface.
The rat on her chest didn’t run away. It wasn’t afraid. Unfamiliarity made it bold enough to explore her through the tracksuit top, sniffing the flesh beneath. For half a second they stared at each other and she saw the rodent’s pink ears and black eyes. Mackenzie screamed and felt the claws dig into the cloth before it leapt from the bed and disappeared behind the wall with the others.
The dream was over but the nightmare was still going on.
When the shaking finally stopped she stared at the ceiling. Apart from her ragged breathing, the silence in the cellar was absolute. But they were there. Waiting for her to become weak. Then it would take more than screaming to make them run away.
Ring a ring o’ roses
a pocket full of posies
Coughing was agony and already a fever was taking hold. Mackenzie accepted her situation was hopeless – nobody was coming to rescue her. She’d been a fool to believe otherwise and an even bigger fool to blame everybody else for the mess she’d made of her life. Derek and Gavin and Adele weren’t responsible. She was the one who’d refused to face the facts. And the facts were undeniable.
She was an alcoholic, had always been an alcoholic; would always be an alcoholic.
She’d been angry at Derek for trying to control her drinking. And yes, he’d taken decisions which could only be made by her, but she’d allowed it. Her agreement was intended to placate him and, more importantly, it meant she wouldn’t have to give up completely. Two glasses were better than none. Except, of course, they weren’t and never would be, she could see that now. All they’d done was feed the craving, keeping alive a need that couldn’t be satisfied. Her illness had progressed to the point where she lived for the next drink and the one after that. Everything and everyone came second. Mackenzie was addicted.
Her behaviour had estranged the people who loved her. She’d lost their trust. Adele, especially in the early days, had encouraged her to get help, even offered to take her to an AA meeting. Mackenzie was appalled at the suggestion and wouldn’t consider it. She liked to drink and occasionally took too much. Didn’t most people? She didn’t have a problem. Or if she did, so did half the world.
Adele didn’t raise the subject again.
Gavin had never pressured her, apart from once when he’d taken her for coffee and a ‘chat’. “Did she know she could come to him any time?” Well-meant but naïve. Would Monica welcome him bringing his sister’s problems into their lives? Like hell! Not a chance. And it would end in a lecture, these things always did. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?
One by one, as the promises to quit were broken, Adele had given up. Her drunken performance at the birthday party – stupidly claiming the man following her was her lover and screaming she was leaving Derek – had shocked and embarrassed them. Now they’d assume their little sister had carried out her threat and go on with their lives. What else was there for them to do?
It had taken being abducted to reveal the truth.
Thank God her parents weren’t alive to see how far their youngest child had fallen; she’d hurt them enough.
Derek would survive. In time he’d marry again, someone better suited to him, a partner who didn’t disappoint him like she had, who lived up to his expectations. Maybe the new woman would make him happy. Maybe there would be children. Derek had wanted a family, she was the one who’d been against it. Now, in this dank dungeon, she understood why – she’d been afraid to commit to the marriage. Somewhere deep inside she’d known she wasn’t fit to be a wife, let alone a mother.
So many amends to be made. So much to apologise for.
None of it would happen because she was going to die in this awful place. They would never learn what had become of her. Mackenzie sobbed herself to sleep, crying for the new life Alec had talked about, for the people she’d hurt and the child she would never know.
A noise startled her and she imagined the rats were coming back. She was wrong: it was the cane chair scraping on the flagstones. He was there. In its own way worse than anything. Mackenzie had no idea how long he’d been in the basement and braced herself for another attack.
But it didn’t come. He just sat there in his black coat, staring at her for the longest time. After a while he got up and left.
DS Geddes spoke to the women the manager had identified as knowing Mackenzie Crawford best. They were around the same age and both agreed Mackenzie had been lovely to work with. ‘So cheery. You’d never guess she had money. Not a bit flash and didn’t mind mucking in.’
The detective asked about outside of work. Sylvia said, ‘No, she didn’t come out with us. I reckon it was because of her husband. We were sure she wanted to but she always seemed to have a previous arrangement.’
The next question was delicate. Geddes met it head-on. ‘What about her drinking? Did it cause problems?’
Angela answered. ‘Not really, though you could understand why Mr Morrison had to let her go. I got the impression things weren’t great at home.’
‘Did she ever mention anybody watching her?’
‘She was a good-looking girl. Lots of men tried to chat her up. She’d have none of it.’
‘So she didn’t complain about being harassed?’
‘Not to me. How about you, Sylvia?’
Sylvia shook her head. ‘Mind you, we do get some creeps in here. Is she okay? Why are you asking these questions?’
Geddes stuck to his line. ‘Routine enquiry.’
Ten minutes later, he was done. Mackenzie’s former colleagues had added little to what the manager had told him. She’d been as much of an enigma to them as she was to her family. Except, unlike her family, they didn’t disapprove. The consensus: she’d been pleasant enough but for reasons she hadn’t shared wasn’t interested in being friends and politely turned down their social overtures, coming and going without giving herself away. They were pressed to say anything more illuminating than that she’d been ‘“ – lovely to work with – ”.’
Whatever that meant.
A picture was coming together of a woman who hadn’t kept in contact with old friends and avoided making new ones. Geddes had hoped he’d hear something he hadn’t as yet been told and was disappointed.
Back in the city he picked up PC Emily Lawson from the station. Lawson was delighted. She’d been a fan of DS Andrew Geddes long before she ever met him. His reputation in the CID was well-known. He’d put away serial child-killer Richard Hill and helped bring down Jimmy Rafferty, the head of the infamous East End gangster family. Why he was still a DS was a mystery.
The constable had worked with him once before, when Glasgow councillor Tony Daly was found hanging from a bridge in Kelvinside. They’d visited the dead man’s sister and Lawson was impressed by the detective’s empathy. Behind the sometimes gruff exterior was a decent guy.
In the car, he explained where they were going. ‘Could be a wild goose chase. Probably is. Derek Crawford’s wife has dropped out of sight. The family hasn’t heard from her and they’re worried.’
The name rang no bells for the PC. ‘Crawford. Should I know him?’
‘Know of him, maybe. Crawford Cars. Showrooms all over the place. More likely than not she’s done a runner with another man. Signs are there. Even admitted there was someone else.’
‘So, with respect Sir, what’s that got to do with us?’
Geddes cursed at the driver dawdling in front, keeping within the speed limit. ‘Come on, come on. Hurry up or get out and fucking walk.’ Lawson stopped herself from laughing out loud.
He shook his head. ‘Makes you wonder what some of these people are smoking.’
She repeated her question. Geddes answered. ‘Didn’t take anything with her.’
‘Nothing?’
‘Far as her husband can tell, not a stitch. And in the weeks leading up to her disappearing Mrs Crawford claimed she was being followed.’
‘I see.’
‘Wish I did. But throw in a drink problem and a history of attention-seeking and you’ll understand why nobody believed her. Nevertheless, it deserves looking into.’ He flashed a grim smile at the passenger seat. ‘Alkies are people too, eh?’
There was no answer to that.
‘We’ll see what her sister makes of it. That’s why you’re here.’
They turned off Great Western Road, parked and got out. Gavin Darroch’s wife would be expecting them. The first thing the detective noticed was the contrast between the grass here and at Crawford’s house – these people didn’t spend their Sunday afternoons in garden centres. Geddes liked them already.
The DS knocked the door and waited. It opened and a dark-haired woman cradling a baby in her arms stared at him with tired eyes. The detective didn’t have kids, not something he regretted; he doubted he’d have enjoyed the experience.
‘Mrs Darroch. DS Geddes – Andrew. This is PC Lawson.’
‘Monica.’
Inside, the living-room smelled of ‘baby’. Apart from a pile of nappies on the couch it was neat. Monica said, ‘Alice’s almost asleep. She’ll go down in a minute and we can talk, though I’m not sure what I can tell you. Would you like tea?’
Geddes declined. ‘Gavin’s told you why we’re here?’
‘Yes. How do you two know each other again?’
‘From the five-a-sides.’ He grinned the grin Lawson had seen in the car. ‘Last time I played against him he tried to break my leg.’
Monica smiled and Geddes said, ‘Just a few questions, if that’s okay?’
‘He’s worried and I think it’s my fault.’
‘Why?’
‘Hold on.’ She left the room and came back a minute later without the baby. ‘Best time of the day. I sleep when Alice sleeps.’ She made an exasperated face. ‘At least, that’s the plan. Doesn’t always work out.’
‘Sorry. We’ll make it quick. You were telling me why Gavin was worried.’
‘It started when Derek told him he was as sure as he could be Mackenzie hadn’t taken anything with her. That just didn’t ring true to me. Mackenzie loved clothes, especially if they had designer labels. Everything she wore had a designer label.’
‘I’ve seen her wardrobe.’
‘More than I have. We’ve only been in their house once, three years ago when they came back from honeymoon.’
‘So you weren’t close?’
Monica directed her reply to the constable as if she would understand. ‘They’re not the kind of couple you can get close to.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘A few reasons. We don’t fit Derek’s idea of socially acceptable – not upwardly mobile enough for him, and Mackenzie’s drinking got in the way. But, and this is where I disagree with Gavin, he believes something bad has happened to her. And while I was the first to say that leaving without taking her clothes was odd, I absolutely don’t.’
‘Why so sure?’
Monica got up and started folding the nappies. ‘Gavin has a selective memory when it comes to his younger sister.’ She paused. ‘Mackenzie’s a drama queen and always has been. I suppose she discovered creating a scene got her what she wanted when she was a child.’
‘And what did she want?’
Monica didn’t have to think about it. ‘What all drama queens want. Attention.’
Geddes made no comment. ‘Tell me about her drinking. In your view does she have a problem?’
‘Derek and Adele are best placed to answer that one. We don’t see much of them. Anytime we do she overdoes it. Everybody in the family’s convinced Mackenzie has a problem with alcohol. Although, now and then when she stops, she’s a completely different girl. All I know is she’s too fond of the bottle.’
‘Gavin said the birthday party was a disaster.’
Monica frowned. ‘One way to put it. Don’t feel great about my part in it. All I seem to be able to talk about these days is babies. Drives Gavin mad.’
‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘It’s a sore point with Mackenzie and I went over-the-top. Deliberately.’
‘Why?’
Her reply was frank. ‘Derek and Mackenzie left the christening after the service. Couldn’t get away quick enough. You’d expect an aunt to show some interest in her only niece, wouldn’t you? Mackenzie’s been to see Alice once, in the hospital.’
‘You resented that?’
‘I did, yes. I wish I’d kept my mouth shut because that’s what set her off. Gavin wasn’t pleased with me.’
‘What did she say?’
‘Christ! What didn’t she say? Derek was telling us about the row they’d had in Buchanan Street. She’d announced she was leaving him. Apparently, that’s a regular thing. A guy waved at her. Derek saw him. Mackenzie claimed he was following her.’
‘And?’
‘Mackenzie overheard and went mental. Lost it completely. Screamed the bloody house down and admitted he was her lover.’
DS Geddes clarified the point. ‘She definitely said he was her lover?’
‘Oh, yes, she said it all right. Added some comment about having to fuck to get a baby, like she wanted to hurt Derek.’ Monica shook her head. ‘It was vicious and humiliating. Everybody felt for him.’
‘Could’ve been the booze talking?’
‘Pretty convincing, though.’
‘Sounds like a marriage made in hell.’
‘Does, doesn’t it?’
Geddes had a final question. ‘Why did Derek put up with it?’
She shrugged. ‘Loves her, God help him. Mackenzie only has to mention she’s interested in something and he buys it. Gavin thinks he’s too old for her, too set in his ways, and it’s true he likes things the way he likes them. But her carry-on…doubt a younger man would stand for it.’
Geddes gave her his card. ‘Still got her sister and her husband to speak to.’
‘That should be interesting.’
‘Why?’
‘Adele’s very much in Derek’s camp and Blair…’
‘What about him?’
She hesitated. ‘Let’s just say, he isn’t.’
DS Andrew Geddes had been on the force for more than twenty years. He liked being a policeman. Catching criminals wasn’t difficult, more often than not they caught themselves. Even the smartest eventually made a mistake. His job was to be there when they did.
‘Domestics’ were something else again, complicated and unpredictable, married couples especially. On Friday night a wife accuses her husband of assault, calls 999 and has him arrested. By Monday morning she remembers the whole thing differently, claims it was all a misunderstanding, blaming her black-eye on falling over the cat. Geddes had seen people who’d been tearing the face off each other three days earlier leave court hand-in-hand, like young lovers reunited.
Blood was thicker than water, even when it was running down the wall.
Geddes turned the ignition off. ‘You’ve got brothers and sisters, Lawson, if I remember right.’
‘Two of each.’
‘How do you get on with them?’
‘Fine. I’m the runt of the litter. They all feel responsible for me.’
Geddes nodded. ‘Hear about the Irish girl who couldn’t understand why her brother had three sisters and she only had two? Never mind.’
The gold nameplate read B GARDINER. He knocked the door and waited. Across the road, grey clouds gathered in the sky above the Mount Florida Bowling Club; they’d be lucky to get a game in today. Apparently, Adele and Mackenzie had been at odds with each other most of their lives, in Geddes’ experience, par for the course. He wondered how that would influence what he was about to hear.
A minute later he had his answer. Adele Gardiner bristled with hostility, her opening statement summing her feelings up. ‘This is a piece of bloody nonsense. I’m sorry police time is being wasted on it.’
Geddes introduced PC Lawson and morphed into diplomatic mode. ‘You know your sister better than almost anybody. I’m sure you’re right. Just a few questions if you don’t mind, Mrs Gardiner.’
It would take more than that to mollify her. ‘Gavin had no right to involve you. It wasn’t his place.’
‘He was concerned.’
Adele folded her arms and glanced anxiously at her watch. ‘Mackenzie specialises in worrying folk. Always has. As for Gavin, he can shove his concern. Where was he while she was breaking our mother’s heart?’ She answered her own question. ‘Messing around in London. Before that, Edinburgh. Never there when she was acting-out. He doesn’t realise this is who Mackenzie is.’
Geddes let her get it out before he tried to have a conversation – she was going to anyway.
‘There was an incident at your birthday party.’
‘An incident?’ She scoffed. ‘Fiasco would be a better word.’
‘What happened?’
‘Nothing we haven’t seen before. She showed up the worse for wear and – thanks to my husband – drank three times faster than anybody else.’
‘Is he here?’
‘Not yet.’ Adele flushed and the detective realised her antagonism wasn’t about him. At least, not only about him. ‘He should be but he isn’t.’
‘We were hoping to interview both of you. Are you expecting him?’
The tone revealed her contempt. ‘I really haven’t the slightest notion where Blair is. Much as it pains me to say it, I really don’t care.’
She was wound-up and defensive. Geddes didn’t believe her. Adele flashed a humourless smile, there and gone in a second. ‘You’ll have to make do with me, I’m afraid.’ Her lip quivered; the mask slipped. ‘What must you think of us?’
Geddes coughed into his hand and brought out his notebook. He hadn’t written much in it.
‘Maybe he’ll arrive before we’re finished, failing that we’ll catch up with him.’ He opened the book. ‘As I said just a few details to confirm. You were going to tell me about the party.’
Adele thought out loud. ‘The party. The bloody party. Wish I’d never bothered. By the time Mackenzie was finished causing a scene, nobody was in the mood to eat. She was looking for a fight the minute she came in the door. Monica said something stupid.’
‘What about?’
‘Babies, of all things. Mackenzie reacted and it went downhill from there. Gave us a pretty graphic description of her and Derek’s sex life we could’ve done without, then made insinuations about Monica and Gavin. It was ugly and unnecessary. On her way to the toilet she spilled her drink.’
‘Did her husband say or do anything to stop her?’
‘Derek tried. She ignored him. It was embarrassing. I asked him how he put up with it and he told us about the row they’d had in Buchanan Street. Sounded awful. I felt for him. We all did.’
She glanced at her watch again and rubbed her hands together, agitated.
Geddes said, ‘According to Derek she claimed the man he saw was stalking her.’
‘Oh, that. It’s a cock-and-bull story.’
‘You seem very sure.’
‘A hundred percent. Only lasted two minutes before the truth came out he was her lover.’
‘Then you didn’t believe it?’
‘Not for a second.’
‘Why not?’
‘Mackenzie’s an attention-seeker.’
‘Really?’
‘Absolutely. Not happy unless she’s the centre of everything. Part of the problem. Mum and Dad were great parents but instead of nipping it in the bud, as they should have, they encouraged it. Derek’s paying the price.’
‘Was this the first time Mackenzie had claimed she was being followed?’
‘No. She told me one night when she was drunk.’
‘What was your reaction?’
‘Called her the next day. She couldn’t remember even speaking to me, so I let it go.’
‘Gavin says the family thinks alcohol is at the root of the problem. Is that your opinion, too?’
‘My sister needs help. It hurts me to say this, but she’s unstable.’
Geddes didn’t respond. ‘Can I ask your opinion of her leaving her clothes behind?’
‘Well, she’d got so many bloody clothes we can’t be sure she did. Maybe she just wants to draw a line. I mean, she hasn’t contacted a single one of us. And she’s changed her mobile number so we can’t contact her.’ Adele didn’t hold back. ‘Swanning off with the next fool while we’re left to clean up her mess. I’m furious with her.’
Geddes glanced across at Lawson, remembering the conversation outside.
‘And what about the car Derek Crawford saw her get into? I believe it’s the same make as your husband’s.’
Adele stiffened. The bristling came back. ‘So I’m told.’
‘It occurred to me he might be bringing her to visit you.’
She dismissed any notion of sisterly togetherness. ‘Don’t know where she was going. I can assure you, it wasn’t here.’
‘Can you confirm if it was your husband’s car?’
‘You’d have to speak to him about that. I’d be the last to know.’
Geddes realised he’d touched a nerve. He stood and handed her a card. ‘Tell him to give me a call. I need to speak to him urgently.’
‘Urgently? Surely you aren’t taking this seriously? It’s a private matter. Nothing to do with the police. And I’d appreciate if we were allowed to sort this out by ourselves.’
Geddes ignored the plea; it wasn’t happening. ‘As I say, if you ask your husband to contact me so we can eliminate him from our enquiries.’
She walked them to the door. ‘Should charge her with wasting police time.’
It was starting to rain. Geddes turned up his collar. ‘Thanks, Mrs Gardiner. We’ll be in touch.’
The women they’d spoken to were agreed Mackenzie Crawford was troubled. And it was obvious the missing woman – if indeed she was missing – had caused serious division in her family. In the car, Geddes fastened his seatbelt. ‘What did you think?’
Lawson said, ‘I’m luckier than I realised.’
Gavin Darroch saw the caller ID on his mobile and guessed what was coming. He wasn't wrong. Anger poured down the line. His sister didn’t hold back. ‘You must be pleased with yourself, you really must.’
‘ What’s happened?’
‘Your policeman pal came round. Andrew. Nice man.’ The sarcasm was bitter and leaden. ‘Asking about the party and the nonexistent stalker.’
‘Told you he was coming. He spoke to Monica, too. What’s the problem?’
Her brother’s naivete inflamed Adele. ‘Thanks to you this family’s being dragged through the mud on the strength of a drunken fairytale.’
Gavin dismissed the assessment. ‘You’re overreacting. Nobody’s being dragged through anything.’
Not clever. He’d lived long enough to have learned that telling a female she was overreacting wasn’t a great idea. He ignored the sharp intake of breath at the other end of the phone and ploughed on, digging the hole deeper. ‘Not getting along with your partner’s one thing. But this! It’s not rational.’
Adele seized on the statement and beat him with it. ‘“Not rational”. Exactly what I’ve been saying. We’re dealing with a child in a woman’s body. Normal goes out the window. We don’t know what state she was in when she left.’
Gavin spoke calmly. ‘Then shouldn’t we find out? Don’t we owe her that much? Doesn’t it make sense to do whatever we have to, to be sure Mackenzie’s all right? What’s Blair’s thinking?’
The white heat in Adele’s voice turned to ice. ‘I haven’t a clue.’
‘What did he say to Andrew Geddes?’
Silence.
‘He did speak to him, didn’t he?’
She faltered. ‘That’s why I’m phoning. You caused this mess so you can bloody well clean it up. Blair hasn’t been home and your policeman needs to eliminate him from his bloody enquiries.’
She burst into tears.
‘I’m sorry. I’m only trying to do the right thing.’
‘The right thing!’ She almost choked on her anger. ‘The right thing for Mackenzie, maybe, not for me, Gavin. Never for me. But why am I surprised? It’s always been that way.’
‘That’s just not true…’
She interrupted. ‘Not true! I asked you to find out what Blair was up to. You said you would, but you haven’t.’
‘I will. I promise I will.’
Her voice cracked. ‘Don’t bother, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.’
‘Adele…’
‘Don’t “Adele” me. You’d listen if it was Mackenzie. She’s got you all fooled with her candle in the wind routine.’
‘So where is Blair?’
‘I don’t give a damn where he is.’
‘Have you contacted his office?’
The anger returned. ‘I haven’t, and I don’t intend to. I told you it was your mess. You find him. Blair Gardiner isn’t the “good old Blair” you think he is and it’s about time you realised it.’
The men walked into a deserted Cathcart police station and approached the officer on the desk. One of them, the one carrying a briefcase, told him why they were there. The policeman wrote down their names and asked them to take a seat.
An hour earlier Gavin had called Blair. The conversation was fresh in Blair Gardiner’s mind, though ‘conversation’ wasn’t an accurate description. His brother-in-law had made his point and rung off.
‘The police want to speak to you. Need to eliminate you from their enquiries.’
The expression had sounded unreal, something he’d never imagined someone would ever say to him. Gavin had been curt. ‘I’m texting you the number. Call it. Call it now. And whatever’s going on with you and Adele, for Christ’s sake, sort it out. There’s still no word from Mackenzie.’
DS Geddes deliberately raised an eyebrow, looking at Finnegan, then at Gardiner. Nobody had accused him of anything, why bring a lawyer?
Blair remembered the policeman was an acquaintance Gavin had met at five-a-sides. If it was an advantage it certainly didn’t feel like it. The phrase ‘eliminate you from their enquiries’ had convinced him he needed to defend himself. He’d caught Finnegan at home and got him to agree to ‘accompany him to the station’. Another expression straight out of crime fiction. At such short notice, God knows what he’d charge him for that.
Not important. He’d seen the family’s reaction, their opinion written on their faces. Turning up with a lawyer had altered the dynamic, that wasn’t important either. The DS looked like a guy who didn’t play much football, or any other sport for that matter. He offered Blair his hand. ‘I was hoping to talk to you earlier.’
The disguised accusation hung in the air. ‘Something came up at work.’
The detective empathised. ‘Happens all the time in this job, one of the reasons the divorce rate’s so high. Get it sorted, did you?’
Blair didn’t reply and introduced his companion. ‘This is Gerald Finnegan.’
Geddes barely glanced at the bald-headed man in a three-piece suit before giving his attention to Gardiner. ‘Just a few questions. Shouldn’t take long.’
They made their way to the room Gavin Darroch had been in two days earlier. Geddes closed the door behind them and they sat round the table. Finnegan opened the briefcase and readied to make notes.
Blair said, ‘Doubt anything I tell you will help much.’
The lawyer placed a restraining hand on his arm, its message clear: say nothing.
The detective noticed the gesture, flashed a smile and cut it off. ‘People often think they know less than they do. It may be your sister-in-law has decided to quit her marriage and drop out of sight. It happens and it isn’t against the law. I’ve spoken with her husband as well as Adele and Monica. They’re pretty much agreed Mackenzie Crawford was erratic and had a drink problem. There’s also reason to suspect she was having an affair and may have run off with her lover.’
He paused. ‘On the other hand, her brother’s worried that isn’t the case. I’d like to hear what you think.’
Geddes could’ve spun it out with questions about the birthday party and listened to speculation about the lover/stalker. Instead, he chose a more provocative approach, guaranteed to have the lawyer jumping up and down. ‘Where were you earlier, Mr Gardiner? Your wife seemed upset you hadn’t come home. What was the “something” that “came up” at work?’
Finnegan whispered in his client’s ear then answered for him. ‘Detective, do you have reason to suspect Mr Gardiner’s whereabouts earlier this evening is relevant to Mrs Crawford’s disappearance?’
‘That’s what we’re here to find out, isn’t it?’
‘In that case, not relevant. He was with me.’
Lawyers, you had to love them. Geddes coughed and got straight to the point.
‘Mr Crawford stated that, on more than one occasion, the car he saw his wife get into was a blue Vectra, the same as Mr Gardiner’s. I simply want Mr Gardiner to confirm if it was, indeed, his car.’
Finnegan slowly shook his head. ‘My client has already assured all parties concerned that, despite similarities, it was not, in fact, his car.’
Geddes stared directly at Blair. ‘Well, now I’d like him to assure me. Was Mackenzie Crawford, at any time in the last three months, in your car?’
The lawyer nodded his permission for him to respond. ‘Absolutely not. She’s never – ’
Finnegan’s hand was back on his client’s arm. ‘If that’s all, Detective?’
‘For the time being.’
‘Good.’ He closed the briefcase and slid a card across the table. Geddes ignored it and kept his eyes on Blair. The interview had been short and sweet and unsatisfactory.
Outside in Aikenhead Road, Gavin Darroch sat in the darkened car, listening to a DJ in love with the sound of his own voice prattle away between tracks from artists he hadn’t heard of. Monica had been less than happy to be told he was going out. It wasn’t a choice. When he’d called Andrew Geddes to let him know he’d spoken to Blair, he was pleased to hear his brother-in-law had made an appointment to see the detective.
What the policeman added changed his mood. ‘He’s bringing his lawyer.’
‘Why on earth does he need a lawyer?’
‘Why indeed?’
More than anything, else the mention of a lawyer convinced Gavin to do as Adele had asked and follow her husband. He’d watched the men enter the police station and come out again twenty minutes later. Did that mean it had gone well or badly?
They disappeared behind the building and appeared again when the lawyer’s car nosed into the traffic. Blair looked out from the passenger seat as they headed into the night, towards the city. Gavin edged onto the road, keeping two vehicles behind. At the traffic lights in St Vincent Street, they stopped, animatedly discussing what had just happened. Planning the next move?
They pulled up outside the Lorne Hotel in Sauchiehall Street and Blair got out and the car drove off. He stood on the pavement checking one way then the other before going inside. Gavin was forced to drive on by so he wouldn’t be seen. His world was rocking. He’d known Blair Gardiner for fifteen years and liked him, but with the Spanish baroque silhouette of Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery etched against the midnight blue sky, he wondered if he’d ever really known him at all.
He took the next left and left again into Argyle Street. A third left turn brought him to the side of the hotel near Mother India. In the Lorne’s almost empty foyer, a couple sat at either end of a dark leather couch, drinking coffee and reading magazines – in the middle of an argument or killing time? But they weren’t Blair and Mackenzie. He tried the bar and saw a group of business-types lounged in the corner – diehards from a meeting earlier in the day – loudly drinking their expenses, too busy laughing to notice him.
The last possibility was the restaurant: The Bukharah. He stood at the door scanning the tables without seeing a familiar face. Blair must have gone up to one of the rooms. Gavin approached the reception desk and went into his act.
‘Has Mr Gardiner come back yet?’
A serious girl behind the counter peered over her spectacles at the online register and shook her head. ‘Can’t find a Mr Gardiner. Are you sure he’s staying with us?’
He glanced round and saw the couple on the couch holding hands. If they’d been having a row, peace had broken out. His family could do with some of the same.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I must have the wrong hotel.’
Monica’s eyes had sleep in them but she wasn’t in bed, she was waiting for him, her iPad discarded on the arm of the chair. Gavin hadn’t told her where he was going and, for once, she hadn’t asked. She’d realised that wherever he’d gone it was to do with Mackenzie and wished she’d contact her brother to let him know she was all right. If something had happened to her it would devastate him.
She spoke softly. ‘Alice wanted to know where her daddy’s been all night.’
He smiled. ‘What did you tell her?’
Her hand stroked his cheek. ‘That he was worried about his sister and, like a good brother, he was trying to help her.’
‘And what did she say?’
‘She says she loves you.’
Gavin bent to kiss his wife’s upturned face. ‘Next time you see her, tell her he loves her, too.’
He sat down across from her. ‘I’m lost, Mo, I really am.’
She reached over and squeezed his hand. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
Her husband yawned. ‘It’s a long story. Where would I begin?’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Adele thinks Blair’s having an affair with Mackenzie.’
‘Well, I gathered that much.’
‘You reckon there’s something to it?’
She considered lying and changed her mind. ‘Honestly, I don’t know. He obviously likes her. Then again, this is Blair we’re talking about. He likes everybody; he’s a nice guy.’
‘So why does a nice guy need a lawyer?’
‘Now you’ve lost me.’
Gavin collected his thoughts. ‘Andrew Geddes spoke to Adele earlier. Blair didn’t show – he ducked out. She called me and was pretty upset. Apparently, he didn’t come home last night, either. I phoned him and told him to get his arse in gear and contact Geddes.’
‘And did he?’
‘He certainly did. Only showed up with a bloody lawyer.’
‘You’re joking. Why bring a lawyer?’
‘Good question. Wish I knew the answer. But it doesn’t look great, does it?’
‘Does Adele know?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Don’t you think you should tell her?’
‘Tell her what? Nothing I could say will make her feel any better. I’ll wait ’til I know more.’
‘Poor Adele. Those boys of theirs aren’t children, they’ll know something’s wrong. Bound to.’
‘Christ. I forgot all about the kids. What a mess.’
For a minute they didn’t speak; what was there to say? Monica brought them into the present.
‘So what about the interview then?’
‘No idea. Haven’t spoken to Andrew. Don’t expect he’d tell me anyway. Andrew Geddes is a policeman. Doubt he’d bend the rules for a friend, let alone an acquaintance.’
‘That’s that then.’
Well…not quite.’
‘Why? What else is there?’
‘I followed Blair tonight.’
Monica pulled herself up straight. ‘You did what?’
‘A couple of nights ago Adele asked me to follow him. I wasn’t keen. But when I heard he was taking a lawyer that convinced me.’ Gavin played with his fingers and avoided looking at her. ‘I was waiting when they came out of the police station and trailed them into the city. The lawyer dropped him at the Lorne Hotel in the West End.’
‘Did he see you?’
‘Don’t think so, but by the time I got inside there was no sign of him. I asked at reception. They don’t have a Gardiner staying with them. Maybe he did see me and left by another door.’
‘Or the room’s registered under another name?’
Gavin stroked her cheek. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
She smiled. ‘You’re a man. When it comes to deception, you’re all amateurs. Where do you go from here?’
‘That’s easy. For the next few days I’ll take your car. Blair’s never seen it.’
‘And what about Derek, will you tell him?’
He thought about it. Derek Crawford pointing the finger at his brother-in-law had sown the seeds of mistrust, poisoned the water for all of them. ‘Not yet, he’s fired up enough. Besides we still aren’t sure what’s going on. But if Blair’s with Mackenzie it’ll tear the family apart.’