A Dark Shadow Falls (9 page)

              ‘You make it sound like you don’t get fed properly at home,’ Val commented indignantly.

              Bevan wished the woman wasn’t there. ‘How did Eric get on with his wife?’

              Craig looked directly at Dani. ‘He really loved her. Eric was always talking about how great Peggy looked. He said that most men his age had fat wives who’d totally let themselves go.’

              Val choked on her tea.

              Dani had to suppress a smile. ‘So, they were happy together, in your opinion?’

              ‘Oh aye. I can’t believe what happened. The Fishers always seemed like the perfect family. Eric used to sit in the pub looking smug whenever one of his mates chatted up the girls in there. I could tell he was thinking that he had everything he wanted back at home. Do you know what I mean?’

              Dani nodded.

              ‘Do you know what Eric did with the money?’ Annie Carmichael switched the boy’s attention back to her. ‘He must have received a lot of cash from working on the new estate.’

              ‘We never talked about it.’ Craig started picking absent-mindedly at a piece of dried food welded to the table. ‘But it wouldn’t have gone into a bank. I’m pretty sure of that much.’

              Carmichael stood up abruptly. ‘Thank you, Craig. That’s all for now.’ The DCI led her opposite number along the dingy hallway and out into the daylight, turning only to inform the O’Connors that her department would be in touch.

*

Half an hour later, the detectives were back in DCI Carmichael’s office. Annie had ordered them both a strong coffee, claiming she needed to get the taste of stewed tea out of her mouth.

              ‘I think he was lying,’ Carmichael declared. ‘About not knowing where Eric kept the money he earned from the construction company.’

              ‘Yes, it’s possible.’

              ‘If so, it gives Craig a motive for breaking into the Fishers’ place - if he knew that the cash was hidden in there somewhere.’

              ‘But why would Craig come to the house on a Sunday afternoon, when he knew the whole family would be at home, including Eric? It doesn’t make any sense.’

              ‘Unless Craig had a different motive. The lad was jealous of Eric’s ‘perfect family’. He was sexually obsessed with Peggy Fisher and decided that if he couldn’t have her then no one else would.’

              Dani was impressed by Annie’s colourful imagination. ‘An interesting theory, but Craig just didn’t strike me as the type.’

              Carmichael smiled. ‘Me neither. I don’t think that Craig O’Connor is a serious contender for our mysterious intruder. What does intrigue me, though, is what happened to the money. I’ve got a feeling it’s an important part of the puzzle.’

              Dani nodded. ‘And why has Eric Fisher never mentioned it? If the money has gone then it supports the claim that his wife and children were killed as part of a burglary.’

              A uniformed officer arrived with a tray of drinks. Carmichael busied herself pouring them each out a cup.

              Dani suddenly shifted forward in her seat. ‘Unless, Peggy Fisher didn’t know that her husband was working cash-in-hand.
She
discovered the money that afternoon and confronted her husband about it.’

              ‘That could have been the argument which triggered the homicides,’ Annie agreed, sitting back down and cradling the steaming cup in her hands. ‘If we can find out where Eric has stored that money, it could prove the man’s guilt, once and for all.’

              ‘Aye,’ Dani replied steadily. ‘I think it could.’

Chapter 15

I
t wasn’t a particularly warm day, but Dani noticed that Sally Irving-Bryant had the sheen of sweat visible on her top lip. The lawyer was filling in forms at the front desk of HMP Edinburgh - known to its inmates simply as, ‘Saughton Jail’.

              Bevan had called her friend to request that she accompany Sally on her next visit to see Eric Fisher. The man agreed to have the detective present.              

              They were led by a prison guard to a large room with a small table in the centre of it. Within a few minutes, Eric was guided into the room to join them. A guard sternly directed him to sit straight down on one of the plastic chairs.

              Fisher kept his head lowered during this process. Dani carefully took in the man’s appearance. He was tall and muscular, with dark brown hair displaying only the odd fleck of grey. When he raised his eyes towards Sally, Bevan could see that Fisher was handsome, in a rugged, weather-beaten kind of way. The detective tried not to stare, but her eyes were drawn to the ugly, jagged scar on his neck, which was only partially covered by his shirt collar.

              ‘Good morning Eric,’ Sally began brusquely. ‘How are you – are they still treating you well?’

              The two women settled into the seats opposite.

              The man shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I’m under protection, if that’s what you mean. There aren’t very many child killers in here. It makes me an attractive target. I get the feeling that the Governor doesn’t want me standing in the dock covered in bruises.’

              Sally flicked her blond hair, ignoring this comment. ‘Eric. I’d like to introduce you to DCI Danielle Bevan, from the Police Scotland Serious Crime Division. She’s been investigating the information you gave me. I invited her here so that she could feed back her conclusions.’

              Fisher turned his head in Dani’s direction. He let his eyes slide slowly down from her face to her breasts, where his vision lingered for a while. Bevan wondered if this was an attempt to be intimidating, or was simply how he greeted women.

              ‘I’m pleased to meet you,’ she said coolly.

              Fisher nodded, but his expression remained impassive.

              ‘I want to run through a few more of the details in your testimony.’ Sally brought a sheaf of papers out of her file and spent ten minutes discussing the minutiae of his statement. Finally, the lawyer broached the subject of their defence. ‘DCI Bevan found out some more information about your case this week.’ The woman paused and looked towards her companion.

              Dani understood this as a prompt to take over. ‘Mr Fisher, I need to clear up a couple of important matters with you.’

              Eric directed his steely gaze at the police officer. ‘Did you find evidence of the man who was in my house?’

              ‘I’m afraid there are still no forensic pointers to indicate a third party was in your property on the day that Peggy and the children were killed.’

              Fisher slammed his fist on the table. Sally jumped nearly a foot in the air. The guard by the door took a step forward, but Dani waved him back.

              ‘There must be! That bastard can’t have broken into my house, butchered my family and sauntered out again without leaving a single trace.’

              ‘Between the time that you were assaulted in the kitchen and when your neighbour arrived at the scene, there would have been an opportunity for this intruder to wipe away his prints. However, the fact remains that splatters of Callum and Peggy’s blood were found on
your
clothing. This will be a major plank in the prosecution case.’ Dani leaned in closer, trying to analyse his reaction.

              ‘I
told
the police, when they questioned me at the hospital, that the guy who dragged me downstairs must have transferred the blood onto me from his clothes.’

              ‘But the traces were the result of blood
splatters
– of the type which would be released at the time that the knife entered the body. A transferral mark would have been more like a smear – from one piece of material to another, for example.’

              ‘Are you just here to re-hash the police case for me?’ He shot an angry look at Sally. ‘I thought you were on my side?’

              ‘She is,’ Dani replied sternly. ‘We have to examine the evidence against you as thoroughly as the prosecution team will. Only then can the allegations be properly denied or refuted. There
is
a flaw in their forensic evidence. From what I can tell, their expert witness doesn’t believe there was enough blood residue on your clothing to be consistent with you being the sole attacker.’

              ‘That’s correct,’ Sally chipped in. ‘I intend to put that argument forward very strongly in my cross-examination.’

              Eric shook his head irritably. ‘But it still suggests I was involved in killing Peggy and Callum.’

              Dani took a deep breath. ‘We found out that you were working on the River View Estate in the months leading up to the deaths of your wife and children. Why didn’t you inform the police about this?’

              Fisher flashed Bevan a look which made her blood run cold. ‘Who told you that?’

              ‘There are plenty of witnesses who saw you carrying out the work. I’m amazed the information didn’t come out at the time. You were receiving your pay cash-in-hand, according to the construction company. What happened to that money, Eric? If the cash was in the house then it’s a motive for the break-in you have alleged.’

              The man shifted about in his seat. ‘The money wasn’t in the house. I paid Craig what was due to him. The rest went on boozing at the pub and other stuff. Callum had just had his 12
^th
birthday. I’d treated him to a few games for his Xbox. There was no money left, DCI Bevan.’ For the first time, Eric Fisher met her gaze properly and adopted an open expression. Tears had sprung to his eyes at the mention of Callum’s birthday.

              ‘Did your wife know about this job you were doing? Obviously, you hadn’t declared the earnings to the Revenue.’

              Fisher sighed heavily. ‘
Of course
Peggy knew about it. Craig and I used to stop round ours for a cup of tea after we’d finished for the day. Peggy helped me to choose the fittings for the kitchens. I always felt bad because I couldn’t provide the same for us.’ He sat back in his seat, looking defeated.

              ‘What about Craig O’Connor – could he have been the man who attacked you and placed the hood over your head?’

              Eric snorted. ‘Craig? He’s a lanky streak of piss. I’d have shaken him off in an instant and so would Callum.’ His face became deadly serious. ‘The man who dragged me down those stairs was big and he was strong. That much I know for certain.’

              ‘And you’ll be sticking to that story in court, then?’ Sally said with undisguised exasperation.

              Fisher jerked his head back towards the lawyer. ‘It’s not a
story
, sweetheart. It’s the sodding truth.’

*

Bevan gave Sally a lift back to the townhouse she shared with her husband in the centre of Edinburgh. Dani’s friend kept moving about in her seat as if she couldn’t get comfortable, flipping down the sun visor and touching up her make-up in the mirror.

              ‘Well, there’s absolutely nothing more I can do for him now. I’ll put his side of the argument as best I can in court. If the jury don’t buy his flimsy version of the events, Eric Fisher will be in prison for the rest of his life.’              

              ‘I don’t believe that Fisher can have spent all the money he made from working on the River View Estate. We’re talking about several thousands of pounds.’ Dani squinted against the fierce glare of the lowering sun.

              Sally started counting points off on her fingers, ‘beer, expensive computer games, the bookies, to name just a few potential recipients of Fisher’s undeclared earnings. Not to mention their monthly subscription to Sky TV.’

              ‘Did you ever consider the possibility that Fisher
paid
someone to attack his family?’ Dani shot her companion an enquiring glance.

              ‘What? Someone who half killed Fisher in the process and then rigged the set-up so it looked like
he
was to blame for the entire blood-bath? It doesn’t make any sense, Dani.’

              ‘Perhaps the arrangement went wrong. Fisher didn’t pay the guy enough, or backed out of their agreement at the last moment – something that made this man pissed off enough to take revenge on the whole family.’

              ‘Or maybe, it’s exactly as it appears, and Eric Fisher
is
actually to blame for the entire blood-bath.’

              Dani pulled onto the driveway next to a brand new Mercedes. Sally twisted round to lift her briefcase from the back seat, pausing to address her friend. ‘Thanks for your help with this. I appreciate it. Most high ranking detectives would have told me where to get off.’

              Dani smiled. ‘I’ve not completely given up yet. There are a few more avenues I’d still like to try. If I uncover anything else, I’ll let you know.’

              Sally was already out of the car. She gave Bevan a wave, striding purposefully towards the grand front door, leaving the DCI suspecting that even if
she
hadn’t entirely given up on this case, Fisher’s lawyer most certainly had.

Chapter 16

‘B
ut what did you make of
him
?’ Andy Calder interrupted, as Dani described her trip to Saughton. The Detective Constable was reclining comfortably on the sofa in Bevan’s office, where she was catching up on the paperwork that had built up whilst she was away.

              ‘I thought he was telling the truth,’ Dani said casually, ‘which, of course, means absolutely nothing.’

              Andy adopted a puzzled expression. ‘How come?’

              ‘Well, the man very likely believes every word he is saying. That doesn’t mean it’s what actually happened. The guy totally flips out and murders his entire family – right? You don’t have to be a psychologist to know that Fisher is going to have to construct a pretty good defence mechanism in his own head in order to deal with the reality of that.’