Hold Hands in the Dark (19 page)

Chapter 48

Two months later

I
f they weren’t standing in the centre of the valley watching several enormous diggers demolishing a set of perfectly good new-builds, it would have been quite a pleasant view.

              DCS Douglas pulled up in a shiny new BMW and climbed out. He gazed about him with a grim expression. ‘You certainly know how to piss off people in high places, DCI Bevan. The DCC had just put a deposit down on one of these houses for his daughter.’

              Calder burst out laughing, he couldn’t help himself.

              To his great surprise, Ronnie Douglas smiled too. ‘But then again, fuck him.’

              Dani chuckled, pulling her jacket more tightly around her thinner frame. She’d lost a bit of weight in the previous couple of months and it was beginning to show.

              ‘How many of these houses will they have to pull down, do you think?’

              ‘We’ll keep going until the specialist team from forensic anthropology discover the remains, sir.’

              ‘Do you
really
think we’ll find his body?’

              Dani looked about her at the otherwise peaceful landscape, imaging what it would have been like when the Crosbie Farm had still stood in that spot. ‘Yes, I do. It’s only been forty years, his bones won’t have disappeared. We’ll find Joseph Faulkner and give him a proper burial.’

              ‘Have we got any real idea how he died?’

              ‘Hopefully the anthropologists can tell us more when they’ve got the remains to work on. My theory is that Joe and Magnus argued. Farms are full of potential weapons. It could have been a spade or even a shotgun. Magnus took action to defend himself and his brother wound up dead. The family were there at the farmhouse for Christmas and they helped to get rid of the evidence. It’s lonely up here and remote. I expect they didn’t think anyone would discover what they’d done.’

              ‘But they didn’t count on Nancy Duff hounding them with questions about her missing lover. She knew something had happened at the farm that Christmas. It was her persistence that drove the Faulkners out of Portencross,’ Andy explained. ‘I reckon they borrowed money from Mac, the guy who owned the garage, so that they could pay for their flights and visas to get into the US. They weren’t fleeing because they owed him money; they
used
Mac’s money in order to get away. Duff wouldn’t have stopped until she’d brought the polis to their door.’

              ‘She still found them in the end.’ Dani stared off into the distance.

              ‘How is the prosecution proceeding?’ Andy turned to address his superior officer.

              ‘We’re still in negotiations with the US government. They want Nancy Duff tried over there for Sergeant Sharpe’s murder. I think that eventually they’ll get their way.’

              Dani flicked her head back round. ‘What about the deal Calder and Mann made with Duff?’

              Andy shrugged his shoulders. ‘It wasn’t recorded on the tape. I spoke with the duty solicitor who was there with us. Her son’s on the police training programme. She’s not going to kick up a stink.’

              Dani walked away from her colleagues, she didn’t have the strength to argue the point with them. As she moved further from the noise of the diggers, Dani heard a car engine approach. It was James in his sporty hatchback. He pulled up at the kerb and got out. Dani smiled at him.

              ‘Hey gorgeous, how is the wanton destruction of perfectly good housing stock coming along?’

              ‘Very well, actually. We should have set the country’s economy back by at least a couple of points by the end of the day.’

              James wrapped her up in his arms. ‘Good work, detective. Another productive day at the office.’

              Dani couldn’t help but chuckle.

              ‘Now, a little bird told me that you wouldn’t be needed for a few hours and I could whisk you away for a gourmet lunch.’

              ‘Ah, I see. That little bird doesn’t happen to weigh around thirteen stone and answer to the name of Andy Calder by any chance?’

              James made a poker face. ‘Might do.’

              Dani slipped her arm around his back and proceeded to guide him towards the car. ‘Come on then, show me the bright lights of West Kilbride.’

              ‘Actually, I was thinking we could maybe go into the city. You know these provincial places aren’t entirely my scene.’

              ‘I can’t be late back. The team might find something while I’m gone.’

              ‘If they do, I’m sure they’ll be in touch. In the meantime, let’s just concentrate on stuffing our faces, okay?’

              ‘Sure.’ Dani nodded, swallowing down the tiny lump threatening to expand in her throat and keeping it at bay with a wide grin. ‘Let’s do that, partner.’

Chapter 49

Crosbie Farm, West Kilbride,

Christmas 1974

M
agnus Faulkner was shovelling manure in one of the larger of his animal sheds. The forecast that weekend was for snow. He wanted to bring his cattle inside before the weather turned.

              The stark strip lighting which ran along the roof of the shed was making his eyes ache. Magnus had been working since five that morning. He was exhausted. But at least he’d managed to get a tree down from the forest for the weans to decorate.

              Magnus heard the sound of a car engine outside on the track that led to the main road into Portencross. He knew it would be his brothers, Keith and Joe. His heart sank. They’d been out shopping in West Kilbride. He wasn’t much looking forward to seeing either of them. Let alone having them at the farm during the entire holidays.

              The corrugated iron door creaked open. A tall, dark-haired man entered; his presence powerful and commanding, especially compared to his worn down older brother, stooped awkwardly over his shovel.

              ‘Evening, Magnus.’ Joe Faulkner had a broad smile on his handsome face.

              The farmer peered over the shoulder of his youngest sibling. ‘Where’s Keith?’

              ‘I dropped him off at a bar in Seamill. He’s planning to get a cab back here later on.’

              Magnus tutted. It was bloody typical. Keith would be absolutely plastered by then and might very well wake Sue and the kids as he blundered in. Not to mention the fact he’d been trying to avoid being alone with Joe since they’d both arrived. ‘
Great.
’

              ‘Och, it’s the festive season, Magnus. You’ve got to allow folk to enjoy themselves.’

              ‘All Keith ever does is
enjoy himself
. Now, pick up one of those shovels and help me shift this cow shit.’

              Reluctantly, Joe did as he was told. The two men worked in silence for a while. Then Joe straightened up. ‘Have you managed to get those Christmas relief boxes prepared for me yet?’

              Magnus sighed, knowing this was coming, sooner or later. ‘I’ve barely enough to feed my own family, Joe. It’s a bad time of the year. We’ve just bought the presents for Dale and Vic. It was bloody expensive.’

              ‘But you’re talking about
extras
there, Magnus. Those men up at the shipyards are struggling even to put food on the table for their weans.’

              ‘If you had your own children, you’d know that providing them with Christmas presents isn’t a sodding
extra
.’

              Joe took a deep breath. ‘There are bigger issues at stake here than whether Vicki gets a new Barbie doll. We’ve asked those boys to go out on strike because it’s to protect the industry for future generations. The least I can do in return is give them a helping hand to feed their families.’

              Magnus took a step closer, feeling the anger rising in his chest. ‘But it’s not you who’s doing that, it’s
me
. Why do all your great causes involve other people having to make sacrifices, it’s never
you
, though is it?’

              ‘That’s not true. I’m a worker, just like all the men I represent.’ Joe puffed himself up with pride.

              ‘But that’s not strictly accurate, is it brother? The union gives you extra for being their man on the shopfloor. I happen to know for certain that Alec Duff makes sure you’re not out of pocket.’

              Joe narrowed his eyes. ‘It’s complicated, Magnus. You don’t understand how the system works.’

              ‘And all you can do in return is to shag the man’s fifteen year old daughter – just a wean herself!’ Magnus was practically shouting now, the sweat running off his brow despite the bitter chill.

              ‘Who told you that?’ Joe’s tone was level and steely.

              ‘Keith. He came to pick you up from your flat once and saw the girl leaving. He recognised her. We all know Duff’s family. There’s only one reason a young lassie goes to a man’s flat on her own - especially if
you’re
the man. What would our Ma have said about that? It would’ve killed her.’

              Joe had started sweating too. ‘It’s not like that. I love Nancy. When she turns sixteen we’re going to get married. We just need to make sure her Da doesn’t find out first.’

              ‘Do you really think the lassie turning sweet sixteen will make any difference? Alec Duff will know straight off that you’ve been knobbing his daughter since she was still in gym slips. He’s hardly going to let you get away with that.’ Magnus almost laughed.

              ‘Alec is fond of me. He says I’m like a son to him!’

              ‘Then it’s bloody incest, too!’ Magnus threw his shovel to the concrete floor with a clatter. ‘You people are so full of shit. You come here all high and mighty about the principles of the strike when you’ve got no feckin’ principles of your own. Forget it. You’ll get no more food parcels from me – I’m looking after my own kin from now on. You’re no longer a part of it.’ He turned to walk back towards the house.

              Joe charged forward and gave his brother a shove from behind. ‘You can’t do that! I’ve promised them!’

              Magnus lost his footing and fell to his knees on the concrete, putting his hands straight into a pile of straw and cow shit. ‘It wasn’t your promise to make. Don’t you understand that?’

              Joe stood stock still over his brother’s crouched form. ‘I know people, Magnus. Alec Duff knows people. If you back out now, I won’t be able to protect you, or Sue and the kids.’

              Magnus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Still on his hands and knees he tried to absorb Joe’s chilling words. The farmer’s head rose up. Directly in front of him, leaning against the far wall of the shed was his shotgun.

              The image of that gun was still imprinted on the retina of his eyes when the entire building was plunged into darkness.

              ‘What the fuck?’ Joe Faulkner blustered, perhaps unused to the sudden power cuts that the more remote areas of Scotland suffered on a pretty much daily basis.

              Magnus’s actions were not driven by any conscious thought process but by a strong, almost animalistic instinct. He remained on all fours and crawled forward in the darkness until he knew he’d got as far as the wall. He reached out with his filthy hands until they were gripping the barrel firmly.

              The farmer clambered to his feet and turned. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the gloom but he still couldn’t make out anything distinct.

              ‘Magnus, where are you?’ The words were shrill and panicky.

              He directed the gun towards the sound of Joe’s voice. Somehow, not being able to see his victim properly helped Magnus to do the job. If he’d been able to look into his brother’s eyes, he may not have possessed the balls to do it.

              Magnus pulled the trigger. The noise was ten times louder than he was expecting, although he’d set off shots dozens of times before. It was something about the darkness, which seemed to amplify all of his senses.

              He heard Joe’s body fall to the ground. Pieces of his brain and flesh had sprayed onto Magnus, reaching him even from where he was standing, at the other side of the shed.

              He knew his brother was dead.

              The only question now was what they would need to do next.               

© Katherine Pathak 2016, All Rights Reserved.

© The Garansay Press 2016, All Rights Reserved.