The Dark Fear (18 page)

              ‘I’ve brought over a selection of wild mushrooms for you to try. If you like the flavour, I’ll give you a foraging masterclass.’              

              ‘Excellent. They’ll make a great addition to tonight’s pasta dish.’

              Tilly stood up. ‘I’ll leave you guys to it. Do come round to our place for dinner sometime. I can’t offer you the grandeur of Langford Hall but hopefully our peasant fare will be acceptable.’

              ‘We will do that, thank you. James can make a date with Aiden, when he next sees him.’

              ‘Fab, we’ll look forward to it.’

Chapter 34

D
S Sharon Moffett stood on the doorstep, unsure of whether to press the bell. Thinking she’d already come this far, the detective leant on it, hard.

              Stuart Lamb opened the door swiftly. Sharon wondered if he’d been expecting someone else. He had the good grace to look sheepish when he saw who it was.

              ‘I’ll just assume you’re inviting me in,’ she said brusquely, pushing past him into the lounge.

              ‘I’d prefer it if we talked in the garden,’ he suggested weakly.

              ‘Well I wouldn’t. It’s bloody freezing.’

              Stuart didn’t argue, plonking himself down onto the sofa. ‘I thought you might be the uniforms, coming to arrest me.’

              ‘We’re hoping to spare you that ignominy. There will be a hearing at the High Court. That’s when bail will be set and the charges heard. Because of your full confession, you should be able to remain at home until the trial. But be prepared, there will undoubtedly be a custodial sentence.’ Sharon ran a hand through her blond curls. ‘You lied to me. All I was doing was trying to help you.’

              He hung his head. ‘I know. I was trying to protect my family. That’s all I’ve ever been doing.’

              ‘These pieces of information you were leaking to Galloway – how many operations did you scupper over the years?’ She did her best to catch his eye, but he was being evasive.

              ‘Galloway used to ask me about specific cases. I simply provided him with information whenever I could, like when a detective was getting close to uncovering something dodgy about one of his businesses. Galloway then got his lawyers onto it. The detective investigating Galloway would suddenly find himself coming up against a brick wall. The incriminating evidence would miraculously disappear.’

              ‘Why did Galloway insist on putting money in your bank account? It left a trail. He could have given you cash.’

              ‘I got cash as well. I was being truthful when I said I didn’t know about the bank deposits. I reckon Galloway did that so I’d be implicated one day. It was his insurance policy. If he was going down, so was I.’

              ‘Were the two of you friends, was that part of it?’ Sharon was trying desperately to understand.

              ‘No, we were never that. But I’ll always be grateful to Alex. It may be hard for you to comprehend, but when my mother was ill there was no one to help me. She’d worked hard all her life but at the end I was expected to watch her writhe about in agony. Alex gave me the drugs and equipment to ease her suffering. When I looked into his eyes in that prison cell, back in 2004, I could see that he understood what suffering was. He helped me then out of compassion, I’ve no doubt about that. But it was also in his nature to take advantage of the situation, of my weakness. It was how he was wired up.’

              ‘In terms of motive for Galloway’s murder, you’re still our top suspect. Now you and your wife have shown yourselves to be liars, the testimony you both gave about being here together on the night he was killed is shot to crap.’

              He let his head fall into his hands. ‘I’ll admit to the other stuff, but I didn’t kill him. I don’t have it in me.’

              ‘Call me an idiot, but I actually believe you.’

              Stuart raised his gaze slowly. ‘You do?’

              ‘Aye. You’re clearly not a murderer. The reason you’re in this bloody mess is because you were trying to ease human suffering. So, I need you to pull yourself together and help me with something.’

              ‘Anything, Sharon.’

              She leant forwards, so her breath was warming his face. ‘You had a relationship with Alex Galloway for over a decade. Whether you liked him or not, you’ve more insight into the guy than anyone else we’ve interviewed in this investigation. I need you to help us find his killer. Give me every single detail you have about the man, then I might just start the process of forgiving you.’

*

James cleared the dinner plates into the kitchen of his parents’ impressive home in Leith. When his father followed him to make the coffees, James offered to help.

              ‘Dani has reached a judgement on that disciplinary case she was handling.’

              ‘The one involving DCI Lamb? I suppose you can’t tell me the details.’

              ‘Actually, Dani wanted me to talk to you about it.’

              Jim Irving raised an eyebrow. ‘Fire away.’

              ‘It turns out that Lamb was crooked. He was taking money from Galloway in return for information.’

              Jim puffed out his cheeks. ‘It does happen, probably more often than you’d think. Until police wages catch up with those in the private sector, it will continue to happen.’

              ‘You knew Alex Galloway, Dad. What kind of stuff did he get up to? In his whole twenty plus year career, the police never got a charge to stick. Exactly what types of crimes are we talking about?’

              Jim put down the packet of ground coffee and perched on a stool. ‘I never defended the guy officially.’

              ‘I know, but you must have heard things, when you were on the advocate bench.’

              ‘We’ve never really talked about this aspect of my work. I thought we always had an understanding that we wouldn’t. My job, and Sally’s now, was based on the premise that everyone deserves a decent defence. It’s the lynchpin of the justice system.’

              ‘I know that, but you didn’t defend Galloway, so you aren’t restricted by client/lawyer confidentiality. This guy was a crook, but he didn’t deserve to get murdered in cold blood. The more you can tell me, the greater the likelihood we’ll find his killers and exonerate those who are innocent.’

              ‘The more chance
Dani
has, you mean.’             

              James frowned. ‘Her interests are the same as mine. Dani is one of the good guys.’

              ‘And I’m not?’

              ‘I’ve never thought that. I respect and appreciate the work you did, just like I respect what Sally does.’

              The older man placed his hand on James’ shoulder. ‘I know. I’m sorry.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Galloway was a glorified east-end barrow boy. He bought and sold to the highest bidder. He didn’t ask any questions about where the goods came from or what they were used for.’

              ‘So he traded with drug-dealers and criminals.’

              ‘Yes.’

              ‘Were all his businesses connected to illegal activities?’

              ‘In the sense that they laundered money gained from illegal practices, yes.’

              James rubbed his palms down his trousers, feeling them becoming sweaty. ‘Would Galloway have been involved in worse crimes – like having his competitors murdered?’

              ‘When I was working the Edinburgh courts in the late nineties, I heard rumours that Galloway’s firm had got rid of a difficult client. He’d ended up at the bottom of the Firth of Forth, his body washing up on Portobello Beach. The man had half his head caved in. There was never enough evidence to prosecute.’

              James gulped. ‘But you called this man a friend?’

              ‘The case against him was never proven. The Alex Galloway I knew was a likeable, family man.’

              ‘So you could simply turn a blind eye to the things he was up to?’

              Jim’s face flushed pink. ‘Life isn’t black and white. I thought you understood that.’ He gestured to their surroundings. ‘Everything we have comes from my career as a criminal defence lawyer. Occasionally, by way of the law of averages, I found myself in the employ of criminals. But many of those men were little different from us. They wanted good lives for their children, a secure future. Like Galloway, they’d often started out in appalling circumstances. I’ve never felt the need to judge a person who’s had far fewer opportunities in life than I have.’

              ‘Nice speech.’ James stood up. ‘Thank Mum for dinner will you? I’ll skip the coffee. Dani will be expecting me back at the lodge.’

              ‘I knew this would happen, if we started to talk too much about my work.’ Jim sighed sadly. ‘Dani should never have asked you to do this. She doesn’t understand how this family operates.’

              ‘Really?’ James was breathing deeply to control his rising heart rate. ‘Because I’m beginning to think that I should have asked you these types of questions years ago.’

Chapter 35

A
n easterly wind was whistling across North Berwick beach. Sharon picked up her pace, heading towards the harbour, where there would hopefully be more shelter.

              The DS was due to meet somebody there. She stood by the entrance to the Sea Bird Centre which was closed at this time in the morning. Sharon had never been inside but had heard it was worth a visit. There’d been nothing of its kind in the town when she was a girl - only the huge, open air swimming pool, thronging in summer, despite the inevitable, Scottish chill, utterly deserted for the rest of the year. It was long gone now.

              Sharon watched a bulky, late middle-aged man walk from the direction of the High Street. He stopped and sat on one of the benches. The detective moved across to join him.

              ‘Henry Acheson?’

              ‘Aye. You must be Stuart’s friend.’ The man looked resolutely out to sea, not catching her eye at all.

              ‘I need to ask some questions about Alex Galloway.’

              ‘I can’t guarantee I’ll answer. Mr Galloway was a good boss to me. I’ll not smear his memory.’

              ‘I’m not interested in Galloway’s past crimes. I just want to find out who killed him. I’m sure you want that too?’

              The man slowly nodded his head.

              ‘What type of work did you carry out for him?’

              ‘I’m an investigator. If Galloway was starting up a new business or sizing up a prospective client, I’d do a bit of digging, find out if there was a reason to steer clear.’

              ‘You must have found out a great deal of stuff over the years. What was Galloway interested in during the lead up to his death?’

              ‘He’d been concerned about the manager at his hotel in Gullane. Galloway thought he was on the take. I’d investigated that since June.’

              ‘Was he?’

              ‘Yes, in a minor way. He wasn’t putting every transaction through the tills, especially with the gym membership.’

              ‘What did Galloway do about it?’ Sharon shuffled about in the seat, trying to get warm.

              ‘The guy was dismissed. He’ll never work in another of Galloway’s businesses.’

              ‘Alex didn’t contact the police about it?’

              Henry grunted. ‘Galloway didn’t cooperate with the police. He had his own way of dealing with things.’

              Sharon thought this sounded ominous. ‘Have you got the details for this manager?’

              ‘His name is Keith Warns. I heard he moved up the coast somewhere.’

              ‘Do you think he would have held a grudge against Galloway for sacking him?’

              The man shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘The boss never grassed him up, he should have been grateful.’

              ‘Can you provide me with a list of any other men that your boss had sacked over the years? It could be useful.’

              ‘Aye. If you think one of them might be responsible for his death, I will.’ Henry cleared his throat. ‘I haven’t always operated within the law. I don’t want this to come back and bite me.’

              ‘I’m not concerned with your methods, just the information.’

              ‘What Galloway did with the information I gave him I never knew and I never asked. It wasn’t my concern.’

              Sharon felt a gust of wind chill her to the bone. She shivered. ‘You worked together for a long time. Did he confide in you?’

              The man remained absolutely still. Sharon wondered if he would ever answer.

              ‘In the twelve months before he died, Mr Galloway had become pre-occupied with his son.’

              ‘The boy who died on the school trip?’

              ‘Aye. He was angry that he hadn’t pursued more of a case against the people responsible, back when it first happened. He said he’d been too willing to be persuaded out of it. He thought the school was clearly negligent. The boss wasn’t interested in getting money out of them. He just wanted justice for Gerry.’

              ‘Had Galloway done anything about it?’

              ‘He asked me to look into the case again. There wasn’t much I could find out, really. It was so long ago. I discovered that the teacher in charge of the trip back then was dead from cancer. The other one, the young woman, Mr Galloway had never blamed. He said she’d stopped to help some fat kid who’d had an asthma attack on the stairs. It was the history teacher bloke he had his sights on. Typical upper class numpty, the boss always said. Putting on an English accent, even though he was a Scot - like he was ashamed of it.’

              ‘Hamish Dewar passed away a couple of years back.’ Sharon thought about the research that DCI Bevan had carried out into the incident. ‘Was Galloway still intent on taking action against the school? He could have launched a private prosecution.’