The Dark Fear (19 page)

              ‘I’m not sure. I interviewed a few folk from back then and passed on my findings to him. Things went quiet after that. Then we had this case with the bent manager at Gullane and that occupied his attention for a while. The last time I spoke to the boss, he was talking about a new business venture. He wanted me to check out a development company that were buying up dilapidated property in Leith. It was going to be my last case for him. I’d planned to retire.’

              ‘Had you found out anything about the company before Galloway died?’

              ‘They were legit. Their practices were a bit underhand, bungs to local councillors and that kind of thing. Galloway wouldn’t have been concerned. He used those methods himself. The boss just wanted to know if the business was viable.’

              Sharon fished in her pocket, bringing out a square of paper. ‘This is a code for a post office box in Waverley Station. You can leave the information there. I promise it won’t be used against you.’

              The man got to his feet. Sharon could just hear him mumble, ‘I hope you get the bastard,’ as he slowly shuffled away.

Chapter 36

J
ames had been quiet for most of the evening. After dinner, he retired to the snug, which he’d made some efforts to convert into an office.

              Dani cleared away the dishes and carried him in a brandy. ‘What are you up to?’

              James was bent over a pile of papers and photographs. ‘I’m just sorting through all the stuff I found in the attic and outhouses.’

              She brushed her face against his cheek. ‘I’m sorry I caused you to fall out with your dad. I know how close you are as a family.’

              He took her hand. ‘It isn’t your fault. I’ve simply realised that our entire relationship has been based upon avoiding unpleasant truths. We hardly know each other at all.’

              ‘That isn’t totally the case. Look at the Lambs. Their life together
was
based on lies. Stuart could never tell his wife and children what he was really doing or what identity he’d taken on. It resulted in them not actually knowing what was real anymore. All of the lines became blurred. Jim Irving was a celebrated defence advocate. His cases are well documented. He prevented at least half a dozen miscarriages of justice in his long career.’

              James pulled her onto his lap. ‘But what about all the murderers and rapists he got off? The worst thing is, I’m not even sure why it’s never bothered me before.’

              ‘Because you understood that it was part of the bigger picture. All citizens deserve a fair trial and a high standard of defence. It’s better that ten guilty men go free than just one innocent man be wrongfully convicted.’

              ‘Who said that?’

              ‘I’ve no idea. I probably got it from a film.’

              James managed a smile, pulling her close. ‘I’ve heard you and Andy moaning many times about lawyers making it impossible to secure a conviction these days.’

              ‘Yes, but it doesn’t mean we don’t realise they’re necessary.’

              He placed a kiss on her lips. ‘A necessary evil. It’s not the greatest of accolades.’

              ‘Oh, I don’t know. I can think of worse.’

*

A number of the letters he discovered had been in a dusty pile in the outhouse. A good few were still unopened. Mostly, they were addressed to either Tim or Lynda Gascoigne and had arrived at Oak Lodge in the weeks and months after they’d moved to the United States. The tenant living there at the time had obviously not bothered to forward them, leaving the job for someone else.

              James concluded there wasn’t much point in sending the letters on now, when so many years had passed. He sifted through them, noting that the majority would be junk mail; invitations to sign up for a new credit card and that sort of thing.

              One of the envelopes was weightier than the others and the sender had taken the time to write the address by hand. James hesitated for a moment, and then sliced it open.

              It was written on company headed paper. The legend in the top corner read: Connaught Investments, 55-59 Lowther Street, Edinburgh.

              He assumed these were Tim’s employers.

              James was so engrossed in the text, he’d not noticed Dani standing in the doorway.

              ‘What have you got there?’

              ‘It’s one of the letters I found in the outhouse. It looked interesting, so I decided to open it.’

              ‘You realise that’s a criminal offence?’ She grinned.

              James glanced up, a look of concern on his face.

              ‘Don’t worry. I’ll resist the urge to arrest you. What does it say?’

              ‘It’s from one of Tim Gascoigne’s work colleagues. He’s a friend I think. I’ll read it to you.

              ‘‘Dear Tim, your leaving was so rushed that we didn’t get chance to say a proper goodbye. To be honest, I’m a little hurt that you hadn’t told me what you and Lynda had planned. I would never have let on to Henderson. You must have been considering the move for months. Anyway, things are the same as always here – constant pressure to meet the performance targets. Martin is still back-stabbing as usual to get clients. I’m thinking about following your lead and jumping ship. Elaine doesn’t know about it yet and she’ll have a fit when I tell her. I don’t know how you got Lynda and the kids to agree. My two would never leave their school, let alone up sticks to another country. But I bet the money will be good out there. Maybe you’ll be able to come back in a few years?

              Actually, you could help me out by sending the address of this new company who’ve head-hunted you. That last day was so hectic that I didn’t even catch the name of it. Perhaps they’ve got a position for a hot-shot fund manager like me? Put in a good word, would you, pal?

              Well, this is it. I hope the letter gets to Oak Lodge before you all leave. I’m sure it will, you’ll be taking a few weeks to get organised I expect. You’ll have to sort Lynda’s mum out too. Will she be going with you? I’ve popped in a couple of photos taken at the barbecue last summer – your brood with mine. Don’t worry, I’ve made copies. We might be doing the same thing in Chicago before the year’s out – let’s hope!

Best wishes and bon voyage, Alastair.’’

              Dani picked up the photographs. ‘Nice pictures. They all seem happy.’

              ‘There something odd about this. Aiden Newton told me that Tim Gascoigne’s company opened an office in Chicago. That isn’t what this letter suggests. It sounds like he left his job very suddenly and went to work for another firm entirely.’

              ‘Maybe Aiden got the wrong end of the stick. Does it matter?’

              James furrowed his brow. ‘And what about this issue of the mother-in-law? Nobody’s mentioned her yet. I wonder if she lived here with the Gascoignes?’

              ‘It wouldn’t be too difficult to check. Adele March has all their details in Chicago, hasn’t she? We can ask her tomorrow. But it’s getting late.’ She picked up his empty glass. ‘Let’s leave the letter for now and go to bed.’

Chapter 37

T
he drive to Kirkcaldy didn’t take long, especially as DCI Gordon and DS Moffett were heading for a leisure centre on the south side of the town.

              The receptionist had to call Keith Warns back from the poolside, where he was supervising a group of cleaners.

              ‘Is there somewhere private we can talk?’ Bob Gordon asked.

              ‘We can use the staff room. There’ll be nobody in there right now.’

              Warns took a seat on a grubby sofa. He looked uncomfortable in his regulation track suit, as if it were a touch too small. ‘What can I help you with?’

              ‘We’re investigating the murder of Alex Galloway, your old boss.’ Bob eyed him closely.

              ‘Aye. I read about it in the Record.’

              ‘We’ve been informed that you were dismissed from your job by Mr Galloway about six weeks back. You’d been the manager of one of his hotels?’

              ‘That’s correct.’

              ‘Can you tell us why you got the sack?’ Sharon enquired bluntly.

              ‘We just didnae see eye to eye on a few management issues. Mr Galloway only wanted to employ yes men.’

              ‘Only I heard he discovered your hand was in the till. Membership money for the gym was going straight into your bank account.’ Sharon kept her tone steady.

              Warns furrowed his brow. ‘He was looking for an excuse to let me go, that’s all. I’d begun to cotton on to the fact that Galloway used the hotel to wine and dine his drug-dealer contacts. I told him it would put off our regular customers, respectable folk from the local area. The boss didn’t like me offering an opinion.’ He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jogging pants. ‘He’d got an associate who he brought in to dig the dirt on people. They couldn’t find anything on me, so they manufactured this stuff about me stealing money. It was all bullshit.’

              ‘You must have held a pretty big grudge against Galloway after that?’ Bob leaned his bulk forward.

              ‘That’s an understatement. The last day I was at the hotel, I’d stayed late to cash up. I went out into the store room and a guy lunged out of the darkness. He threw a punch to my stomach. Then he put a bloody gun to my head. I was crapping myself. He said that Galloway had sent him and I was to ‘fuck-off’ out of town that night, or he’d put a bullet in my brain.’ The man began to visibly shake.

              ‘Why did you not report it to the police?’

              ‘Because Galloway always told me he had friends in the police. I’d have copped a bullet either way.’

              Bob cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘I can promise you, Keith, that Alex Galloway and his associates no longer have any influence within the City and Borders police force.’

              ‘Have you returned to East Lothian since that incident?’ Sharon persisted.

              Warns shook his head. ‘I’m staying with my Granny in Kirkcaldy. The job here was easy enough to get. Even though Galloway’s dead, I know that my death sentence still stands. His influence ran deep.’

              ‘Do you know who killed him, Keith?’

              ‘No. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I went for the job at Gullane. It could have been any one of his business partners – they were all nasty looking, drug-dealing types. I don’t reckon you’ll ever find out. These people are very good at covering their tracks.’

              ‘We’re going to have to take a full statement. You’ll need to tell us exactly what you were doing on the night Galloway was murdered.’

              ‘Sure. But don’t waste your time investigating me. I’m not fool enough to think that with Galloway six feet under I’m any safer. The thought of me being able to operate a gun is ludicrous for starters.’

Sharon led the way back to the car. ‘Did you believe him, sir?’

              ‘Well, he’s not a killer and I very much doubt he’s got the money to pay someone else to do it. But it was interesting what he said about Galloway’s methods.’

              ‘Sending in a heavy to threaten Keith, you mean?’

              ‘Aye. If Galloway used those kinds of tactics on the wrong person, underestimated his opponent, perhaps they decided to put a bullet in
his
head first.’

Chapter 38

I
t appeared to be Morrison’s day off as Adele March opened the front door herself, positively casually dressed in cord slacks and a linen blouse.

              ‘Please come in,’ she said with a smile. ‘What a lovely surprise.’

              ‘I won’t take up too much of your time.’ Dani followed the lady into an area at the back of Langford Hall she’d not seen before. Beyond the kitchen was a glazed sun-room; a selection of wicker chairs were dotted about it, positioned beneath the tall windows. Newspapers were piled up under a coffee table.

              ‘This is where David and I spend most of our time. I’m sure you didn’t truly think we ate in the formal dining room every evening?’

              ‘To be honest, I hadn’t really considered it.’

              ‘Can I get you a drink?’

              ‘A coffee would be lovely, thanks.’ Dani watched Adele spoon ground beans into a cafétiere. She appeared to be quite at home fending for herself.               ‘Morrison only comes in when we have special guests and events going on. We don’t need him for just the two of us. He’s served the family for years. I think he’d probably like to retire fully. We have a very limited staff on a day-to-day basis.’ She carried back the tray. ‘Ideally, we would want Adam or Claudia to return and make the Hall their home, but neither of them seems keen.’

              ‘Perhaps when Adam completes his service in the air force?’

              Adele nodded. ‘Like you police officers, he will retire early, perhaps take on another profession. It all depends on what his wife and the children think.’ The woman looked suddenly wistful.

              Dani decided to change the subject. She placed the bundle she was holding on the table. ‘These are the things James found at the lodge when he was clearing out. There are some photo albums too, which were too heavy to bring.’

              Adele reached for the glasses hanging on a gold chain around her neck.

              ‘They all belonged to the Gascoignes. There are some personal letters here, some that were sent after the family moved away. James said you might have a forwarding address for them?’

              Adele turned an envelope over in her veiny hand. ‘It’s very conscientious of you to wish to return them. Nearly twenty years has passed.’