The Dark Fear (7 page)

              Andy eyed him closely. His face was lined and deeply tanned. He assumed that Lamb had spent his entire, purposeless summer out here in this south-facing sun-trap. ‘The first deposit was made a decade ago. Are you seriously suggesting that neither you nor your wife ever picked up on it?’

              ‘My wife uses a different bank account. She never looks at the statements for our joint account.’ He ran a hand through his longish, dark brown hair. ‘I’m not a details person. Paperwork has never been my thing. If the mortgage and bills were being covered, I never probed any further.’

              ‘If the disciplinary board were to accept you didn’t know about the payments, it would mean that Galloway had been planning to set you up for over ten years. It seems a bit implausible, don’t you think? How would Galloway know that you would end up leading the investigation which would expose the illegal activities of Forth Logistics? The man isn’t a clairvoyant.’

              ‘I realise it doesn’t make any sense. That’s exactly why I don’t hold out any hope of an acquittal. It’s my own cross to bear. I feel as if I’m trapped in a Kafka novel.’

              ‘And the phone call to Galloway’s mobile, made on the evening before the raid – how do you explain that piece of evidence? It looks remarkably like you giving him a heads-up about the warrant to search his properties.’

              Stuart released the mug and raised his hands in the air. ‘I don’t know. I left my office at the warehouse around 7pm. The call was supposedly made just before midnight. At that point, I was fast asleep, with my arms wrapped around my wife, trying to get some kip before the early raid.’

              ‘Where exactly had you left your phone while you slept?’

              Stuart screwed up his face. ‘Since I’ve been undercover, I’ve been leaving the thing in my bedside drawer.’

              ‘Has the drawer got a lock?’

              ‘No. I never thought that was necessary.’

              Andy relaxed back into the seat. ‘Did you ever get a sense that anyone at Forth Logistics was suspicious about you or any of the other undercover officers? DC Collier has suggested that in retrospect, Galloway might have been on to her the whole time.’

              ‘I’ve been over nothing else in my mind since the operation got busted. From my end, down in the warehouse, all was good. I’d become a part of the team. People confided in me, told me about their wives and girlfriends – from their kids’ exam results to the problems they were having in bed. I never got the slightest inkling they even sensed I was a cop.’

              Andy finished his drink. ‘Thanks Detective Chief Inspector, you’ve been very candid. If you don’t mind, I may want to come back and talk with you again?’

              Stuart managed a thin smile. ‘Sure. Drop round whenever you like. When Kate’s at work and the kids are at school, you’ll find me out here in the garden, all on my lonesome.’

*

The triangle of flaming newspaper sheets licked the pile of damp logs until they finally took. Dani relaxed back onto her haunches with an exhausted sigh. She put her hands out to warm them. Tiredness had made her chilled to the bone.

              James came into the room, carrying a plastic beaker. ‘Here, take a sip of this.’ He placed the cup in her hand. ‘It was the only receptacle I could find. I’ve no idea where the box of glasses has got to.’

              Dani savoured the burn of the single malt, as she swirled it around her mouth before gulping it down. ‘I don’t care about that. I just needed a drink.’

              He crouched next to her, staring into the flames. ‘Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.’

              ‘How do you feel, now that you’re here?’ Dani turned to glance at him.

              He smiled. ‘Relieved, exhilarated, and bloody terrified.’

              She laughed, the phone in her pocket starting to reverberate. ‘Hi, Andy.’ Dani listened for a few minutes, standing up and walking towards the bay window, which provided a view out as far as the woods of the Langford Estate. It was beginning to get dark. Shadows were lengthening by the outhouses and garages. ‘Okay, that’s really interesting, thanks. Make sure you go back to see Carol and Amy tonight.’ Dani ended the call.

              James placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Has he found out something?’

              She shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. He says that Stuart Lamb is very convincing. Andy left his place feeling like the guy had been set up.’

              ‘You’ll need the evidence to prove it.’

              ‘True. I hope to have something more before we interview Lamb officially.’

              ‘I spoke to my dad today. He’s going to Galloway’s funeral next week.’

              Dani spun around. ‘Really? I didn’t realise they’d stayed in touch.’

              ‘I don’t think they did, particularly. But Dad always said that Galloway was one of the least unpleasant of his clients.’

              ‘Where is the service being held?’

              ‘At St Clare’s, on Pentland Avenue. He’s being buried in Millerhill Cemetery.’

              Dani put the beaker to her mouth and finished off the dram. ‘I might just put in an appearance myself,’ she said.

              ‘Fine.’ He slipped his arms around her waist. ‘But for now, I’m going to bring in the rest of the boxes and search out the covers for the bed. I know it’s only nine o’clock, but I’m dead on my feet.’

              She placed the cup down decisively. ‘Come on, then. I’ll help you.’

Chapter 12

T
here was drizzle in the air as Andy Calder leant against the wall of an anonymous looking solicitors’ office in Duns High Street. It was just after five and he’d watched several folk exit the front door in the last few minutes.

              There was a short delay before a tall woman emerged, dressed in a pinafore dress and with a patterned scarf at her neck. Calder recognised her from the photographs he’d been examining that afternoon.

              ‘Mrs Lamb?’ He called over.

              She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned, as if expecting the devil himself to be standing behind her.

              Andy flipped out his warrant card. ‘DC Calder, Ma’am. I spoke with your husband yesterday. I was hoping we could have a wee chat now?’ He tipped his head towards the tea room next door.

              She blinked several times before responding. ‘Aye, I suppose so. Stuart can get the dinner started. It’s one of the few advantages of him being off work.’

              They took a table by the window. The place was practically empty. Andy ordered a couple of coffees.

              ‘I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs Lamb. I’m gathering evidence for the chairman of the committee who will be presiding over your husband’s case. I want him to get as much of a say as possible. Your input would be very valuable.’

              ‘I appreciate the gesture, although there’s not much I can tell you. I knew that Stuart was working undercover, but I’m never told the details. I understand how the job works. We’ve been married for eighteen years and Stuart’s done undercover operations for the last ten.’ She smiled wryly. ‘We accepted a long time ago that ours would be a relationship with many secrets.’

              ‘Does that go for your children as well - Colin and Lin?’ Andy nodded to the waitress as she left their drinks.

              ‘Aye, that’s right.  ‘Ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies’ is always the motto for us. It makes life simpler. The children were often curious when they were smaller - about what their father was up to and why he worked such irregular hours. But as they’ve got older, they seem to have accepted it.’ She sighed. ‘They may not have to anymore.’

              ‘Your eldest is at university, is that right, Mrs Lamb?’

              ‘Call me Kate, please. Lin is studying at Heriot Watt. Colin will take his Highers at the end of this year. He is considering Medicine.’

              ‘That’s very impressive. Your children must be extremely bright.’

              Kate Lamb smiled. ‘We’ve been blessed with our two. My father was a vet. He took Lin and Colin out on his rounds many times when he was still practicing. It goes to show that if you introduce an idea to your children at a young enough age, it will probably lodge itself somewhere in their minds.’

             
‘It could be down to genetics, too.’ Andy sipped his cappuccino, feeling his stomach rumble as the waitress delivered a plate of sausages and beans to another table.

              ‘Well, it was nothing
I
inherited,’ Kate chuckled. ‘I’m a mere secretary - and a very proud mum.’

              ‘So you knew nothing about your husband’s job at Forth Logistics, or about Alex Galloway?’

              She shook her head. ‘No, not until after the investigation had gone wrong. Stuart told me all about it on the evening of the day when the premises had been emptied out. He was very angry and upset. It was months of hard work down the drain. My husband wanted a full inquiry into what happened. He barely slept that night for thinking about every single detail of the case. Stuart had no idea he was going to be implicated himself.’

              ‘Your husband’s work mobile was kept in his bedside drawer. Did you know he left it there?’

              ‘Yes, I did. But like I said, Detective Calder, we didn’t probe into Stuart’s covert operations. That phone was off-limits, so it never got touched or moved.’

              Andy leant forward. ‘Can you be sure that one of your children didn’t move it by mistake? Perhaps they dialled a number they didn’t intend to.’

              Kate’s expression became hostile. ‘Why would they? I don’t even think Lin was at home that night. She was staying with her boyfriend’s family in Edinburgh. Why would Colin mess with his dad’s phone? He isn’t a child any longer, he’s sixteen.’

              Andy thought that made it even more likely the lad could have been digging around, but didn’t say so. Instead, he put a hand up to placate her. ‘I’m not making any accusations, here. It’s just that the phone call to Galloway is a pretty powerful rung in the case against your husband. If there’s any way he didn’t actually make the call then it goes in Stuart’s favour.’

              Kate took a sip of her drink, as if trying to calm herself down. ‘Yes, I know. It’s just the thought of the kids being dragged into all of this.’ She looked up, catching Andy’s eye, ‘and I genuinely can’t imagine any circumstance in which Colin would tamper with that phone. He knew it was police property. If you ever meet our son, you’ll see how gentle and law-abiding he is.’

              ‘Okay, I’ll not say any more on the subject.’ Calder wondered if Kate Lamb was one of those parents who were utterly blinkered when it came to their own offspring. He’d have to meet this sainted lad to be sure. ‘I just need to confirm one last thing.’ He took a deep breath. ‘On Wednesday night, after 7pm, Stuart claims he was at home with you. Can you verify that for me, Kate?’

              Her pupils became tiny dots of jet black. Her lips set firm in a grim line. ‘Yes, he certainly was. We had dinner, watched TV and went to bed. I’ve already told Bob Gordon this. You can’t
possibly
think that Stuart murdered Alex Galloway?’ She was practically seething.

              ‘It’s something that City and Borders will have to investigate. The evidence points to the fact that your husband may have been involved in some kind of mutual arrangement with Galloway. Now Stuart’s job is on the line. It gives him a motive.’

              ‘Stuart has worked for that division for
twenty seven years
. This whole thing is crazy, it’s madness.’ She stood up, lifting her jacket from behind the chair. ‘I’m going home to my family now DC Calder, if you don’t mind.’

              The woman had already swept out of the door, allowing it to bang shut behind her, before Andy had any chance to reply.

Chapter 13

T
he rain had cleared. Shafts of sunlight were cutting through the trees; a couple had even reached the kitchen window of Oak Lodge. James filled the coffeemaker with water.

              Dani had left a couple of hours earlier. She was returning to her Glasgow flat that evening. He sincerely hoped she’d be back soon. Right now, James couldn’t really tell what his girlfriend was thinking.

              He heard the crackle of twigs breaking underfoot outside the back door, followed by a brisk knock.

              Aiden Newton was standing on the path, a shotgun draped un-cocked over one arm. ‘Morning, Mr Irving. I wanted to check that everything was okay with the house.’

              ‘Please call me James. Come inside, I’ve just made some coffee.’

              Newton entered the property, bringing his weapon with him and placing it, rather disconcertingly for James, on one of the worktops. ‘I need to keep the gun in my sight,’ the man explained. ‘You can’t be too careful with firearms. The terms of the licences we have are very strict.’

              James nodded. ‘I can imagine. Do shoots take place then, here on the Langford Estate?’ He couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice.

              ‘Yes, they do, but the events are very carefully supervised. We set up on the hills beyond the Hall, at least a couple of miles from here. It won’t affect you at all.’

              Unless I’m out for a walk, he thought to himself. ‘Do you live in one of the cottages by the stables?’ He asked, changing the subject instead.

              ‘My wife, Tilly, and I are in number five. They’re very pleasant.’

              James could tell that the estate manager was a man of few words, but he liked him nonetheless. ‘I met a couple of your neighbours at the Marchs’ dinner party.’