Hold Hands in the Dark (13 page)

Chapter 30

I
t was late afternoon in Richmond, Virginia. Dani had returned to the hotel to pack her bags. She’d received the call from Andy a couple of hours earlier. The McNeils’ luggage had been removed from its allocated storage area and dumped into a kind of store room, where eventually it would have been taken away and destroyed. The consignment had got split up. It took Andy and Phil quite some time to locate the right boxes. But they were pretty sure now they had them all.

              There was a knock at the door. Dani smoothed down her hair at the vanity table mirror and opened it.

              ‘Are you all set?’ Sam asked.

              ‘Yes, but come in for a minute.’ Dani went to stand by the window, where there was still some evening light streaked over the cityscape.

              ‘Has Andy got the consignment back to your department?’

              ‘Yes, they seized the boxes straight away and radioed for a van to come and collect the gear. I don’t think Andy was prepared to let them out of his sight by that point. But they’ll wait for me to arrive before opening up.’

              ‘Sure, you’ll know best what you’re looking for.’

              ‘I really think I can be of more use back in Glasgow now. I’ll keep you updated on all future developments.’

              ‘Yeah, of course you need to go back. I want to keep digging into Dale’s role in all this. I can’t leave my team again.’

              Dani turned to face him. ‘I haven’t forgotten what you said at Dale’s flat.’

              ‘But you’re going home to James.’

              Dani shrugged. ‘You’ll have to give me more time.’

              Sam sighed. ‘As soon as you return to him, that’ll be it. I know how these things work. You’re thousands of miles away from me and he’s there, on the spot providing safety and security. It’s human nature to settle back into the life you’ve already made. Nobody wants to rock the boat.’

              ‘People choose security for good reasons, Sam.’

              He took a step forward and folded Dani into his arms. ‘Does anything else feel as secure as this?’

              She held him tightly. ‘No, it doesn’t.’

              ‘What I said holds true. Just don’t leave me hanging forever.’

              Dani raised her face from his chest. ‘Wouldn’t you be happier here in Richmond, with the people you know? I got the impression that Toni might want your friendship to develop into something more. She’s a good lady who could care for you and your boys.’

              Sam’s eyes locked with hers. ‘I don’t love Toni Faulkner, I love you. Why do you keep wanting to complicate things? Try to analyse your feelings properly over the next few weeks and choose the right person for
you
. I sure as hell don’t want to push you into something that isn’t what you truly want.’

              Dani pulled him close, just wishing she knew what on earth that was.

*

Dani met her team in the evidence room located in the basement of the Pitt Street Headquarters.

              Alice Mann smiled at her as she entered. ‘Welcome back, Ma’am.’

              ‘Thanks Alice, what have we got here?’

              Phil took the lead. ‘There are seven crates in total, each one full to the brim. We’ll need at least one officer on each.’

              Dani surveyed the scene. ‘Where’s Andy?’

              ‘He’s checking out the CCTV footage from the back of Park Crescent. We got the disc from the management agency this afternoon.’

              ‘Good, he’ll need to stay on that. Right then, let’s get started folks. We’re looking for personal papers, notebooks, photographs, letters - anything like that. Bag it up as soon as you find it.’

              ‘What about clothing, ornaments, that kind of stuff?’ Dan Clifton looked utterly daunted by the task.

              ‘Go through the pockets of any jackets or trousers you lay your hands on. Other than that, try to make a judgement. We’re looking for anything that might tie the McNeils to the Faulkner family.’

              ‘You heard the DCI,’ Phil piped up. ‘So get stuck in.’

Chapter 31

I
t was nearly midnight when Dani got back to her flat. The hallway was cold and empty. James obviously hadn’t returned yet and the place was beginning to feel the way it did before the lawyer had ever moved in.

              Dani was too exhausted to dwell on the thought. She discarded her shoes, dumped the case in the sitting room and stumbled straight into bed.

              She woke to the sound of insistent knocking. Still in yesterday’s clothes, Dani threw some water on her face and jogged down the hallway to open up.

              ‘Sorry, Ma’am, I knew you’d be jet-lagged, but thought you’d want me to show you this straight away.’ Andy waggled an A4 sized envelope at her.

              ‘Come in, I’ll prepare some coffee.’

              Andy made himself comfortable at the kitchen table. ‘Phil is down in the evidence room with Dan and the rest of the DCs. They’ve been at it since first thing.’

              Dani yawned. ‘Great, I’ll be there myself in an hour or so.’ She placed a cafétiere and a couple of mugs between them. ‘So, what have you got?’

              Andy slid a glossy photograph out of the envelope. ‘It’s a screen shot from the CCTV footage.’ He handed it to her. ‘It’s not the clearest image you’ve ever seen, but I’m willing to bet that’s our guy.’

              Dani was looking at a picture of the gardens of Park Crescent, with the bushes and path that ran along the rear of the houses visible at the edge of the shot. A figure, of average height and build, with a hooded jacket pulled up to obscure their head and face was entering the back gate of what the DCI assumed was Vicki Kendrick’s property. ‘It doesn’t provide us with very much.’

              ‘No.’ Andy tapped the person shown in the shot. ‘But it gives us our murderer and the time they entered the Kendrick property.’

              Dani glanced at the time recorded by the CCTV. It was frozen at 7.04pm on the evening Vicki was killed. ‘Say this person was invited to drinks at 7pm. Vicki lets him in through the back door and they share the best part of a bottle of wine. I reckon that puts our time of death at past eight o’clock – maybe eight thirty?’

              Andy sipped his coffee. ‘Aye, I’d agree with that. It fits with the timescale we’ve got from the PM.’

              Dani examined the grainy image again. ‘I just don’t think it’s possible to get any kind of ID from this picture.’ She sighed.

              Andy placed his cup down and eyed his boss carefully. ‘Did you have a word with Phil about the money in his account?’

              Dani slapped a hand to her forehead. ‘Yes, I did. Sorry, Andy, I didn’t get a chance to tell you about it before I flew off to the States. There’s nothing to worry about. The money was deposited by Charles Riddell. It’s for Maisie’s first year at university. She’s come back to Glasgow to study and will be spending part of her time with Fiona and Phil.’

              ‘I reckoned you must have had a word, because Phil’s been incredibly cooperative and efficient these last few days. It’s as if our tiff over Hemingway Shipyards never happened.’

              ‘Well, I told him he needed to pull his socks up in the field. The DCS thinks he’s gone soft after years spent on deskwork. I’m glad he took my pep talk to heart. I thought I’d lost his respect forever.’

              Andy tipped his head to one side. ‘So you checked with Riddell?’

              Dani crinkled her brow. ‘No, not exactly. I took Phil’s word for it. Then we had developments in the case that took my attention away from the situation.’

              Andy shrugged his shoulders. ‘I just wonder why Charles would put the money in Phil’s account. Riddell must be used to paying maintenance for Maisie. He’s been split from Fiona for many years. So why didn’t Charles put that money in his ex-wife’s account? Why Phil’s?’

              Dani felt her stomach tighten. ‘There could be any number of reasons, I suppose. But the fact is I
believed
Phil when he told me. He was so angry that I’d doubted him – he was genuinely hurt.’

              Andy smiled sadly. ‘He’s our friend. We’ve known him a long time. But in this instance, we need to think like detectives and forget our history with the guy. All you need to do to be sure is give Charles Riddell a call. It’s what we’d do if it was anybody else under suspicion.’

              Dani closed her eyes and held the mug up to her lips. ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ she said, with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

Chapter 32

T
he evidence room was a hive of activity. Most of the McNeils’ property had been bagged and labelled. Much of it was household furniture and kitchen appliances, but they now had a table full of papers and documents. Dani was intent on spending the morning going through them all.

              The DCI allowed Phil to debrief her on their findings so far, and how the material had been separated out. Then they heard the lift creak to a standstill at the bottom of the shaft.

              DCS Douglas and a smartly dressed officer they’d never seen before stepped out. Douglas approached them at the table. ‘I see you’re making good progress here,’ he said hollowly. He turned towards Phil. ‘DI Boag, I need you to accompany me upstairs to answer a few questions.’

              Phil whipped his head in Dani’s direction. His eyes were filled with hurt and confusion.

              Dani’s throat had constricted so much she found that no words would come out.

              Douglas said no more, but led the way back to the lift, with Phil trailing behind like a chastened schoolboy.

              ‘What was that all about?’ Dan asked in a stage whisper, when the men had gone.

              Dani shrugged her shoulders. ‘It was just routine, I expect.’

              Clifton moved back to the crate he was unpacking. Dani pulled on her latex gloves, ripping open the first evidence bag and beginning to read the contents, made blurry by the tears rapidly forming in her eyes.

*

Dani carried an evidence bag back upstairs with her to the serious crime floor. When she got there, Andy was helping a shell-shocked Phil to clear out his desk.

              ‘Can you carry on with that alone, Andy?’ Dani asked. ‘I’d like to have a talk with Phil in my office.’

              ‘Sure, Ma’am. I’ll take him home after, too.’

              Phil walked through the door like he was in a trance. Dani guided him to the sofa. She took the soft chair opposite. ‘What did Douglas say?’

              ‘He told me that an internal investigation was being launched into my conduct. Recent new powers granted by the Chief Constable following the Suter case meant that they could examine my bank details. He said this had ‘thrown up some anomalies.’ Phil rested his head in both hands.

              ‘I called Charles Riddell in Stavanger.’

              Phil slowly raised his head.

              ‘You were right. He wasn’t very pleased to hear from me.’

              ‘I expect not. You’re the person who told him his daughter was dead.’

              ‘He didn’t know what I was talking about when I mentioned the money he supposedly deposited into your account for Maisie’s upkeep at university. Riddell said he has a long-standing arrangement with Fiona. He’s increased the standing order, but that’s it.’

              Phil’s shoulders began to shake. ‘I don’t know why I did it. When Nancy McRae started kicking up a stink in the press about her husband’s death, I got a phone call at home. It was from a man calling himself Raymond Hemingway’s public relations representative. He spun me some line about wanting good relations with the police force. He said they knew I understood how important it was to consider the bigger picture – preserving the last shipyard in Glasgow for the majority of its workers. They knew this because of my connection to Jane and her work in improving the education system across the city. He said if I was willing to be a ‘friendly contact’ for Hemingways, then I would receive a generous gift and they would donate ‘a considerable sum’ to an education charity of my choice. He never spoke about specific amounts.’

              ‘And you agreed to this?’

              ‘Not in so many words. A few days later, £5,000 appeared in my bank account. To be perfectly honest, I tried to ignore it. I still haven’t touched it.’

              ‘Then I sent you to interview Hemingway?’

              ‘I wasn’t being deliberately soft, or I didn’t consciously make a decision to be. I genuinely thought the case against the yard wasn’t strong enough to pursue.’

              Dani sighed heavily. ‘You’ll have to tell Douglas all of this.’

              ‘I already have. I’ve surrendered the money to the internal review board and agreed to make a sworn statement about the phone call I received.’

              ‘What’s going to happen to you?’

              ‘I’m off the force, Dani. I’ll receive a quarter pension but no criminal charges will be brought.’

              ‘
Why
didn’t you tell me as soon as Hemingways approached you with the bribe? I don’t understand, Phil!’

              ‘I don’t understand myself. I partly agreed with the guy. It’s ridiculous to jeopardise a company that brings profit and employment to Glasgow because of one man who takes a stupid risk out of hours. The money was never really the issue. Although, it would certainly have helped us. I hate having to rely on handouts from Charles Riddell. I liked the feeling of being free, if only for a little while.’

              ‘Oh, Phil.’ Dani leant forward and placed her arms around him.

              To her great relief he hugged her back. ‘I’ll find something else, start afresh. My IT skills are still pretty hot.’

              Dani nodded. ‘I know, but I’m going to bloody well miss you. So will Andy.’ She pushed him away so she could look him in the face. ‘Will you let Calder take you home?’

              ‘Of course. I was so angry with you both because I knew I’d let you down. Andy’s got such strong principles, but he isn’t always right, you know. When I’ve gone, I’d like you to remember that. Don’t let him railroad you.’

              ‘I won’t, I promise.’

              Phil gave her one last squeeze, not convinced his boss really meant that at all.