Murmuring the Judges

72

‘Bloody hell, Boss, what’s all that?’ Neil McIlhenney burst out, as he stepped into Skinner’s office and saw the piles of paper on his desk.

‘These are the records in the case of Mrs Beattie Gates, the one that links our three dead judges together. Richard Kilmarnock handed them over. They belong to his brother, the journalist.’

‘D’you want me to go through them, sir?’

Skinner smiled at his assistant’s willingness. ‘No, Neil. I want you to do the same as I intend: go home and spend some time with your wife and kids. Once you’ve told me what you’ve come in to tell me, that is.

‘Sit down, man, sit down.’ He ushered him to one of the leather seats, where Andy Martin sat waiting. ‘I thought that it would be a good idea if the three of us had a round-up of everything that’s happened today. I’ve just briefed the DCS on the exhumation and on the post-mortem on old Orlach, also on your interviews with the Newton and Collins wives.

‘What else have do you have to report?’

The big sergeant slumped wearily into a chair. ‘I’ve been back up to the TA Club as you ordered, Boss. I spoke to the manager about the Paras gang.

‘It seems that Collins and Saunders were the first to become members. They joined at the same time, a few years back. Mr Herr’s recollection was that it was when they came out of the army and joined the Terriers. Clark and Newton came along after them, in the same way.’

‘Together?’

‘No. Individually, one after the other, about six months apart.’

‘And what about Bennett and MacDonnell?’

McIlhenney shifted in his chair. ‘Aye, now they were a bit different. They were both associate members. They joined at the same time, proposed and seconded by Curly Collins and Rocky Saunders.’

‘When was that?’ Skinner asked.

‘Turn of last year, sir, early December.’

The DCC leaned forward, eyes narrowing. ‘Introduced at the same time, you say. And had they known each other beforehand?’

‘This is when it gets good, Boss. When I asked him whether they were old pals, Barry Herr said that he distinctly remembered Rocky Saunders introducing the two of them to each other on the first night they came to the club. “That’s when the Paras became a sextet”, he said to me.

‘He remembered a lot about that night, did Barry. Apparently Hamburger was there too. The seven of them went off into a back room and drank there, on their own. Arlene Regan waited on them. At the end of the night, they all left together, except for Hamburger.’

‘Oh?’

‘Aye,’ said McIlhenney, with a knowing grin. ‘He hung around, and left with Arlene. . arm in arm. Herr said he’d forgotten that when he spoke to Stevie. He remembered something else too. When everyone else was gone he had a drink himself; he was just finishing clearing up, an hour and a half or two hours later, when Arlene’s boyfriend phoned, asking if she was still there.

‘They only lived ten minutes away, Boss.’

Skinner smiled, nodding approval. ‘What do you think of that, Andy?’ he asked.

‘The picture’s forming, isn’t it,’ said the Head of CID. ‘Our four ex-regulars come together first, then Bennett and McDonnell are brought in. When they all meet, it’s with Hamburger in attendance. It sounds almost like a conference. I wish to hell we’d a tape of the discussion in that back room, but I’ll bet that’s when they began to plan the robberies.’

Skinner nodded. ‘Aye, and as a bonus, our man Hamburger winds up shagging the barmaid, and finds out in the process that her boy-friend works in a jeweller’s. See pillow talk, lads, and what can come of it! In this case, Nick Williams tells Arlene about the Russian diamond buyer, and she lets it slip to her bit on the side.

‘Andy, you could just about write your report to the Fiscal now.’

‘Except for one thing. We haven’t a fucking clue who Hamburger is.’

‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance that could be his real name could it, sir?’ McIlhenney asked, tentatively.

Martin shook his head. ‘We’ve checked that impossibility. Believe it or not, there is one man called Hamburger in the UK. He lives in Staffordshire, he’s in his late sixties and he’s a parish priest.’

‘Ah,’ said the sergeant. ‘So he’s unlikely to be planning armed robberies in Edinburgh, or shaggin’ a bar stewardess.’ He paused, and rolled his eyes. ‘Mind you. .’

Skinner let out a short sharp burst of laughter. ‘We’ll pull him in, if you like, Neil, and stick him in a line-up for Herr to look at.’ He turned to Martin.

‘Andy, do you have anything else, or can we all go home?’

‘Oh yes,’ said the Head of CID, with a gleam in his green eyes. ‘I have something else. We’ve had a result out at West Linton. Neville and Steele tore Saunders’ cottage apart. They found nothing there, but when they started on his van, a wee white Citroën job, they found, hidden behind the body panels in the luggage compartment, over a hundred grand in cash and a single-barrelled, short-stock, pump-action shotgun, loaded with heavy gauge, the same ammo that killed Harry Riach and Annie Brown.

‘I’ve sent it to Ballistics for testing against the ejected cartridges that were found at the scene in Galashiels.’

‘Well done your team!’ said Skinner enthusiastically.

‘When I get a positive match, I’m planning to issue another press statement through Royston, if the Fiscal’s happy.’

‘You do that. ’The DCC leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. ‘I can see all this coming together now. I’d guess that all the targets were identified before the first robbery and all the team was in place. When Bennett dropped his credit card and got lifted, the rest of the operation was put on hold, to review the planning, and to make sure that he wouldn’t talk.

‘With O’Donnell on the payroll, the leader could keep a close eye on him while he was in the nick. Once he was happy that he was secure, the rest of the operation got underway.’

‘Who’s the Boss?’ asked Martin, quietly.

‘Hamburger. I’m sure of it. He was at the first meeting, and he’s the only one who’s protected his identity.’

‘Who killed the Bennetts?’

‘Hamburger, when McDonnell told him he thought Big Red was going to talk. Hannah obviously knew who he was, because she had to go.’

‘Who killed Saunders and Collins?’

‘It has to be Hamburger, doesn’t it? He’s wiping them out. With Newton and Clark gone, he thinks he’s safe. He’s got enough cash to keep him in luxury for the rest of his days, and he’s probably got all the diamonds as well. He may have vanished too, for all we know.’

The Head of CID sighed. ‘If that’s the case, will we ever identify him?’

‘The Devil alone knows,’ said Skinner, ‘. . but I’m in touch with him.’

His companions stared at him as he stood. ‘Out of here, you two,’ he shouted, suddenly. ‘It’s gone six o’clock. Off you go to Olive and Alex. I’m going home too.’ He glanced at the pile on his desk. ‘I think I’ll only take half that lot with me. If I took it all, Sarah would kill me, for sure.’