A Rush of Blood

Sixty

‘Mario,’ said Professor Joe Hutchinson, ‘you really must stop doing this to me. You people have sent me four bodies this week already, three of those in pretty poor condition. That was bad enough, but I managed to pick my way through all of them; indeed I venture to suggest that I’ve done a bloody good job. In the wake of that I was looking forward to putting my feet up this weekend, listening to some music, and playing with my grandchildren. I stress the word “was”, for I’ve just had a call from the manager of the mortuary telling me that you’ve dumped a fifth on me, and you want him dealt with as soon as possible. My friend, I have a fee structure which I believe is fair to both of us, but if you want me in that examination room before Monday morning, it’s going to be doubled. Not just my cost, but that of my assistant. If you’re not in a position to authorise that, you can find somebody else.’

McGuire’s smile at the pathologist’s tirade drew a quizzical look across the breakfast table from his partner Paula. ‘What’s up?’ she mouthed, but he put a finger to his lips.

‘You’re a fucking old extortionist,’ he said.

‘I’m so wounded by that ageist remark that I have a notion to make it treble time, but I’ll give you ten seconds to accept my original offer. . unless you feel you have to seek authorisation. If that’s the case I’ll feel that my ability is being called into question and it’ll be four times.’

‘It’s a deal, Joe. Just you send me an invoice and it’ll be paid.’

‘Who’s the client?’

‘He’s a solicitor called Ken Green.’

‘I know that name.’

The chief superintendent chuckled. ‘That’s probably because his clients have sent you a few customers in your time. He was a defence brief, high profile, with one of those numbers that hoodlums commit to memory.’

‘That’s the chap. What happened to him? Disgruntled defendant catching up on release?’

‘No, he was killed in his car yesterday evening, on a back road in East Lothian, up past Haddington. It took four hours to extract him from the wreckage; from what my DS told me he was pretty bendy when they did.’

‘A road traffic accident?’ the professor shouted into his phone. ‘You’re sending me a blinking RTA on a Saturday morning?’

‘That’s what I want you to tell me, Joe. Whether he was an RTA or whether he was assisted.’

‘Have you any reason to believe that he was?’ the pathologist asked, more quietly.

‘He had a business relationship with Tomas Zaliukas, and we believe that Valdas Gerulaitis was involved in it too.’

‘I see. My day is brightening up. This one sounds like a bit of a challenge. If he was rendered as flexible as you say, it may take me a little while, but I’ll give you a provisional report as soon as I can. Keep your mobile charged and ready.’

‘Will do, Joe.’ He hung up.

‘Is that the one you didn’t want to talk about last night?’ Paula asked. ‘The thing that made us late for the disco?’ Mario nodded and reached for the slice of toast that she had buttered while he was on the phone. ‘Even I’ve heard of Ken Green,’ she said. ‘There wasn’t a week without his picture in the Evening News.’

‘They wouldn’t use the latest one, I promise you, going by what Lisa McDermid told me.’

‘Why would he have been in East Lothian? Is that why you think it might be iffy?’

‘That was a consideration at first, but apparently he did have a cottage there. His secretary told us about it last night.’

‘So he would have been on his way there?’

‘I suppose he must have been.’

‘Maybe it really was an accident.’

‘Honest, love, I really hope it was. My crew are getting stretched.’

She laughed. ‘You might not get too much out of some of them today, if you have to, given the state they were in at the end of the disco. That woman Becky likes a drink; she and Ray Wilding were made for each other. It was good to see Maggie out and about too.’

‘It was,’ Mario agreed, ‘although I nearly fell over when I saw who she was talking to.’

‘The special guest star? Yes, what about that? Jack McGurk told me that when he arrived Alex Skinner walked straight out the door. Then he and her dad went and sat in a corner and had a long chat. I wonder what that was about.’

‘Andy’s new job; it’s being announced on Monday, so Maggie told me, and she got it from him. He’s going to SCDEA, to run it, in effect.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that Andy’s going to be a part of our working lives again. So it’s just as well that he and the boss were talking. They hadn’t spoken for six months.’

Paula shrugged. ‘Well, they seem to have parted friends last night, according to big Jack.’ She refilled his mug from the coffee pot and looked at him across the table. ‘But as for today,’ she continued, ‘what do have you got planned for us?’

‘How about,’ he replied, ‘we get the fuck out of this city and head up to Stirling? Visit the castle, the tourist thing, do a bit of shopping, then book ourselves into Gleneagles Hotel for the night. I’m sure they’d appreciate the business.’

‘I’m for all of that,’ she declared.

‘That’s good. Let’s pack a bag. And on the way there we can call in at the police lab. There’s a banged up Jaguar that should be there by now, and I’d like to take a look at it.’