A Rush of Blood

Eighty-three

‘If you don’t mind me saying so,’ said Jack McGurk, ‘you look a bit bleary-eyed.’

‘Yes I mind,’ Neil McIlhenney growled. ‘My wife minds. My kids mind. And everybody around me will mind about irritating me by the time this day is done. I got in at three thirty, wakening the wee one in the process, and thus the whole household, then I was back in my office by eight. And now the mountain has to come to Mohammad and his mate because you don’t have a DI. In fact, with Sammy off on his course and Becky on her travels, there’s hardly a fucking DI left in fucking Edinburgh. Have you done that thing I asked you?’

‘When you phoned me from the road at quarter to three?’

‘That’s right, and you’re not bleary-eyed at all.’

The DS grinned. ‘Yes I’ve done it. I called on Mrs McKean pretty much as soon as her office opened. She wasn’t going to tell me anything, at first; she even tried to hide behind legal privilege until I pointed out that she isn’t, in fact, a lawyer. Eventually I said that if it wasn’t her it must have been her boss and could I speak to her please, and that’s when she gave up. I let her off light; I took her out and bought her a coffee, and let her take her time. She admitted that Green called her out of the blue, on Tuesday of last week. He asked her to do him a simple favour, and confirm that Tomas Zaliukas had been in the office that afternoon to change his will.’

‘And she told him, just like that?’

‘She says she refused, at first, but he pleaded with her. He said it had nothing to do with any of his clients; that this was a matter of his personal security, and if she didn’t want to get caught up in it herself or, worse, get young Kenny involved, she’d tell him. So she did.’

‘Was that all he asked her?’

‘No, he asked if she could get him a copy of the new will. She said she couldn’t, because it had been drafted, printed and witnessed by Veronica Drake. The copy was in her safe and Mrs McKean doesn’t have access.’

McIlhenney frowned. ‘She didn’t know what was in it?’

‘She said not, and I believe her. Does that make a difference?’

‘It might, if the boss’s theory is right: that the Gerulaitises were killed by Desperate Dan and his mate Dudley, after Laima had been forced to sign away her inheritance from Tomas, the interest in Lituania SAFI. If they didn’t find out he’d left it to her from Ken Green, through his ex-wife, then who the hell did tell them?’

‘Who the hell knew?’ asked McGurk.

‘Veronica Drake knew. And, eventually, we did.’

‘And who else?’

‘That’s what we need to find out.’

‘Do you want me to go back up to the law firm and interview Drake?’

‘No. Because somebody else knew too, the day before the couple died.’

‘Who was that?’

‘Who told us about the contents of the will?’

McGurk winced. ‘Alex Skinner.’

‘Precisely. No, Jack, you will not go charging into CAJ. If anyone’s going to take that further it’ll be me, and it’ll be with her dad, not with Alex.’

‘Thanks, sir,’ said McGurk, sincerely. ‘You go and get some sleep now,’ he added, as the superintendent headed for the door.

‘Fuck off, Sergeant,’ he replied, as his mobile rang. He took it out and checked the incoming call; the number showed ‘unknown’. ‘McIlhenney,’ he grunted.

‘Neil, it’s Andy.’

‘Where are you?’

‘In my new office, but I’ve just had a call from Rod Greatorix, up in Perth.’

‘Oh yes? Did he say when we can pick up the women?’

‘Yes and no. At half past eight this morning a lawyer turned up at the office where they were being held, saying that she’d been instructed to defend them. Not any old legal hack either; no, it was Susannah Himes.’

‘The Barracuda?’

Seated at his desk, Sauce Haddock’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the name; he had met her before, and been impressed.

‘That’s right. She asked for a private interview with her clients, and of course that had to be allowed. They went straight into court when it was over. When they were called, Himes told the sheriff that her client, Inez McCullough, would be entering a plea of guilty to the possession offence, and that she’d be cooperating with police in Edinburgh and around Scotland over several other current investigations. But she also said that Inez had told her that her daughter Cameron had no involvement in any of these, and that she’d gone along last night thinking that she was helping her mother pick up stuff that the golf club had agreed she could have.’

‘What?’ McIlhenney shouted. ‘Did the sheriff swallow that crap?’

‘From the Barracuda? Hook, line and sinker. She applied for bail; we opposed it, but it was useless. As they left, Susannah told Rod that if you want to interview either of them, you’ll have to do it through her. The fiscal reckons it’s the start of a bargaining session. Inez will plead to the lot if there are no proceedings against Cameron. Otherwise, it’s a trial.’

‘You know what the outcome will be, don’t you?’

‘Sure; the Crown Office will take the deal. I know where Inez’s orders came from too: her father’s mouth to her ear, via Ms Himes.’

‘The boss is going to love that, I don’t think.’

‘Do you think I fucking like it? I’m going to talk to Grandpa, at the first opportunity. Bob might want to come with me. Where is he?’

‘Gone. Red-eye flight this morning. McGurk says I look half dead, so Christ knows what state he’s in.’