Aftershock

Eighty-six

‘Morning, boss,’ Jack McGurk called out from his desk, as Becky Stallings walked into the CID room.

She stared at him: his clothes were crumpled, and familiar, and a shadow showed on his chin. ‘Have you been here all night?’

‘Yup,’ he replied, ‘but not awake, not all the time at any rate. I had a kip in one of the cells. Not too bad, actually; it felt strange, not having my feet hanging over the edge.’

‘Are you trying to ramp up the overtime?’

‘No, just trying to fit some pieces together. Before I forget, we had a call last night from Mr Colledge, MP. He’s been reunited with his tearful son: they’re flying up at lunchtime. I said we’d send an unmarked car to meet them at the airport.’

‘Have we got an unmarked car?’

‘I can dig one up if you want, but I thought. .’

‘You’re right,’ said the inspector. ‘I should pick them up myself. It might help the boy’s memory if he sees that he and his dad are getting VIP treatment.’

He followed her into her small office. ‘I’ll come with you. I’ve never met a shadow defence secretary before.’

‘How did he sound when he called?’

‘Co-operative, and more than a bit relieved to have his son back home.’

Stallings smiled, as she threw a copy of the Scotsman on to her desk and hung up her jacket. ‘I wonder if young Dave’s told him the story of his trip to Holland yet. He thought his squeeze had changed her mind so he went to the most famous red-light district in Europe to get his ashes hauled. Boys will be boys.’

‘And that’s all this one is, too; just a kid, for all he’s a big lad.’ He picked up the newspaper and glanced at the front page. ‘What the hell’s this?’ he exclaimed, holding it up for her to see.

‘What? “Returning Artist Gets First Minister Plaudit”? Caitlin Summers? Never heard of her, but she must be good if Aileen de Marco’s endorsing her.’

‘No, not that.’ McGurk straightened the paper, so that she could see the lead story.

She blinked at the banner headline. ‘Jesus. “Red Faces for Tayside Cops. Who Let the Drugs Out?” Blimey, that’s a warning to us all. Someone’s nuts are in the wringer, for being that careless.’

‘If it’s carelessness,’ the sergeant murmured, as he read the story. ‘The biggest hoodlum in Dundee’s going to be the beneficiary of this. They’ve got him on a twenty-year-old murder charge, but he’d probably have got longer inside for the drugs.’

‘You think somebody’s been bunged? I didn’t think that happened in Scotland. I thought you were all too tight with the bawbees.’

‘Why go to the expense of a bribe, when a simple threat to chuck acid in someone’s wife’s face is just as effective?’

‘Either way,’ Stallings pointed out, ‘it’ll get the media off our backs for a day or so. Their pain, our gain.’ She looked at McGurk. ‘If you’re coming to the airport with me, a wash, a shave and a change of clothes won’t do any harm. Nip off home for a couple of hours.’

‘Be sure,’ he told her, ‘that’s on my agenda. But before I go, come back through here and take a look at what I’ve been doing for most of the night. Once you’ve seen what I’ve found, I don’t think you’ll have any problem signing my overtime claim.’