Hour Of Darkness

Four

‘What’s going on downstairs?’ Chief Constable Margaret Steele asked. ‘I saw the media beginning to gather when I came in from my meeting.’

‘David Mackenzie’s holding a press briefing,’ ACC Mario McGuire replied.

‘Mackenzie is? About what?’

‘The headless body that was found on Friday: they’ve run out of ways to identify her so he’s making a national appeal for help from the public.’

‘Whose idea was that?’

‘He’s claiming credit, and I have no reason to doubt it’.

‘Has Mary Chambers okayed it?’

‘Retrospectively. He called it and then told her about it. She’s not best pleased about that, but she kept her feelings to herself. She didn’t want the two of them to get off on the wrong foot, and besides, she’d likely have approved it even if he had asked for permission.’

‘Why’s he doing the briefing himself? Sammy Pye’s the SIO on the investigation, isn’t he?’

‘Not any more, Mackenzie’s jocked him off.’ The ACC held up a hand, to stall her reaction. ‘Maggie, I don’t like that any more than you, but let’s not get steamed up about it. The guy’s probably out to make a name for himself again in CID, maybe in the hope that Bob’ll move him back to Glasgow when the new force takes over. Good luck to him,’ McGuire grunted, ‘it’s the best place for him. What he’s done might look like poor man-management, but it isn’t going to compromise the investigation. I asked Mary to make damn sure he uses a Freephone contact number for calls from the public, so that our communications centre isn’t swamped. You never know, he might even get a result.’

‘He might,’ Steele agreed. ‘But isn’t there any other means of identifying her?’

‘Nah; all other routes are exhausted. The surgeon who took out her appendix didn’t sign his name so …’

‘Funny bugger.’ She smiled, then paused for a second. ‘Mackenzie’s been set up, of course,’ she added.

‘Of course,’ he agreed. ‘Sammy Pye’s played him, to get himself out of the firing line.’

‘Not just Sammy. My former protégé Haddock’s down in Leith now, and I can see his hand all over this. Mark my words, it’s as well you and I have got a good head start on that boy. He’s going to go as far in the force as he wants. He’s another Bob Skinner.’

The big ACC smiled. ‘No, he’s not. There’s a big difference; Bob’s actually gone further in the force than he ever wanted. If he hadn’t had to take the reins in Strathclyde in an emergency, he’d never have gone there, but now he has, he feels that he’s got no choice but to take over as head of the unified Scottish police service. That’s Neil McIlhenney’s reading, and he’s closer to the big man than anyone except Andy Martin. If you want to compare young Sauce Haddock with somebody, make it Andy. He still has plenty of ambition left.’

‘And what about you?’ the chief constable asked.

‘Me? I never thought I’d make assistant chief, so I’m quite happy. I’ll just sit here and see what opportunities the new set-up has to offer. Given the chance, I’ll go back to CID. As for you, you’ve made it to the top of the tree in the outgoing system, and you’ll get one of the ACC posts in the unified force, for sure.’

‘How do you know I wouldn’t rather take the redundancy money? There will be a lot of that on offer, remember.’

‘How do I know?’ he repeated. ‘Mags, we used to be married. I know you.’ He leaned on the last pronoun. ‘You’re a police officer; it’s all you’ve ever wanted to be. Now you’re a mother too, and that’s good, but you’re not going to stay at home until wee Stephanie’s off your hands. Even if you did fancy it, you’re way too young to get a pension, so you’ll carry on. Don’t even begin to try to kid me.’

She looked at him with a gleam in her eye. ‘I never could; it was you that kidded me, remember. How is Paula, by the way, and wee Eamon?’

‘They are both blooming, thanks. Being a mother. .’ his expression took on a glow of reverence, ‘. . it changes women in a way I never appreciated before.’

‘And men,’ his ex-wife chuckled. ‘Go and look at yourself in the mirror.’

‘I will, after I’ve dropped in on Mackenzie’s press briefing.’

‘No,’ Maggie said, quickly. ‘Don’t do that. Let him have his space, Mario.’

‘Let him have enough rope, you mean?’

‘No, I don’t. He might just fool us both by getting it right. If he doesn’t, I don’t want him to have anyone to blame but himself.’