Poisoned Cherries

Chapter 22

I knew one thing when I left Ricky’s that afternoon; I had had enough of taxis for a while. Okay, Edinburgh may be a bit of a pisser of a city for a car-owner, but I can’t help it. Ever since I’ve been eighteen I’ve had something at my front door into which I could jump and drive off at my whim.

The cab that picked me up from chez Ross was twenty minutes late; the driver pleaded traffic. ‘Don’t blame me, pal,’ he moaned, when I shot a glance at my watch. ‘Blame the fuckin’ cooncillors.’

I wasn’t interested in blaming anyone; I just decided that if I couldn’t beat the problem I would add to it. So instead of taking me home I had the guy drop me at the Western Automobile showroom in Willowbrae Road, where an exceptionally friendly sales executive called Simon sold me a nice blue Mercedes demonstrator, with leather seats and all the toys, in about five minutes flat.

The smile only left his face when he asked me how I’d be financing it and I replied, ‘Credit card.’

‘You serious?’ he said; surprised although still managing to be polite. I was quite chuffed to know that, clearly, there was still someone in Edinburgh who’d never heard of me.

‘Absolutely.’

‘It’s a bit unusual.’

‘I’ll bet it is.’

‘There’s a surcharge.’

Once a Fifer, always a Fifer; I couldn’t let that one pass, or my Dad would have turned in his grave, and he wasn’t even dead yet. ‘Why?’

‘The companies charge us, we pass it on to you.’

‘Do you hear me haggling over the price of the vehicle?’ I asked.

‘No,’ he admitted.

‘So?’

‘I’ll need to ask my sales manager.’

Simon disappeared into a glass-walled office at the far end of the showroom and spoke to a thin-faced man. He turned to look at me; I gave him a wave and a smile and saw the slight inclination of his eyebrows that told me that he did go to movies, or watched satellite television wrestling. He looked away, and I saw him nod.

The surcharge disappeared; my gold card was authorised and I signed the paperwork. I called Greg McPhillips’ office, which also deals with my insurance business, and told them to have a cover note at the dealership next morning so that Simon could register the vehicle, and I could pick it up.

By the time all that was done, there was no point in phoning James Torrent’s office to make an appointment. In any event, I still had to work out a line to get me in there; I didn’t think I’d make it on my name alone. Back at the apartment, I sat down and gave it some thought, until eventually I settled on a pitch.

I called Alison at Ricky’s. ‘How’s your business set up?’ I asked her. ‘Partnership or incorporated?’

‘We’re a limited company. David and I are. . were. . the directors.’

‘Fine. You’ve just got yourself a new board member.’

‘Eh? Who?’

‘Me, you daft bat. I don’t think it would be a good idea to lie to this man Torrent, and I have to give a stronger reason for visiting him than the one we discussed earlier. That okay with you? It’s a temporary measure, mind.’

‘Of course it’s okay. I’ve just had a one-woman board meeting and you’re appointed. I’ll minute it later. As for the length of your directorship, we’ll have to see.’

Ross took the phone back from her when we were finished. ‘Charlie called,’ he told me. ‘He and his secretary checked Alison’s phone and it does show a call logged in at around the time she said. I checked out the number with a contact. It’s a box, and it’s in the entrance to Meadowbank Stadium.

‘That helps, Oz. If it had been just round the corner from her place, the CID would just have laughed at her. The fact that it was further away even than her office gives it a wee bit more credibility.’

‘It’s pretty tenuous, though, isn’t it?’

‘Aye, it is that. A lot’ll depend on what the lab turns up.’

‘When will we know that?’

‘I know it now. I’m dead certain they’ll match the hair and blood to the boy. How else would they have found the thing at her place, if it wasn’t hers like she says? And if it was. .’ He snorted. ‘However it turns out, that’ll be the murder weapon; either she’s lying, or someone planted it there.’

‘Which do you think?’

‘I don’t know, and that’s the truth. If I was Morrow. . or rather if I was Morrow’s boss like I used to be. . I’d probably sling it all to the fiscal and let the crown office decide whether or not to charge her.’