Poisoned Cherries

Chapter 52

Four of us headed for the door; Ewan, Ricky, Glen Oliver and me. Okay. I could have stayed behind, but no way was I going to, not after everything.

‘You can’t leave me here,’ Alison wailed.

‘Too right we can.’ I told her. ‘If you get frightened, get in beside Liam.’

The lift was getting close, when a thought came to me from nowhere. ‘Hold on a minute,’ I said and went back inside.

‘Alison,’ I asked her, ‘those calls you had, the one that got you out the night David was killed and the one that took you to the Torrent building last Friday; can you remember anything about the caller?’

‘No. The voice was indistinct both times; I had trouble hearing what was being said.’

‘It was a man, though?’

‘I can’t even tell you that for certain.’

‘Okay.’ I headed back to the other three. Ewan was holding the door. The script was done; we were on to the impromptu stuff now, and he had stage fright, bad.

Glen drove us out of the city centre and towards Ravelston Dykes. It was dry but cloudy; there was no moon to compete with the orange glow from the street lights. Ewan gave directions from the front passenger street; eventually he called for a right turn; the lighting was less bright off the main road but still we could see in front of us the dim outline of a block of flats. ‘That’s it ahead,’ the actor whispered. . though I couldn’t think why he did. Maybe he didn’t want the audience to hear.

‘I know that building,’ Ricky exclaimed. ‘It’s got good security; I know that because we renewed it two years ago, and we look after it on a contract. Every flat’s alarmed and there are video cameras on all floors.’

‘My building’s supposed to have good security too,’ I grumbled. ‘Only it doesn’t.’

‘Should I call her again?’ Ewan asked.

I nodded and handed him the number; I’d noted it on a piece of kitchen roll. I watched, as he waited. ‘Answering service again,’ he announced at last. ‘But the phone seems to be back on the hook. Maybe she’s asleep,’ he added, hopefully.

‘Sure,’ Ricky grunted.

Oliver drew the car up a hundred yards away from the block. I tapped Ricky on the shoulder and motioned him to get out and follow me. He looked puzzled, a little annoyed even, but he did it. I had a good reason; I didn’t want Glen to hear what I was going to say.

‘I want to ask you something,’ I told him, in a whisper not unlike Ewan’s stage version. ‘Suppose you were Torrent, and you had a problem that you wanted to go away. We’ve already considered underworld contacts. So who else would you ask?’

‘My lawyer, I suppose.’

‘Not that sort of problem; you can’t interdict a blackmailer, for Christ’s sake.’

‘Okay, so who, then?’

‘How about your security officer?’

He gaped at me and his eyes widened. ‘Hey wait a minute! He never said a word to me.’

‘No, but do you handle all your accounts in person? Don’t you ever delegate?’

‘Of course. Every client has someone in charge.’

‘So who ran Torrent?’

He sucked in a long breath; it sounded like a moan of foreboding. ‘Mandy O’Farrell, but. .’

‘Tell me, honestly. Have you ever suspected that Mandy might have given Torrent a bit of extra service?’

‘Not that way. She’s protective of her clients, but that’s all.’

‘How protective?’

‘Aw, come on, Oz,’ Ricky protested.

‘Yes, come on. Suppose Torrent told Mandy about the problem, and told her no more than that he wanted it to go away? Suppose she took it to extremes? Capperauld dies, and Alison’s arrested, fine. But then Anna’s murdered, right in his office. He knows the connection and so does Natalie, but it can’t be her, because they’re off to Gleneagles when it happens. No one else knows, though, other than Mandy.’

He shook his head, in firm denial. ‘No.’

‘What was the first thing Torrent did after Anna’s death? He tried to distance himself from your firm, that’s what. He fired you, to put space between him and Mandy. That scared her; she saw herself being dropped in it. Where was she last night, when Torrent was killed?’

‘In Glasgow, minding Susie.’

‘No, she fucking wasn’t! Susie was with me, getting Ewan’s autograph on her menu. Mandy was off watch, in Edinburgh.’

Ross looked up at the penthouse. ‘Okay, so where is she now?’

‘There’s one good way to find out.’ I took out my phone and keyed in Susie’s mobile number. It took her a few seconds to answer; when she did she was pissed off. ‘Sorry, love,’ I said, ‘but it’s important. Is Mandy with you?’

‘What are you talking about?’ she asked me, wearily. ‘You know she’s not. She’s gone back to Edinburgh. She told me that they’d found the stalker. You mean they haven’t?’ She sighed with exasperation. ‘Ah who cares! Good night.’ The phone went silent.

So Mandy said they’d found the stalker. Where did she hear that? I wondered. Only three of us knew about that. I hadn’t told her, Liam hadn’t, and I was damn sure Mike Dylan hadn’t either.

I looked back at Ross. ‘We may have a problem.’

He nodded towards the building. ‘You’re wrong,’ he said, ‘but best get up there.’