Skinner's ghosts

52

'So you do have open minds after all?'

Alex smiled at Ericson as the car moved off. 'Course we do,' said Cheshire. 'It's unthinkable to me that another deputy chief would take a bung from anyone, but in this task, you have to entertain the unthinkable.

'You have, as your dad would be the first to tell you, to look at all the possibilities. Having studied everything about DCC Skinner, we just happened to have that photofit with us. When Medine gave us that description, Ronnie sparked on it right away. Incidental y, I was going to ask him to describe the courier, before we left.

'Pity about those bloody glasses, though?'

He smiled at Alex, suddenly. 'Al right young lady. We've given you something, now pay us back. Why were you going on about that money?'

She hesitated, but final y grinned. 'Okay, guv,' she said, 'I'll cough.

Those Bank of England notes. If this so-called bung originated from Scotland… and where else would it?… and it was put together over a period, like Medine said, not in a single wodge of cash, it's very unlikely, to say the least, that there wouldn't be any Scottish banknotes in it. Most of the notes in circulation in Scotland are issued by our own clearing banks, the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank, and the Clydesdale. Medine obviously doesn't know that.' She looked from Cheshire to Ericson. 'Neither, equally obviously, do you.'

"louche, sir,' said the Chief Superintendent to his boss. 'Nice one, Alex.'

The Deputy Chief nodded. 'Yes, it is. But I won't lie to you, lass.

Things stil look dodgy for your dad. First and foremost, there's his signature. We'll have to check that, but I could tell when you looked at it that you thought it was genuine.'

'It took me by surprise,' she protested, 'but it could still be a good forgery. It must be.'

'Time, and the calligraphy experts will tell. Of course, if it is a phoney, then the whole al egation is a fit-up. But if not…' He gave her a meaningful look.

'Anyway, on top of that there's the confirmatory telephone call, to his unlisted number in Gul ane. And that receipt: I've got a feeling 178 in my water that it has to be kicking around somewhere.

'You going to let us look for it, or do I get a warrant?'

She nodded. 'I'l ask Pops, but he'l say yes. As for the telephone number, the McGrath kidnapper has that.'

Cheshire looked at her in genuine surprise. 'My fiance lets me in on some secrets, you know,' she said. 'The first contact from the man was in a telephone call to my dad's unlisted number in Gullane.

Andy's people are still tearing British Telecom apart looking for the person who sold it to him.'

The Deputy Chief frowned. 'If I was in my nasty bastard mode,' he muttered, 'I'd say that maybe your dad gave it him. That maybe the link between them's stronger than we think. That maybe this man's after a king-size ransom, and that your dad's got reasons for making sure he gets it. Maybe the hundred grand was a down-payment from him.'

He saw a look of horror cross her face. 'Of course, that's just my nasty bastard imagination running away with me,' he said, 'but he is facing a divorce petition from your stepmother, and since his assets are mostly in property or long-term investments, maybe another nasty bastard, in the Crown Office, say, might think that he did need some cash in a hurry… maybe a bit more than a hundred grand.'

He stopped. 'That's what I real y hate about this job,' he said, gloomily. 'It's not just about looking under stones. It's about real y rummaging around under 'em, for the most horrible things you could ever imagine.'