A Dark Shadow Falls (18 page)

*

Gordon Alexander led Dani towards his desk, which was as immaculately tidy as ever.

              ‘DI Hawthorn told me you’d viewed the crime scene in Bankfoot. What did you think? You are the one who’s seen them both.’

              Bevan narrowed her eyes. ‘In the Murphys’ case, it was obviously an organised burglary. A wide screen television and lots of electrical equipment was taken. A vehicle had to be involved and it needed to be pre-meditated. Yet with the Macallan murders, there was an element of opportunism to it. Someone found the key to the back door and stole a cash box. Kenneth Macallan had been in the pub that night. I could imagine some local lad spotting him in there and knowing the house would be easy pickings.’

              ‘This person may also have been aware that Kenneth took the cash box from the garage home with him at night. Or that they kept the key under a flowerpot,’ Alexander added.

              ‘Exactly. But then why the murders?’ Dani shuffled forward in her seat. ‘I think we need to ignore the burglary element altogether and simply consider these attacks as homicides. In which case, I think we’re looking at a serial offender. So, where does that leave Tommy Galt?’

              ‘We’ve still got him in custody. The fingerprints are the strongest evidence we have in the Murphy inquiry. I’m almost positive it was Galt who stole the electrical goods.’

              ‘But did he kill Morna, that’s the question?’

              Gordon Alexander knitted his hands together on the desk in front of him. ‘I’m beginning to wonder if we may be looking for an accomplice. Two men working this together perhaps, what do you think?’

              Dani nodded. ‘It’s a solid theory. Tommy Galt is the burglar and someone else does the killing. Only this other individual has developed too much of a taste for the job and is prepared to go it alone, even if Galt is convicted.’

              ‘But surely Galt could be persuaded to name this other man? Especially of it might mean a reduced sentence.’

              ‘Perhaps,’ Bevan said carefully. ‘But it all depends upon who this person is and what kind of hold he exerts over his associates. The man is obviously a ruthless killer with no mercy.’

              Alexander looked troubled. ‘I’m going to speak with Tommy Galt once more. He’s staring at a life sentence. There
must
be a way of getting him to talk.’

*

The man sitting before them looked broken. His hair was greasy and he’d lost quite a bit of weight. Dani wondered if the police doctor had taken a look at him. Galt immediately struck her as a suicide risk.

              Alexander rattled his chair noisily as he sat down. The sound seemed to cause Galt physical pain.

              ‘Do you understand the evidence we have against you Tommy?’ The DI began, not unkindly. ‘We can place you at the house on the day that Morna was murdered. Yet you swore you’d not been there in months. The forensic proof is unequivocal.’

              Galt hung his head. ‘Lisa’s finished with me. I got a letter a couple of days ago. She took all my gear to the tip.’

              ‘You’ve got more to worry about than that, Tommy. As it stands, you are going to spend the rest of your life in prison.’ Alexander laid his hands flat on the table between them. ‘Now, this is how I see it.
You
stake out the properties and work out what’s worth stealing, whilst you’re working on a place. If one of the wives catches your fancy, then you seduce her at the same time. This helps you to gain easy access. But there’s no way you can handle the break-in by yourself. There’s got to be somebody who assists you with this part of the operation. He’s the muscle man.’ Quite unexpectedly, Alexander banged his palms down hard on the table, causing Galt to jolt upright in his seat. ‘I believe it was
this
man who killed Morna. Am I right?’

              Tommy shook his head. Tears and snot were dripping from his face.               ‘I don’t know who killed her.’

              Dani fished in her bag for a packet of tissues. She pulled one out and handed it to Galt. ‘What did you find when you got to the house that day, Tommy? We’ve got your fingerprints on the bedroom doorway. We know you were there.’

              ‘I didn’t think Morna would be in. I’d called her the day before to check. We still saw one another every so often, you see. Just for sex. I felt bad, because the intention was always to do the place over. Trade had been really slow since Christmas. The Murphys had the most expensive electrical equipment I’d ever seen in a house in Dundee. But it was complicated, because I really did have feelings for Morna.’

              ‘So you called her up. What did she say?’ Dani sat forward and watched his face closely.

              ‘I asked if she wanted to meet me at a hotel. Morna said she couldn’t because she was on a training day for work. Morna claimed she’d be in Forfar until late that evening. When I found this out, I knew it was the opportunity I’d been looking for.’ Tommy scrunched up the tissue and then opened it out again. ‘The shop I work out of has a plain black van. I borrowed that one. I parked up on the Murphys’ street and watched the place for a while. It was dead quiet. I approached the house and slipped down the side passage. That’s when I saw that the kitchen door had been forced open. I went inside, trying not to touch anything. The place was so eerily quiet that I knew whoever had broken in wasn’t still there. For some reason, I walked straight up the stairs. When I reached the bedroom and saw Morna lying there, on the bed, I must have put out a hand to steady myself, although I don’t recall doing it. I knew she was dead. There wouldn’t have been anything I could have done to save her.’

              ‘You don’t actually know that,’ Alexander seethed. ‘You could at least have called an ambulance for the woman.’

              Galt raised his gaze for the first time. ‘You don’t understand. There was so much blood.’

              ‘What did you do then?’ Dani prompted.

              ‘So many thoughts were going through my head. I must have stood in that doorway for at least twenty minutes. But Morna was gone and I’d promised this guy the goods…’

              ‘So you went back downstairs and cleaned the place out - with Morna Murphy lying butchered in her own bedroom.’ Dani kept her breathing even.

              ‘I finally pulled myself together and put on my gloves. Then I proceeded to remove all the expensive stuff from the Murphys’ house, piece by piece. When I’d filled the van I drove off. I knew that Lyle would be back from work at some point. He would find his wife and know what to do next. I had to think about me and Lisa. We had a wedding to plan and, you know, these things cost the earth.’

Chapter 33

‘D
id you believe his story?’ Andy Calder asked.

              ‘Yes I did. The tale had a sort of tragic banality to it that rang true. I reckon Morna Murphy told Tommy Galt she was on a training day as an excuse, because she didn’t fancy having sex with him. This idea never crossed Galt’s mind. As she’d initiated sex in the first place, he probably thought she was always up for it.’

              ‘That’s the way most men think, yeah,’ Calder conceded. ‘So without the burglary element, we’re simply looking for a cold-blooded killer.’

              ‘In which case, I don’t believe we can rule out the idea that Morna had another man on the go. This would also explain why she gave Galt the brush off.’

              Phil appeared in the office doorway. ‘Can I come in?’

              ‘Of course.’

              He leant against the partition. ‘I’ve been looking into the background of the Macallan family. Kenneth Macallan had run the Bankfoot Garage for thirty years. He took it over from his father. The couple have one son, who emigrated to Australia with his wife fifteen years ago. Nancy Macallan taught at the primary school part-time.’

              ‘The family were well known locally, then.’ Dani tapped her pen on the desk. ‘Who the hell would want to kill them? In Morna’s case, I can see how she might have attracted the attention of some psycho by choosing to sleep with the wrong guy. But the Macallans?’

              ‘Neither of the victims had any convictions,’ Phil continued. ‘DI Hawthorn questioned the landlord of the pub, who said that Kenneth enjoyed a drink. But their house was only a short walk away. He wasn’t drinking and driving.’

              ‘Let’s hope he was utterly inebriated when that bastard stabbed him to death,’ Calder commented evenly.

              Dani looked thoughtful. ‘But the couple
were
well known in the area. Kenneth ran the garage and Nancy worked at the school.’ She had an idea. ‘I wonder if either of them had been in the papers recently. Could you check that out for me, Phil?’

              ‘Sure.’ The DS turned to leave before adding, ‘how’s Gordon?’

              ‘He’s fine. I’ve really enjoyed working with him. I like a copper who’s open to new ideas.’

              ‘I’m glad he’s managing okay. The guy was a total mess after his family had the accident, as you can imagine. I thought he might not return to the force. He blamed himself for not being there with them when the car was hit. For a while, he was resentful of what being a policeman had taken away from him.’

              ‘The work seems to do him good now. It must provide him with some kind of purpose.’

              ‘Gordon can be a bit stiff, but he’s got principles.’

              ‘Yes, I’ve already noticed that.’ Dani smiled as Phil returned to his desk.

              When he was out of earshot, Andy said, ‘Mr Boag could almost have been talking about himself there.’

              ‘Hardly. Phil’s not rigid.’

              ‘Don’t get me wrong, Ma’am, I like the guy, and actually, he’s loosened up a hell of a lot since splitting up with Jane.’

              Dani would have to admit this was certainly true. The Boags must have experienced the most civilised divorce in history. Phil had remained in the family home with their two teenage girls and Jane was currently living with Phil’s parents in Newton Mearns. It was close to the secondary school where Jane was the Headmistress. There hadn’t seemed any point in paying to run two households. This arrangement appeared to suit everyone for the time being. Jane’s job had always been the priority for her.

              Dani cleared her throat. ‘How are things at home? Are Carol and Amy well?’

              ‘You mean, have I had that chat with Carol yet?’

              ‘Actually, yes.’

              ‘We broached the subject the other evening over dinner. I told Carol I wasn’t prepared to change my meds. I said that I needed to be around for her and Amy in the long term.’

              ‘How did she react?’

              ‘She agreed. Carol doesn’t want me to damage my health.’

              ‘Great, that’s the response you wanted, isn’t it?’ Dani looked at her friend, he didn’t exactly seem overjoyed.

              ‘Yeah, it is. But I was watching her later, whilst she was tucking Amy up in bed, when Carol didn’t know I was there. She looked sad, Dani. I got a glimpse of how my wife
really
feels and it wasn’t good.’

              Dani shook her head. ‘You’ve got it wrong. Carol is allowed to be sad sometimes. I promise you, she knows the value of what she’s got.’

              ‘But what if Carol always regrets not having another child? I don’t know if I can carry that guilt.’

              ‘Listen, what your wife is going through now is a transition. It’s like a kind of grief. You need to allow her to come to terms with the decision. Don’t expect her to turn bloody somersaults over it, but gradually her grief will fade. Everyone feels sad, Andy, it’s a natural part of life and we’re perfectly able to live with it. What my mother had was something quite different. Just remember that. You, Carol and Amy are going to have a perfectly happy life. I happen to know that’s true.’

              Totally unexpectedly, Andy stepped forward and put his arms around his boss, eliciting some amazed glances from the officers working on the floor outside. He squeezed her gently. ‘You’re right. I’m going to make damn sure they’re happy.’ Andy released his grip and levered Dani away from him slightly, so that he could look her in the eye. ‘Now Ma’am, all we need to do is find someone who can make you happy too.’

Chapter 34

B
ill hadn’t exactly told DCI Bevan and DC Calder everything when they’d called round the other day. Bill and Joy had done a little bit more than just ask questions about the burglaries that had been plaguing their estate, they’d also come up with a plan.

              Whilst the carpet cleaning men were carrying out their job at the Hutchisons’ house, between the two of them, they’d managed to disclose certain false details. They informed Oliver and Dean that the burglar alarm had been playing up and they’d had to disconnect it, that they’d recently bought a brand new television set and that the pair of them would be leaving for a mini-break in Paris the following Wednesday.

              Right at this moment, Bill and Joy were sitting on stools in front of Rita McCulloch’s kitchen window. The lights were turned off and they had binoculars trained on their own house. Their car was parked in a cul-de-sac half a mile away.

              ‘My arms are getting sore,’ Joy complained, resting the binoculars for a moment on her lap.

              ‘Shall I make us another pot of tea?’ Rita’s voice floated across to them from the doorway.

              ‘I’ll do it,’ said Joy. ‘I need to stretch my legs for a while.’

              ‘Any sign of action out there?’ Rita enquired with relish.

              Bill shook his head. ‘Not a dicky bird. But it’s still early.’