Against a Dark Sky (4 page)

Chapter Eight

‘T
hanks for coming out here again,’ James Irving said smoothly, standing back to allow Dani to pass over the threshold.

              The cottage was much cooler than when Bevan had last been here. It was no longer reminiscent of a nineteenth century sick house, where patients sweated out unidentified contagions in poky, sealed-up rooms and all who entered were doomed.

              As if reading Dani’s thoughts, James explained, ‘we’ve cleaned up the place and given it an airing. Amit is feeling a little better now.’

              The detective followed the man into the cosy sitting room where she sat down on a leather armchair beneath the window. James perched on the edge of the sofa, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. ‘I expect you know what I’m going to say.’ His handsome face cracked into a half-smile. His slate grey eyes gazed piercingly into hers. ‘We all want to know when we can return to London. Amit’s wife is going spare, as you can imagine. I could really do with getting back to the office myself.’

              ‘This is a murder inquiry, Mr Irving. It’s only been a couple of days.’

              ‘Of course.’ He looked sheepish. ‘Well, it isn’t just that. We wondered if it was actually safe for us to be out here, what with Goff still missing and everything. Philippa got herself into a real state last night-’

              ‘Do you have any reason to believe that Daniel Goff will come after any of you?’ Bevan interrupted, sitting forward in the seat herself, suddenly intrigued.

              ‘No, nothing specific, I suppose. It’s simply that if he did kill Jo then Goff might be some kind of homicidal maniac. He may come back for the rest of his gear and discover us still at the bothy. We’re pretty isolated out here. You can appreciate how the imagination starts to play tricks, especially at night, when the wind’s howling down the glen.’ James flushed a rosy pink with embarrassment.

              Bevan’s face broke into a smile. ‘The hotels and guesthouses in town are all booked out. I can send over one of our officers to spend the night on your couch if you like?’

              James beamed with relief. ‘That would be great. Look, I know I’m a Scot, but I grew up in the suburbs of Edinburgh. I’m not a country type. Holidays and hill-walking are one thing, but tiny cottages on the moor with a murderer on the loose are something else.’

              ‘Yes, I can understand that. We aren’t made of stone, Mr Irving. Whilst I’m here, can you give me that list of Joanna’s ex-boyfriends? If you could recall their addresses and workplaces it would be a great help too.’

              ‘I’ll do my best.’ James picked up a pen and sheet of paper from a desk in an alcove, where somebody had set up a laptop computer. Dani remained silent, allowing the man time to think.

              ‘If you don’t mind me saying, you’re quite young to be a Detective Chief Inspector. It’s sort of like the equivalent of making Silk for a barrister,’ he commented suddenly, glancing up from his list.

              ‘I think I’m a little older than you.’

              ‘Really? Oh well, you know what they say about policemen starting to seem younger.’ James handed her the sheet, keeping hold of the corner after Dani had taken it, as if he wanted to maintain a physical connection with her. ‘Jo was the opposite type to you. She was old for her years. Clients thought she was our most experienced advocate but actually, Jo was the youngest. I’m not sure if it was to do with the way she dressed, or just an air she had about her.’

              ‘Were Jo and Daniel Goff having a sexual relationship?’

              James looked momentarily startled. ‘Not that I was aware of. Jo was sharing a downstairs room with Philippa. Daniel was in the bedroom next to me and Amit. If the two of them were together, none of us would have objected to them bunking up. I never thought Daniel was Jo’s type.’

              ‘What do you mean?’

              ‘Well, he’s sort of lanky and skinny. He wears his hair long and is a bit of a hippy. Jo always went out with smart city boys, pumped up muscles under tight, tailored shirts.’

              ‘Men like yourself, Mr Irving?’

              ‘Touchè. Jo and I were just mates, honest. But I could never have said anything absolutely with Jo - she liked to generate an aura of mystery. Jo would never have admitted to you that she was frightened to stay in this bothy, for instance. She’d have used it as a trial of strength. As for me, I’m a new man, quite happy to let you know when I’m scared witless.’

              ‘I’ll send an officer over in a couple of hours.’

              Bevan allowed him to see her to the door. ‘It’s very quiet here,’ she commented.

              ‘Amit and Philippa went for a walk. Not far, just for some fresh air.’

              Bevan nodded and smiled, pacing back to the police Land Rover with the list in her hand, wondering exactly what to make of James Irving.

For once, the bar of the Carraig Hotel was quiet. Bevan and Calder ordered coffees and compared their notes.

              ‘DC Clark is going to spend the night at the bothy,’ Dani began, swirling a sugar lump around her cup. ‘Of course, this request could all be a ruse, to give us the impression that Irving, Graves and Batra are a group of cowering, innocent victims.’

              ‘Do we really have those three in the frame?’

              ‘The PM report suggested that Joanna was strangled sometime after 4am. Her body was discovered at 10.45am. She’d been dead for several hours. Batra could certainly have done it. He’d been out there on the mountain unaccounted for since the previous day. As for Irving and Graves, they alibi each other, claiming they spent the entire night at the bothy and didn’t set out until 8am the following morning to join the search team.’

              ‘But either of them could have left the bothy without the other one knowing,’ Andy suggested.

              ‘Irving is the only one out of those two who I could picture navigating around the National Park on his own at night.’

              ‘Unless Philippa Graves’ helpless routine is just a put up job. Maybe she’s a lot more capable than we think.’

              Dani looked at her colleague carefully, knowing he possessed good instincts. ‘Could you get back onto the pathologist in the morning? Ask if it’s possible Joanna was strangled by a woman.’

              ‘Will do.’ Andy thought for a moment. ‘She’s quite petite too though, don’t you think? Philippa is what, 5’4 max? Joanna Endicott was 5’8 and athletically built. My hunch is if Graves was involved in this crime, she didn’t act alone.’

              Dani nodded her head slowly. ‘I agree. At this stage, I don’t think we can rule out any of those three at all. Let’s keep them on the suspect list. I’ll get onto Phil tomorrow. I want to find out everything there is to know about Miss Philippa Graves.’

Chapter Nine

D
etective Sergeant Phil Boag was in his late forties, lean and with a head of thick, grey-streaked hair. His wife was the Headmistress of a sprawling Glasgow inner city comprehensive. Her career took priority in the Boag household. Dani tried to utilise Phil’s policing skills in a way that allowed him to look after his two teenage daughters. Phil was Bevan’s IT man and had a great eye for detail. He wasn’t infallible, but she’d rather use him than anyone else.

              Knowing he’d be at his desk early, Bevan gave her sergeant a call before heading to the incident room. ‘Have you got anything for me, Phil?’

              ‘I’m faxing some printouts over to the local station this morning. In the meantime, do you want a précis?’

              ‘Aye, fire away.’

              ‘James Irving is completely clean. Not so much as an unpaid parking ticket to his name. He attended The Scott Academy in Edinburgh and his parents have a house in Leith. He’s lived in London for eight years, no convictions, no debts.’

              ‘Okay.’ Dani was expecting that.

              ‘Amit Batra is a bit more interesting, but not much. He got married five years ago. The Batras’ have two little girls; the eldest is two and a half and the other just six months old. He grew up in Croydon, South London and has a Computer Science degree from Southampton University. The only blot on his copybook is that a couple of years back he lost his job and couldn’t make the mortgage payments on their house for a few months. He ended up on a credit blacklist. Batra is in employment again now and seems financially secure. However, their mortgage is still huge. It must put him under pressure.’

              ‘Everyone’s mortgage is huge, especially down in London. It sounds like a fairly typical tale of the recession.’

              ‘Philippa Graves is a curious lass. She grew up in Brentford, West London.’

              ‘Not far from Joanna Endicott.’

              ‘But not in nearly so nice an area. Philippa              is the youngest of three children and turned thirty in March. She’s got a qualification to teach in primary schools but hasn’t managed to complete her induction year yet. Graves covered a maternity leave in a school in north London. The contract ended last Christmas. I managed to have a word with the Headmistress there. She was rather cagey about Philippa.’

              ‘Oh yes,’ Dani listened with interest.

              ‘I think the woman was being careful to cover herself. She said Philippa did a decent job but that some of the parents hadn’t been happy about her manner with the kids. I had to press her on what they meant by this. Apparently, Philippa spoke harshly to the children and some mums found it ‘inappropriate’. There’d also been the occasional ‘unfortunate choice of words’, the Headmistress said, although she was quick to point out there was absolutely no suggestion of physical violence against the children.’

              ‘Sounds like a bunch of euphemisms if ever I heard them.’

              Phil chuckled. ‘I asked Jane her opinion about the Headmistress’s comments. She said it sounded like the girl didn’t know how to deal with that particular age group appropriately. Jane said that if she’d been Philippa’s Head, she would have subtly suggested a change of career.’

              ‘It’s interesting, but I don’t see how it ties into the murder of Joanna Endicott. Graves doesn’t gain anything by Joanna’s death, does she?’

              ‘No, on the contrary, Endicott’s flat will be sold and Graves will have to find somewhere else to live. It looks like she wasn’t paying much rent. She’ll probably have to leave London if she can’t find another job pretty quick.’

              ‘Anything else?’

              ‘I’m still looking into Joanna’s boyfriends, but not having much luck at this stage. London’s a big place. I’m sending you over copies of the newspaper reports

from 1983 about the Ardyle tragedy. You should get those shortly.’

              ‘Great work Phil, thanks.’

DC Clark was hanging around the entrance to the Town Hall as Dani mounted the steps. ‘How was your night in the house of horrors?’ she called ahead.

              Clark gave a smile that was part grimace. ‘Quiet, Ma’am.’ The young man shifted from one foot to the other. ‘I can’t do tonight, though. It’s my mother-in-law’s birthday. The wife’s got reservations for dinner.’

              ‘Of course, not a problem. I’ll find somebody else.’

              The man looked mightily relieved and stepped aside to allow her to enter the building.

              Andy Calder was sorting through papers on one of the trestle tables. Dani thought he was looking pale. His improved physical appearance made her forget how close he came to losing his life just a few months ago. Dani felt reluctant to ask him to stay up all night at the bothy. She knew he would want to be treated the same as everyone else but as Dani was the one who’d seen him in that terrible state, in the grips of a massive heart attack during the search for Richard Erskine, she wasn’t sure she could do it, which probably meant that for the sake of his career, Andy should really be working for somebody else.

              Dani adopted a beaming smile, striding towards the team of young policemen who were processing the minutiae of the evidence they’d already collected. She knew it could be a soul-destroying task.

              ‘Okay,’ Dani called out decisively. ‘Gather around for a briefing.’

              Driscoll signalled to his troupe of detectives. The men shuffled over to form a semi-circular shape in front of her. She gave them a run-down of Phil’s findings. Looking at the young DC from yesterday, Bevan asked if they’d discovered anything more about Daniel Goff.

              The lad’s cheeks flushed deep red, but he puffed himself up and said, ‘the Registrar at Stirling College just got back to me, Ma’am. She believes that a man named Daniel Goff worked at the language school there in the summer of 2007. They run English courses for overseas students before term starts, in order to prepare them for their degree.’

              ‘Fantastic!’ Dani exclaimed. ‘So the man’s got a link to the area. Did she tell you anything more?’

              The DC nodded his head. ‘The Registrar said that although she wasn’t working there at the time, the records indicated there was an incident involving Goff in which the police were involved. One of the students, a Spanish girl, accused Goff of assaulting her after lessons were over. Goff claimed they were having a sexual relationship and the girl had become upset when he ended things so had made a false allegation. There wasn’t enough evidence to take it any further. Goff left at the end of his contract and never worked at the College again.’

              ‘Do we have the details of this assault?’

              ‘Not yet, I’ve only just received the tip-off.’

              ‘Sergeant Driscoll, can you organise the investigation of this lead? We’ll need the police report from Stirling and the name of this Spanish student, if possible.’

              Driscoll nodded his head.

              Dani addressed the room. ‘I also want to know if Goff has a contact in the area. If he lived around here for a few months in 2007, maybe he’s got a friend who’s sheltering him. I know it’s a long time ago but this is a strong line of enquiry, let’s make sure we’ve examined it thoroughly.’

              The group broke apart and scattered to the various desks and tables around the hall. Andy stepped forward to join Dani. ‘I’ve spoken to the pathologist, Ma’am. She’s faxed over the PM photos.’ Calder led Dani over to the table where the blurry prints were laid out in a long line.

              Dani looked carefully at the images of Joanna’s body, taken from multiple angles and graffitied with a mystifying range of arrows and scrawls. ‘Explain what I’m looking at.’

              ‘There was no sign of recent sexual activity or sexual assault.’ Calder pulled across a shot of Joanna’s head and torso. ‘Here’s the bruising around the neck.’ He ran a finger across the greenish line on the woman’s pale skin. ‘Dr Murphy thinks she was throttled with just one hand. She can only make out a single thumb print, not two.’

              ‘There’s no way Philippa Graves could have done that to Joanna.’

              ‘No. Dr Murphy says she cannot swear to it, but her professional judgement would dictate this was a male assailant, strong and at least as tall as Joanna.’

              ‘Was there a struggle - skin under the fingernails, that kind of thing?’

              ‘Not much of one,’ Calder selected another photo, this one being of Joanna’s once elegant hands, the chipped remnants of a pinkish varnish still evident upon the long nails. ‘Murphy believes it happened very quickly. Joanna was taken by surprise and completely overwhelmed by her attacker.’

              ‘The woman would also have been weak. She’d been out on the hillside for hours and hadn’t eaten since the previous day. Joanna was tired and cold. Could she have been asleep when he attacked her?’

              ‘Murphy didn’t rule it out. She said Joanna was perfectly healthy and physically fit. In normal circumstances, she should have been able to put up a strong defence.’

              ‘Perhaps he threatened her with a weapon of some sort?’ Dani said, considering all the possible scenarios. ‘We found nothing at the scene or within a two mile radius of it.’

              ‘He might have taken it with him.’

              ‘Or dumped it somewhere else in the National Park. Let’s face it, there’d be no chance of us ever recovering the thing.’

              ‘If Goff’s motive was sexual,’ Andy said levelly, pushing the stark photographs around the table to create an even square. ‘Then why didn’t he try to rape her? Joanna’s clothing was undamaged and left in place.’

              ‘There’s more than one kind of sexual, Andy. Perhaps Goff enjoyed squeezing the life out of Joanna Endicott, especially as she was such a feisty and self-assured woman. I’ll be particularly interested to hear what Goff did to that student in Stirling back in 2007, very interested indeed.’