Dark as Night (24 page)

*

It was a milder evening and the rain had cleared. Dan and Caitlin stood outside with the other drinkers, as they had at most of the pubs they visited. Alice had ducked out of this trip. She was spending the weekend at her parents’ house in Largs.

              ‘So you weren’t tempted to go off to college, then?’ Dan asked his colleague. ‘You seem pretty dedicated to the force.’

              Caitlin smiled. ‘I didn’t get on too well at school. I couldn’t knuckle down to the academic stuff. I was more of an ideas and action kind of person. Besides, my dad was a detective. I was brought up on the whole police thing, riding around in my plastic cop car in the garden.’

              ‘I can picture that.’ Dan chuckled. ‘Do you fancy another drink?’

              The DC shook her head. ‘I’ve had enough, thanks. This idea looks like it was a non-starter. There are dozens of clubs and bars in central Glasgow. Sorry I wasted your time.’

              Dan laid a hand on the girl’s arm. ‘We’ve got to know each other better after a few nights on the town. No harm done, eh?’

              Caitlin nodded. They picked up their jackets and made their way down the road, in the direction of the nearest subway station. For some reason, Dan’s vision was drawn down one of the dimly lit side streets, where two men were shuffling along awkwardly; one having to support the weight of the other, almost dragging him in the direction of a parked car at the far end of the passage.

              Dan stopped and nudged Caitlin’s arm. ‘That doesn’t look right.’

              The detectives entered the dark alley. Dan shouted to the men, asking if they needed any assistance. The more upright of the two turned his head, immediately picking up his pace. He hoisted the other guy higher onto his shoulder and manoeuvred his prone form more quickly towards the stationary vehicle.

              Clifton broke into a run, but the man had already bundled his victim into the back of the car and was making for the driver’s seat. As the door slammed shut, Dan reached the vehicle at full pelt, only managing to stop by pressing himself against the rear window, getting a good view of the unconscious person slumped inside.

              The detective hammered his fists hard on the glass. ‘Andy?! For Christ’s sake, wake up!’

              He didn’t move a muscle.

              The car’s engine sparked into life. When the headlights flicked on, Dan’s mouth dropped open in horror. Caitlin Hendry was standing with her legs apart, hands resting on the bonnet, as if to prevent the assailant’s escape single-handed.

              ‘Get out of the way, Caitlin!’ Dan screamed.

              She turned her head, managing to shift to the side ever-so slightly, just before the vehicle angrily spun its wheels and accelerated away fast, knocking DC Hendry to the cold, hard pavement like a solitary pin in a bowling alley.                 

Chapter 51

D
CI Bevan didn’t think she’d ever been so angry. It had taken half an hour for her to get from the ICU at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary to the Pitt Street Headquarters. This had at least given her some time to calm down.

              Bevan strode single-mindedly across the floor of the serious crime division. ‘Clifton and Boag, in my office. Now!’

              Dan was the first to speak. ‘How is she, Ma’am?’

              ‘In a critical condition, DC Clifton. Caitlin has suffered a serious head trauma and has two broken legs. Her parents are currently performing a vigil by the young woman’s bedside.’ Dani looked from one man to the other. ‘What the
hell
was she doing there?’

              ‘It’s no excuse, because you left me in charge,’ Phil began, ‘but I had no idea they were visiting the bars at night, Ma’am.’

              Dani stared at Clifton. ‘Who’s idea was it?’

              The DC visibly squirmed. ‘It was something that Caitlin and I came up with between us.’

              The DCI narrowed her eyes. ‘Have we not worked together long enough for you to know that I would never sanction such a reckless operation? Phil tells me that you were sporting a
wedding ring
when they arrived at the scene. Been watching too much TV drama have we DC Clifton? You might well be watching at bit more from now on, and it will be of the daytime variety. But for now, I want to know everything about that vehicle and the man who abducted DC Calder.’ She slammed her fist down hard on the table, unable to mask the waver in her voice. ‘We need to track down that bastard, as soon as bloody possible.’

*

Bevan sat at the kitchen table with her hands clasped together, a mug of tea positioned untouched before her. ‘Where is Amy?’ She asked gently.

              ‘At my mum’s place.’ Carol was very quiet and still, as if the news hadn’t properly sunk in. ‘Who would want to abduct Andy? It doesn’t make any damn sense.’

              ‘What had Andy been up to since he’d been on leave?’

              ‘He was trying to find out everything he could about his uncle Don. Andy wanted to piece together his movements in the days before he died.’

              ‘So he was still investigating the case. That must explain what he was doing in a gay bar on Sauchiehall Street.’

              ‘Have any witnesses come forward?’ Carol looked suddenly hopeful.

              ‘A few folk saw them together in the Prince Edward. We have a decent description of the man who took Andy. He was tall, good-looking, but older than their usual clientele – mid-forties, perhaps. Have you seen anyone like that recently?’

              Carol shook her head, tears escaping onto her cheeks. ‘You know he went weird for a while. That time when I called your place to track him down. I know he wasn’t really with you. Do you think he’s upset somebody – is this the work of an angry
husband
who’s out to get revenge?’

              Dani reached across and took her hand. ‘We’re looking into every possibility. But I really don’t think so. It seems that this man must have spiked Andy’s drink, with Rohypnol perhaps. This doesn’t strike me as the MO of a jealous husband. Have you got any solid reason to think Andy was having an affair?’ Bevan felt guilty asking the question.

              ‘There was a note, pushed under the door last week.’ Carol recounted what it had said.

              The DCI’s mind was ticking over fast. ‘Do you still have it?’

              ‘I think Andy put it in one of the drawers in our room. I’ll go and check.’ Carol came back in a few minutes later, with the scrap of paper sealed up in its plastic covering.

              ‘I’ll need to take it,’ Dani said carefully.

              ‘Of course. And then there’s the book.’

              ‘What book?’

              Carol explained their discovery of the draft version of Don’s book. ‘I know that Andy didn’t save a copy, he didn’t think it would be safe. I’m fairly sure he would’ve had the memory stick on him when he was taken.’ The woman suddenly crumpled, as the reality of the situation finally hit home. ‘Who’s got him, Dani?’ She sobbed, ‘what the hell are they doing to him?’

              Bevan moved over and placed her arms around her friend. ‘I don’t know Carol, I just don’t know.’

Chapter 52

B
evan addressed her team. ‘DC Calder was still investigating the murder of his uncle. He’d been visiting the places that Donald Calder had gone to in the days before his death. He’d recently discovered a draft copy of Donald’s book on the St Columba Football Club. According to Carol, Don had uncovered some kind of corruption or dodgy dealing at the place through his research. He’d even confronted one of the directors about it.’

              ‘Andy had discovered this not long before he himself was kidnapped,’ Phil put in.

              Dan stood up, clearing his throat. ‘I knew that Andy was investigating his uncle’s death. I bumped into him at the Lime Tree bar a couple of weeks back. We reached a kind of unspoken understanding. I wouldn’t mention what he was up to and he wouldn’t say anything about me being gay.’

              Bevan took a deep breath, thinking she’d have to add it to the list of things she’d be holding DC Clifton to account for when this was all over. For now, they had other issues to concentrate on. ‘What about the car – any news on that?’

              Alice responded to this, ‘the vehicle used last night was a Vauxhall Astra. From Dan’s recording of the number plate we were able to ascertain it was stolen a few days ago from outside a house in Priesthill.’

              ‘That’s not far from Barrhead.’ Dani frowned. ‘Could this man be our serial killer?’

              ‘I think that’s very likely, Ma’am. Caitlin Hendry had the idea to flush out the murderer of Nathan McLaren by using Dan as bait. It looks as if DC Calder had already done the same thing with his investigations, except this time, it was entirely unintentional.’

              ‘Does that mean the unearthing of corruption at St Columba’s Park has nothing to do with Andy’s kidnapping? Is it a coincidence?’

              ‘I don’t think so.’ Alice puffed herself up, looking confident. ‘Something about it rings a bell from when Caitlin was researching the Glasgow Fair. I’d like permission to go back through her notes and check it out.’

              ‘Of course. Get onto it straight away. In the meantime, we focus our efforts on examining the motorway CCTV footage on all routes out of the city centre last night after 11pm. I want to know exactly where that car was headed. If Andy is being held by the person who killed Douglas Ross, Donald Calder and Nathan McLaren, then we really don’t have much time.’

*

The surroundings were cold and damp. Calder imagined that he was in some kind of cellar. It was definitely beneath ground level. His hands were bound behind his back and his ankles secured together with wire. A thick piece of tape was stuck over his mouth but it was already coming loose. Calder felt sick and his head was pounding, as if he had the almightiest of hang-overs.

              The guy from the bar must have spiked his drink. For an experienced police officer, he’d been incredibly dim. But the tiniest glimmer of hope was alive in his mind. Andy could have sworn he made out a commotion in the distance as he got bundled into the car. Although he could barely move a limb, he’d seen Dan Clifton’s face just before he slipped away into oblivion. If it hadn’t been a hallucination, then it meant they knew he’d been taken. As long as Clifton was still alive, that was, and whoever had kidnapped him hadn’t made sure the policeman couldn’t follow. Andy tried not to allow that thought to invade his head. He could already feel hot tears forming in his eyes.

              Calder focussed instead on recalling his conversation with the man who abducted him. The guy was talking about machinery. He was an engineer of some kind, he was proud of the skills passed down to him by his family. The chap was slick and believable, not your average serial-killer. A memory shot to the forefront of Andy’s brain. He’d found him familiar. Whilst they were chatting, he’d decided the guy reminded him of someone. If only the pain in his head would subside for just a moment, then he might have a sporting chance of remembering who it was.                

Chapter 53

N
otes and printouts were spread in front of Alice at her work station. She’d not permitted any interruptions all morning. When DCI Bevan had mentioned St Columba’s Park, the DC had recalled a detail from Caitlin’s research.

              When the St Columba’s Park extension was built in 2003, another traveller community had been evicted from their site beside the M8 in order to make way for it. The council had been fully behind the decision. This information had turned up in the notes DC Hendry was sent by the Showmen’s Guild.

              Alice looked into it further. Caitlin had highlighted how the O’Driscoll family were dispersed from their site in 2007 due to a fire on the camp. This had ended their travelling fair business and resulted in part of the clan leaving for Europe on a permanent basis. She was amazed to discover, from the newspaper reports of the time, that something similar had occurred at the St Columba’s Park site. In this case, a traveller couple died when several caravans were burnt to the ground. This prompted the council to declare the site unsafe and move the occupants on.

              Was this the scandal that Don Calder was investigating before he was killed? Alice wondered. In both instances the police had ruled out foul play, yet there were businesses set to make a shed-load of money out of the traveller communities being moved on. In the case of the O’Driscolls, a housing developer had swooped in and built an executive estate on the site they’d been turfed out of.

              Alice closed her eyes tight shut. Despite Don Calder uncovering corruption and possibly even murder, it didn’t seem as if he’d been killed by a person setting out to silence him. The connection here, which Caitlin had spotted early on, was with the travellers who ran the fairgrounds. Alice flicked her eyes open. Don must have interviewed people for his book. He must have spoken with traveller folk who’d been evicted by the council. It’s what any decent investigative journalist would do. That’s what brought Don together with his killer.

              Douglas Ross and Nathan McLaren must have come into contact with this man, too. The fairground at the Glasgow Green could have been McLaren’s contact point, but Ross was different. So what was it that connected
all
three men?

              The DC jumped up, grabbing her jacket and heading for the lifts. ‘I’m just popping out for an hour,’ she called over to Dan, not waiting for his reply.