Dark as Night (4 page)

              He wiped the dampness away from his cheeks with the back of his hand, sifting through more of the photographs and papers. Only the Calder family ever knew that Don had suffered from depression in the months leading up to his disappearance. They agreed at the time not to tell the investigating officer. Andy’s uncle had never sought treatment for the condition, but his black moods were becoming more noticeable and frequent during the summer of 2005.

              Mae remained adamant that her husband wouldn’t have taken his own life. Andy’s father was never so sure. Jack was certain that Don threw himself into White Cart Water, his body being swept into the wash of the Clyde and eventually out to sea.               But Mae insisted that the police should concentrate on finding Don alive, so she made the rest of the family swear they’d never speak of his battle with mental illness. Andy could see why she’d done it. The police may have stopped looking properly if they’d known, especially back then, when attitudes towards mental health problems were different than they were now.

              Calder polished off the whisky and sat back against the sofa cushions, staring up at the ceiling, the heavy glass lying empty in his lap. This case in Giffnock changed everything. The circumstances were so similar it was startling. Andy had always believed in his heart that his Da was right. Uncle Don had topped himself, finally losing the battle with his inner demons. But now, his detective’s instincts were going crazy. There had to be something else going on here. The thought of this possibility made his heart pound like a drum inside his chest.

*

When DCs Alice Mann and Dan Clifton returned to the McLarens’ house in Giffnock, Jenny McLaren was much more subdued. Her sons sat on both sides of her at the solid wood dining table, making her appear small and fragile between their large, ungainly forms.              

              Ewan McLaren was a well-built lad of seventeen. He didn’t hesitate to recount to the detectives every single detail of the day he’d spent with his father at the Glasgow Fair.

              ‘Dad drove us to the station and we took the train into town.’

              ‘Is your car missing too?’ Dan Clifton interrupted, looking at the boy’s mother.

              She shook her head. ‘The Audi is still in the garage and the Fiesta is sitting out on the driveway. But it looks as if Nathan took his house keys with him.’ This thought made tears begin to pool in her eyes.

              Clifton made a note in his pad. ‘Okay. Carry on.’

              ‘Cormac had arranged to meet his pals at the McLennan Arch at eleven. It was so busy there when we arrived that it took us about twenty minutes to find them. Cormac headed off into the park. We’d decided to keep in contact with each other on our mobile phones.’

              ‘So
you
remained with your father for a while longer?’ Alice clarified.

              Ewan nodded. ‘Aye, Dad and I had a bag of chips and wandered around the stalls for a while.’

              ‘What was your father’s mood like on Saturday? Was he enthusiastic about the trip?’ Alice asked.

              Ewan shrugged. ‘We chatted and joked a bit. There were lots of groups about who looked as if they were on a mission to get pissed. Dad and I had a laugh about that.’ He shot a cautious glance at his mother. ‘It was a really hot day and there were plenty of lassies in shorts and bikini tops. Dad pointed a couple of the bonny ones out to me.’

              Jenny visibly bristled.

              ‘That was because he was trying to be pally, you know? Not because Dad is a sleazebag or anything.’ Ewan gazed down at the table top. ‘Then I bumped into a friend of mine and we left Dad by the river. It was near to where the university have their rowing club.’

              ‘Aye, we know where that is,’ Dan Clifton replied. ‘Did your father say how he was going to spend the rest of the afternoon?’

              Ewan looked up. His eyes were glistening. ‘No and I never even bothered to ask.’

              ‘I saw him later,’ Cormac interrupted. ‘We were on the dodgem’s and Dad walked past. He waved at me and my pal, Billy. He looked like he was headed back towards the arch.’

              ‘Going out of the park?’ Alice stated.

              ‘Aye, I suppose so,’ he conceded.

              ‘What time was this?’

              ‘About 3pm maybe?’

              ‘I didn’t see Dad again until we met back at the station,’ his older brother added. ‘He called me on my mobile at about half five. I was ready to come home by then. It was a really hot day.’ Ewan laid his palms out flat on the table. ‘Dad had bought three burgers from a van and we ate them on the train. We chatted like normal and got home at seven.’

              Dan looked at Jenny. ‘Has there been any change in your husband’s behaviour over the past few months? Any small alteration in his usual routines might give us an indication of what has happened to him.’

              Jenny sighed. ‘I’ve been thinking about nothing else these last twelve hours. I didn’t pick up on anything different about Nathan at all. Everything’s been normal.’

              Ewan shifted about in his seat, as if he was suddenly uncomfortable.

              ‘Have you got anything to add?’ Alice asked him gently.

              ‘I don’t know if it’s important.’ His eyes flicked between the two people sitting beside him before resting on the female detective. ‘Dad was talking to me a lot about the future. I suppose it’s my age and everything – going off to uni and stuff. He was giving me advice about girls and finding my own way in life - the usual father-son spiel.’

              ‘But they weren’t the kind of topics your dad would normally discuss with you?’

              ‘No, that’s right. I got the feeling he was trying to tell me something. I don’t know why, it was just a sense I had.’

              Jenny swivelled her eyes in the direction of her eldest son. There was a puzzled expression on her face.

              Alice Mann decided to leave the questions there. ‘We will need to take a look around your house, Mrs McLaren, particularly in your husband’s study. It would also be extremely useful to examine his computer back at the station.’

              The woman rose up, her posture stooped. ‘Of course, I’ll show you where to go. His phone isn’t there. I’ve been ringing it every half an hour since I realised he’d gone. But there’s no reply.’

              Alice nodded. She didn’t tell the woman they’d already conducted a trace on Nathan McLaren’s mobile phone number. They could pick up no signal at all from it. The device had either been disabled or destroyed. Instead, the detectives allowed Jenny to lead them solemnly out of the dining room, towards those parts of the house which had been her husband’s domain.

Chapter 7

C
arol Calder looked totally shattered. Her pretty face was sunburnt and a sprinkling of freckles had broken out across her cheeks. After throwing herself around the flat for an hour, Amy was finally fast asleep in her toddler bed.

              Andy walked through to the lounge, where his wife was reclining, with her arms outstretched on the sofa. She was making no move to prepare them any dinner.

              ‘Shall I fetch us a fish supper?’ He asked tentatively, sensing Carol’s mood may be volatile.

              ‘Is that what you’ve been eating all weekend?’ She shot back, with an accusatory glance at his broadening stomach.

              Andy knew that Carol was simply exhausted. She’d have been up in the night with their daughter, what with her being in a strange bed and everything. He had the good sense not to rise to the bait. ‘I ate at the cafeteria when I could. The menu is pretty healthy these days.’

              Carol’s expression softened. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to snap.’ She put out her hand. Andy took it and sat on the sofa next to her, sliding his other hand over her curvy thighs, shown off rather nicely in a pair of tight fitting cotton Capri pants.

              He nuzzled his face into her neck. ‘I missed you.’

              ‘Not enough to come along with us.’

              Andy glanced up in alarm, but could see that she was still smiling. ‘You know I had to work.’

              Carol nodded, running her fingers through his thick hair. ‘Was the Fair really busy? We watched the pictures on the news. It looked as if it was.’

              ‘Aye, but it went off without any trouble.’ He shifted himself up. ‘But a man’s gone missing from his home in Giffnock. He’s 52 years old, married, with a couple of teenage kids. The circumstances are strikingly similar to what happened to Uncle Don.’

              Carol’s expression became serious. She and Andy hadn’t been going out for long when Donald Calder had disappeared in 2005. The incident had threatened to end their budding relationship before it had even started. Andy became withdrawn and morose for several months afterwards. Carol felt a spasm of worry knot her stomach. The last thing she wanted was that sorry affair to be dragged up all over again. ‘There can’t be any connection, surely – not after all this time has passed?’

              ‘I don’t know. But we need to follow it up closely.’ Andy clasped both her hands tightly. ‘I might finally be able to find out what happened to him. Dad might get some answers at last.’

              Carol forced a smile. ‘Aye, perhaps.’

              Andy leant forward and placed his lips over hers, feeling as if he could taste the salty spray of the sea coating Carol’s soft skin. She kissed him back hard, running her hand underneath his shirt, lingering at the stubbly covering of hair that reached up to his belly button and tugging at his trousers, thinking that even though she was dog-tired she’d rather spend the evening making love than having to talk about the fate of Donald flaming Calder.

*

DCI Bevan squinted at the screen. ‘Is it him?’

              Phil shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ve looked through hours of tape. This was the only piece of footage where I thought I’d identified Nathan McLaren.’ The DS pointed at the grainy image of a man positioned right at the edge of the screen. ‘That’s the north bank of the river. It appears as if Nathan is speaking with one of the men at the rowing club. That group there have just come in off the water. Maybe Nathan knows him?’

              Dani nodded. ‘It’s possible, yes. That’s the University Boating Club, isn’t it? Are all the members students?’

              ‘I believe so, although I wasn’t ever a rower myself,’ Phil replied.

              ‘Neither was I. My impression was that it was a pastime for the public school types.’ The DCI contemplated this for a moment. ‘I don’t think it would be wise to send Andy down there. These people tend to wind him up. Could
you
get in touch with the club, and take Alice Mann there to conduct a few informal interviews?’

              ‘Of course, Ma’am. I’ll get onto it straight away.’

              Bevan patted him lightly on the shoulder and returned to her office. Dani had other plans for Calder anyway. When she spotted Andy returning to his desk, she knocked on the window and beckoned him over.

              The DC pushed open the flimsy door and peered around it. ‘What’s up, Ma’am?’

              ‘Come in and take a seat.’

              Andy raised his eyebrows and did what he was told. ‘This sounds ominous.’

              Dani leant forward, leaning her elbows on the desk. ‘Not at all. I just want you to tell me all about Donald Patrick Calder.’

              ‘It sounds like you already know some more about him.’

              ‘I’ve had a read through the file, but I want your impressions.’

              Andy sighed, balling his palms into fists in his lap and then opening them out again, the suspect’s way of playing for time. ‘Don was your typical favourite uncle. He was a lot younger than my dad. He was funny, talented and enjoyed a bevvy.’

              ‘I’ve looked at the photos. There’s a strong family resemblance between the two of you.’

              ‘I suppose I’m the age now that Don was when he went missing, give or take. But back in 2005 I was a fat bastard.’ Andy laughed.

              Dani didn’t join in. She’d never have described her colleague in that way, even at the time when he’d suffered his heart attack two years ago. The DCI felt that her friend was far too harsh on his old self.

              ‘The lassies always really went for Don, but he was devoted to Mae and the kids. He’d look at other women, sure, but that’s as far as it ever went.’

              ‘Did he discuss other women with you, down the pub, for instance?’ Dani asked this casually, thinking she may have picked up on something here.

              Andy shrugged. ‘Not any particular lass.’ He gave Dani a piercing look. ‘You’ve got to understand, Ma’am. Men
do
talk about good looking women like that when they’re all together in a group, even when they’re married. It’s just banter. It doesn’t mean they’re a womanizer.’

              Dani nodded, making no comment. She wasn’t entirely convinced that
all
men acted in this way. Alice Mann had recounted the interview she and Dan Clifton conducted with the McLarens. The DC mentioned that she thought the older son was hinting to them that his dad had an eye for the lassies. Bevan thought maybe Andy was doing the same. They both knew it might have a bearing on their disappearance, but neither wanted to sully their loved one’s name.

              ‘It
must
have been a theory that you and your parents considered – the possibility that Don had gone off with another woman?’

              Andy sighed heavily. ‘It was the possibility we
prayed
for. My dad was convinced that Don had killed himself. We would have been overjoyed if it turned out that the worst he'd done was run off with some tart and abandoned his wife and kids. But the years rolled past and we heard nothing. No letter or Christmas card. My dad and Uncle Donny had no family left in the world except each other, yet the man’s no’ been in touch for ten years. He’s dead, Ma’am. There’s no real question about that in my mind.’