Against a Dark Sky (6 page)

Chapter Twelve

A
ndy Calder was the only member of the team who looked fresh the following morning. He also looked pissed-off. Bevan had expressly requested that her DC not be required to take part in last night’s search. Calder was clearly very unhappy about this. It was fairly obvious every other officer had attended the call out but him. In the heat of the moment, Dani suspected she’d made an error of judgement.

              Taking a deep breath, she outlined the events of the previous night, including the revelation of Batra and Graves’ affair. ‘So, what are we thinking?’ Bevan asked the group, scanning each of their faces in turn and inviting their feedback.

              Andy stepped forward, his tone brusque. ‘If Joanna Endicott possessed information that could have ended Batra’s marriage, it gives him a motive to kill her.’

              ‘Yes, but that all depends on whether Philippa Graves actually told Joanna about the affair. I’m not sure we can trust anything the girl says. I think she’s a fantasist,’ Bevan responded.

              ‘The sexual relationship between Batra and Graves was real enough,’ Driscoll pointed out. ‘I sense that Joanna was a clever and perceptive type of woman. Whether Philippa told her about it or not, she may already have known.’

              ‘That’s a valid point,’ Bevan conceded.

              ‘But the fact Daniel Goff came back to the bothy for something, still makes him our prime suspect, along with his evasion of the police. If the feller’s innocent then why hasn’t he come forward, why all the cloak and dagger?’ said DC Kendal, the young man who had been researching Goff’s background.             

              ‘He might be frightened,’ Andy suggested grumpily, refusing to elaborate on the point.

              ‘Have we got any more information on the assault allegation made against Goff in Stirling?’ Bevan demanded.

              ‘The police records of the incident were very vague, but we’ve managed to track down the woman involved. Her maiden name was Imelda Cabello. She married last year and is now known as Imelda Watson. She’s 26, and lives in Glasgow with her husband.’ Driscoll handed the sheet of paper to Bevan.

              ‘Great work. I’ll get Sergeant Boag to pay her a visit. Any luck with old friends or workmates of Goff who still live in the area?’

              Driscoll shook his head and frowned. ‘Nothing yet, Ma’am. It was seven years ago and no one seems to remember the guy. Kendal had the idea of posting a query onto the College’s Facebook page to see if someone out there recalls him. We’re going to try that this morning.’

              ‘Excellent idea, Kendal.’ Bevan looked directly at the lad. He squirmed with embarrassment. ‘Let me know straight away if you get a result.’

Dani allowed Andy to drive the police jeep over to the bothy. They were going to inform the three witnesses that they were free to return home. Dani didn’t have the resources to protect them 24 hours a day. She was pretty sure none of the group would attempt to leave the country.

              Andy jumped inside and started up the engine before Bevan had even opened the passenger door. Once they were half-way to their destination, Dani broke the awkward silence. ‘I should have got Driscoll to call you last night Andy, I’m sorry. It was an insult to your rank.’

              Andy kept his eyes glued to the route ahead. ‘Why did you exclude me, Ma’am? It undermined my position in the team.’

              Dani sighed. ‘I’d taken the job of guarding the bothy so that one of us could get a good night’s sleep. I need a partner who can be on the ball even if I’m not. I rely on you.’

              ‘Is that really the only reason?’ He turned to look squarely at his colleague.

              Dani paused for a moment before replying. ‘No, it wasn’t. It’s your first active assignment since the heart attack. I didn’t want you to overdo it.’

              Andy bashed the steering wheel hard with both hands. The jeep lurched violently over a line of loose rocks before he regained control. ‘With respect Ma’am, it sounds like you’re talking about one of your elderly relatives.’

              ‘I wanted to ease you in gently. I realise now that may not be possible in a murder investigation.’

              ‘It’s not fair to dismiss me as unfit for proper service. You aren’t a doctor, Dani.’

              The words stung her. She and Andy were good friends, but he’d never shown her disrespect on the job before. ‘Perhaps it would make more sense for you to be assigned to another senior officer, someone who isn’t so emotionally bound up in your wellbeing. A person who didn’t see you lying there in agony on the ground; a young man with his life ebbing away from him...’ Dani turned her face towards the passenger window, determined that he would not see the tears that had formed in her eyes.

              ‘I think you may be right,’ he replied stonily.                

Chapter Thirteen

I
t was a crisp, sunny day, as Phil Boag made his way towards the Gallery of Modern Art in Royal Exchange Square.

              Imelda Watson-Caballo, as she was now known, worked as an assistant curator there. Phil had arranged to meet the woman during her lunch-break, in the public cafeteria situated on the second floor. The room was flanked by windows, each displaying an impressive vista of the sun-drenched city. Phil placed his warrant card in an open wallet on the table. Imelda strode straight towards him with her tray, sitting down in the seat opposite.

              The young woman before him was petite and very dark in colouring. Her clothes were chic and she wore a pair of impossibly high heels. Phil wondered how on earth she remained on them all day. Her lips were painted a deep plum and she separated them slightly in a pained smile.

              ‘Good afternoon, Sergeant Boag. How may I help you?’

              ‘I’m a member of the Major Incident Team investigating the murder of Joanna Endicott and the disappearance of Daniel Goff.’

              Imelda grimaced. ‘I thought you might be. Am I in trouble?’

              Phil leant forward. ‘Why do you ask that?’

              She fiddled with a serviette, her burgundy nails contrasting sharply with the white material. ‘Because I have information about Goff, but I never came forward to tell the police.’

              ‘Well, you can tell me all about it now,’ he replied gently.

              ‘It’s rather embarrassing, really. My husband doesn’t know it happened.’

              ‘There’s no specific reason why he needs to find out. Your case is unrelated, but it may give us an insight into Goff’s character and behaviour traits.’

              Imelda nodded her head. ‘Daniel Goff was my tutor in English when I first came to Stirling. I was 18 years old and in a class of about twenty other students. I knew fairly early on that Daniel found me attractive. He gave me a great deal of attention and we often chatted about other stuff, like music and the cool places to go out in the city. I was very young, Sergeant Boag, and a long way from home.’

              Phil considered how back then Imelda was only a year older than his eldest daughter was now. It made his skin crawl. ‘What was Daniel Goff like? We don’t have a very strong sense of his personality.’

              ‘Oh, Daniel was quiet. He was an intellectual type who enjoyed playing guitar and composing songs. I’d go as far as to say he was sensitive. But he had this other side to him.’ Imelda looked up and caught Phil’s eye, as if to make sure he was following her meaning. ‘Daniel was insecure, I think. He was 27 years old but still living a student life; he didn’t own a property, have a steady girlfriend or even a permanent job. I believe he shied away from those things but at the same time knew it was what society expected of him.’ Imelda lowered her gaze once again. ‘We began a sexual relationship after a month of me being in his class. We always met at his rented flat, never on campus. I was naïve and thought I was in love with him. A couple of weeks before the course was due to finish, Daniel told me we couldn’t continue seeing one another. I was angry with him, realising I’d been used, I suppose. In the final week, after one of the lessons, I hung back. Daniel tried to pretend I wasn’t there. It made me furious. I said that I loved him and how could he turn his back on me so easily. Very calmly, he went to the classroom door and shut it. He walked slowly back towards me. Daniel took me by the arms and said, ‘if you really love me, then prove it.’’ Imelda had begun shredding the napkin. Little white feathers of paper filled the table in front of her. ‘I let him have sex with me, against the desk. But it was not pleasant. Daniel was angry and he was being very rough. I ended up with nasty bruises on my arms and thighs. At one point, he pinned me back by my hair and I had no way of getting free of him. When he had finished, Daniel released his grip on me. I ran from the room.’

              ‘You reported the incident to the university?’

              ‘Yes, I was in a terrible state when I returned to my dorm. One of my friends persuaded me to go to the welfare officer. She referred the case to the police.’

              ‘But charges were never brought?’ Phil prompted.

              Imelda smiled ruefully. ‘I consented to the sex, Sergeant Boag. There was absolutely no hope of taking things further. The police officers were very kind and they let me down gently. He got into trouble with the College, though. He left almost immediately. I don’t think Daniel even taught another lesson.’

              ‘Did Goff have any friends, on the staff or in the surrounding area?’

              ‘During the time we were seeing each other I don’t recall meeting any of his friends. He was involved with a local band. They were a group of musicians who played gigs in some of the city pubs. Daniel practiced with them occasionally. I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you any of their names.’

              ‘I’m sorry to ask you this Imelda, but could you describe for me again the way in which Goff restrained you. It could be important for our current investigation.’

              The woman thought carefully for a moment. Phil experienced a flicker of hope as Imelda unconsciously placed a protective hand at her neck.               ‘He used his body weight to keep me pinned against the desk. That was really enough. Daniel was much taller and larger than me. He grabbed at my upper arms and my thighs, sometimes digging his fingernails into my skin, which really hurt.’ She paused, seeming to be experiencing the pain all over again, squeezing her eyes tight shut. ‘Towards the end, he took hold of my ponytail with his left hand and with his right, he pressed down on my neck. That was when I thought he might actually kill me. When he was spent, he released his hold. I was able to shove him away and get out of the classroom.’

              ‘Are you absolutely certain he held your neck?’

              ‘Yes, but it wasn’t a hold so much.’ Imelda leant forward and demonstrated on Phil. ‘He sort of pressed down on my windpipe with the flat of his palm, see?’

              Phil nodded. ‘I get it. Would you be willing to make a formal statement to that effect, Mrs. Watson- Caballo?’

              The young woman sighed. ‘Yes, of course. I’d been debating about whether or not to inform the police ever since I saw his name on the news. Tell me Sergeant Boag, do you really think Daniel killed this poor woman?’

              ‘I don’t know for certain, Imelda, but it’s looking increasingly likely that he did.’

Chapter Fourteen

‘Y
ou realise that if I hadn’t had the heart attack, I’d be a sergeant by now,’ Andy stated levelly, swilling the remainder of his Merlot around the long-stemmed glass.

              ‘Yes,’ Dani replied, slowly chewing her lamb and washing it down with a sip of mineral water. She’d decided to ask her partner out for a meal in one of the restaurants in Ardyle. Bevan was amazed when he actually agreed. 

              ‘The funny thing is, I wasn’t even all that ambitious before. Now, it’s all I think about. I’m absolutely determined to move up through the ranks.’

              Dani didn’t wish to get into another argument with him, but at the same time felt as if he wanted her advice. ‘Give it time. It will take the management that bit longer to accept you’re ready for it now,’ she gave a half-smile, ‘a bit like being a woman, in fact.’

              To her great relief, Andy grinned back. ‘It didn’t take you long to progress though, did it?’

              ‘I’m a fast-track graduate in her mid-thirties with no husband and no kids. I’ve devoted everything to my career and it’s been duly noted upstairs. You’ve got Carol and Amy and were always intent on getting the balance right between work and home. I don’t want to see you lose the perspective that you used to have. I always thought it was incredibly healthy - excuse the irony.’

              ‘If you ignore the beer and the greasy takeaways, you’re probably right.’ Andy pushed away his empty glass and reached for the water jug, as if to emphasise his change of lifestyle.

              ‘Don’t become like one of those people who suddenly lose a lot of weight, learn how to make more of their looks and immediately become attractive to the opposite sex. They always make bloody fools of themselves, because they’re not used to the attention. I knew so many girls like that at college. Half of them ended up pregnant and stuck with some lad with no prospects. They didn’t understand when to say no.’

              ‘I’m not intending on having an affair!’ Andy looked quite put out.

              Bevan shook her head vigorously, chuckling at the same time. ‘I didn’t mean it that way, it was just an analogy. I meant, now you’re fit and clean-living and feel like you can take on the world, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the world is worth having.’

              Andy looked at his boss as if she’d lost her marbles.

              ‘Just focus on Carol and Amy, the rest will follow at its own pace,’ Bevan clarified.

              ‘Good. Because I thought for a moment there you were actually trying to give me relationship advice.’ Andy lifted an eyebrow archly.

              Dani laughed.

              The restaurant Bevan had chosen was a bistro facing the market square which boasted an impressive menu of local produce. Mid-week it was quiet. An older couple were sitting a few tables away from them. After paying their bill, the pair approached the two detectives.

              ‘Excuse me, but are you the police officers working on the case of the woman killed up on Ben Lomond?’ The man asked politely.

              ‘Yes, that’s correct,’ Dani replied. ‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Bevan and this is my colleague, Detective Constable Calder.’

              The man nodded and gave a faint smile. Dani thought he was probably in his early sixties. His hair was almost completely gone, just a few wisps at his temples remained. ‘We’re staying at the Carraig and have seen you both in there. You always seemed in such a hurry. My wife and I used to live in Ardyle. Now we just come back to visit every so often.’

              Dani invited them to take a seat, sensing there was something the couple wished to talk about. She ordered coffees for the table. ‘When did you move away from Ardyle?’

              ‘Twenty years ago now,’ the woman replied. ‘My name is Joy Hutchison, this is my husband Bill. We lost our son here in 1983. It became difficult then for us to stay.’

              ‘Was he one of the schoolchildren lost on the mountain?’ Dani enquired gently.

              ‘Aye,’ Bill continued. ‘Neil Hutchison. Ten years old. When we heard about the woman found dead on Ben Lomond on the local news, we decided to come and stay nearby. We aren’t ghouls Detective Chief Inspector, but it somehow felt appropriate.’

              Joy added a dash of milk to her coffee. ‘We were upset, you see. It will sound very odd, but we like to think that Neil and the others help to protect people who climb the mountain. There hasn’t been a single death out there in the National Park since that terrible night. People have got lost, certainly, but they’ve always been located alive and well. This time it was different, which is why we needed to come back.’

              ‘This case is quite unlike the situation with your son, Mr and Mrs Hutchison. Joanna was murdered by somebody. It wasn’t simply a case of getting into difficulties on the mountain. Sadly, there wasn’t a great deal that anyone could have done to save her. I can assure you both we are doing everything we can to catch her killer.’

              ‘Oh, we know it’s not the same,’ Bill responded quickly. ‘But we believe we may be needed, nonetheless. I think we could help you in some way.’

              Dani desperately wanted to make this poor couple feel as if they could contribute something to the investigation. ‘Did you take part in the original search – when the schoolchildren first went missing?’

              ‘Yes,’ said Bill. ‘As soon as we heard they were in trouble we headed out. The mountain rescue chaps were in charge. We couldn’t fault them. The conditions made the landscape almost unrecognisable. It was frightening how altered everything was by the weather. People don’t realise the dangers. It was impossible to get your bearings in the thick fog.’

              ‘The records indicated that your son’s teacher led his group in the wrong direction?’

              ‘That is true,’ Joy said. ‘But we were out there too that afternoon and could never possibly have blamed him for it. You could barely make out the hand in front of your face. Mr Ford did the best he could. If we were going to attribute blame, Bill and I would have looked to the Headmaster at the time, Samuel McAlister. He was the one who planned the expedition and was in overall charge.’

              ‘Although, we never harboured any grudge,’ Bill swiftly clarified. ‘The schoolchildren had been out on the hillside before. We’d taken Neil and Louise to the National Park often enough ourselves. If we’d felt it was too risky, we’d never have given permission for him to go.’

              ‘What happened to Mr Ford and Mr McAlister - were either of them found to be at fault?’ Andy asked.

              ‘There was an inquiry, yes. The Procurator Fiscal was involved too. It was ruled as death by misadventure for all the three children. McAlister remained as Head of the Primary until his retirement maybe five years later. Jack Ford was never quite the same afterwards. He still taught, but he didn’t do all the football training and outward bound stuff he’d done before.’

              ‘It was a shame, really, because Jack was good for the local children. But I understand why he stopped.’ Joy finished her drink. ‘We’ll be heading back to the hotel now.’

              As the couple stood to leave, Bill Hutchison suddenly added, ‘my wife and I will be here in Ardyle until your investigation is over. If you do ever need our help, you know where to find us.’