Broken Skin (6 page)

Steel swore. 'We could have had an ID two bloody days ago!'

Logan just shrugged.

Someone clambered out of the patrol car opposite, turning up his collar and hurrying towards them, the rain drumming on his peaked cap as a dirty, battered-looking white Transit van bumped its way into the car park. The constable bent down and stuck his head through Logan's open window. 'You want us to cordon off the scene before the IB get started?' he asked, dripping.

Steel squinted at him through the smoke. 'No bloody point now, is there? Everything'll be washed away! Why the hell didn't you call it in when you found the sodding thing?'

The constable shrugged. 'Don't look at me: I was off sick!'

'Fine, yes, go. Cordon to your heart's content.' She scowled as he scurried off. 'Fat lot of bloody good this'll do us: damn thing looks like a charcoal briquette. You imagine any forensic evidence lasting through that, and all this?' indicating the torrential rain.

'Not really, no. But at least now we know that whoever did it is local.'

Steel nearly choked on her fag. 'Come on then, Miss Marple, astound me.'

'They spotted the Volvo on Tuesday night, yes? That means it was dumped and burned on Monday night/early Tuesday morning. Whoever did it was able to get home from here without a car.'

Grudgingly, Steel admitted he had a point - Brimmond Hill wasn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but it was close - anyone setting fire to the car they drove up here would be facing a long,
slow
trek into town. 'Kingswells?' It was on the other side of the hill.

'Maybe, but you'd break your neck in the dark if you didn't know where you were going.'

'Aye, well,' she said, as three IB technicians swore their way out of the dirty white van and started fighting with the blue plastic scene-of-crime tent, trying to get it up over the scorched wreck, 'there's no need to look so damn pleased with yourself - it doesn't get us any closer to catching him, does it?' She rolled down her window and pinged the last tiny nub of her cigarette out into the rain. 'Beginning to wonder if this whole case isn't a waste of time. Isn't like Fettes was battered to death, is it? He was into kinky sex. It went wrong. He died.' She closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. 'The poor sod on the other end didn't do it on purpose, did they? Can you imagine having to live with that on your conscience?'

There was silence as they watched the IB getting drenched trying to protect trace evidence that probably wasn't there any more.

'This is such a bloody waste of time,' said Steel at last. 'Come on, let's get the hell out of here. If they find anything they'll call us.'

They didn't.

11

Quarter to nine in the morning was far too early to be hanging about outside a licensed sex shop on Crown Street, waiting for it to open. But Logan didn't have any choice - this was where DI Steel wanted to be. She was sitting in the passenger seat, munching her way through a packet of Bacon Frazzles, a tin of Irn-Bru sitting on the dashboard in front of her. A thin drizzle misted the windscreen, slowly turning the granite tenements a darker grey to match the sky. Logan yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, then settled down into his seat, wondering if it'd be OK to have a quick nap. Steel poked him in the shoulder. 'Heads up,' she said, pointing through the windscreen at a small bald man with glasses, all bundled up against the cold, carrying a big bunch of keys.

The shop was discreet, just a frosted window with the words SECRET TIMES etched on it in powder pink. The little bald bloke hunted through his keys, then squatted down and took the padlock off the roller grille covering the entrance. They waited until he'd unlocked the front door before climbing out of the car and into the cold drizzle.

Inside, Secret Times was lined with videos, DVDs and moulded latex. Mr Bald was in the process of peeling off his coat. 'We're no' open till ten,' he said, without a smile.

'Now is that any way to greet a valued customer, Frank?'

'Eh?' The man took off his rain-misted glasses, polishing them on the corner of his cardigan, before putting them back on again. 'Inspector Steel! How nice t'see you again.' This time he did smile, showing off a huge number of perfect white teeth, as if they'd come out of a packet. He cast a quick look at Logan, then back to Steel, lowering his voice to a stage whisper: 'I've no' got that
thing
in for you yet. They say it's still out of stock.'

Steel shook her head. 'I'm no' here about that, Frank. I need to know if you've seen this bloke.' She waited for Logan to pull out a copy of the e-fit picture - baseball cap, round face, glasses, huge moustache, goatee beard.

The bald man took the picture and frowned at it. 'Fit's he done?'

'None of your business. Recognize him? He'll be one of the BDSM crowd.'

Frank peered some more then handed it back. 'Nope. But we get a few of them in here; you want I should ask around?'

'Couldn't hurt.' She turned to leave then froze on the doorstep, turning back. 'And try lighting a fire under your supplier, eh? I'm in my sexual prime here, no point wasting it, is there?'

They tried the other licensed sex shops in Aberdeen, then had to make a last-minute dash back to FHQ for a meeting Steel had forgotten about with the Detective Chief Superintendent in charge of CID. 'If anyone asks,' she said, jumping out of the car, 'we were detained questioning a suspect, OK?' And then she was gone, scurrying into the building, complaining about not having time for a cigarette all the way.

Logan parked the car.

Up in the incident room, things carried on as normal - occasional telephone calls from public-spirited idiots claiming to have seen a blue Volvo estate, others who said they knew who the man in the e-fit was, some with alternative IDs for Jason Fettes, and a couple who actually claimed to have seen him shopping in Boots that morning. Even though he was still lying in a refrigerated drawer down in the morgue.

Logan sat with the admin officer, a skeletally thin woman in her mid-forties, going through the reams of actions churned out by the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System, and assigning them to the available officers. After that he went through the progress reports. And then, with nothing else needing his attention, wandered off to the archives to see how Jackie was getting on. Only she wasn't there.

Up at the reception desk, Big Gary looked at him as if he'd been dropped on his head as a child. 'She's in court, you idiot - they've got that special hearing thing for Macintyre.'

'Sodding hell.' He'd forgotten all about it.

'If you hurry, you can still go cheer on your beloved.' Gary dunked a KitKat in his huge mug of tea, then sooked off the melted chocolate. 'Eric says she's next up.'

Court One was a lot busier than normal - the public galleries crammed with people here to see Sandy Moir-Farquharson trying to get Rob Macintyre off with rape. The place always made Logan think of a converted cinema: magnolia walls, balcony and stalls, the screen replaced by a tall wooden platform topped with pillars and a portico, and above all that the royal coat of arms keeping watch over the proceedings. Even if it was covered with elastic bands, presumably pinged up from the floor below when the court was empty and no one was watching. An oval podium sat in front of the bench, the court clerk and his assistant on one side facing the unwashed masses, the prosecution and defence on the other - looking up at the Sheriff in his robes and silk drop.

Normally all this would have been done in a little room round the back, behind closed doors, but the defence had requested a hearing in open court and to everyone's surprise Sheriff McRitchie had agreed. According to station gossip it had something to do with his being a lifelong Dons fan in search of an extra season ticket.

Hissing Sid was in full flow as Logan sneaked in the back doors and found a seat at the end of a row, right behind DC Rennie. The constable was wearing his 'court appearance' suit - the one that always made him look like the accused, rather than a police witness.

Logan inched forward and whispered in Rennie's ear: 'How's it going?'

The constable turned and gave him a pained look. 'Not good. I thought Insch was going to tear Hissing Sid a new one when he started banging on about police bias and harassment.'

Logan pointed at the dock where Jackie glowered down at Sandy the Snake as he postured and played to the court. 'How's she doing?'

'Well ... she's not hit anyone
yet
.'

'Oh.'

'So, you see, Milord,' said the lawyer with a flourish, 'every time Grampian Police have investigated my client they have been forced to drop the charges, because the malicious claims of these women have been proven groundless. My client is an irritation to Inspector Insch and his ilk: an innocent man they can't "fit up" with--'

The prosecution was on her feet like a shot. 'Milord - I must object!'

Sandy didn't even wait for the Sheriff to rule on it, just smiled his oily smile and apologized. 'I merely meant that while we all have our crosses to bear, Grampian Police seem to have their axe to grind ...'

Logan scanned the court. It didn't take long to make out the huge, angry figure of DI Insch, looking as if his head was about to explode. He was going to be a nightmare to deal with after this. Rachael Tulloch - the deputy fiscal left in charge while the PF was off sunning herself on a beach in the Seychelles - wasn't looking any happier, sitting at the central desk next to the prosecution scribbling furiously while Moir-Farquharson put on his one-man show.

The lawyer held up a clear plastic evidence pouch so everyone could see the contents. 'Can you identify this item, Constable Watson?'

Jackie nodded. 'It's the knife Macintyre attacked me with.'

The lawyer smiled. 'That would be for a
jury
to decide, Constable. You say he attacked you with this knife, but your labs couldn't find a single fingerprint from my client on it. Could they?'

'He was wearing gloves.'

'So you have no proof at all that this knife belongs to my client, or that he'd ever used it?'

'He attacked--'

'Please answer the question, Constable."

'We ... we have no
empiric
evidence, but--'

'You have no evidence.' He turned and faced the Sheriff, smiling up at the man. 'they have no evidence, Milord. My client was out jogging in preparation for tomorrow's match against Falkirk and stopped this woman to ask for directions.
She
attacked
him
.'

'That's a load of--'

'Constable!' Sheriff McRitchie waggled his gavel at her. 'I will not warn you again!'

Jackie shut her mouth and seethed.

'Thank you, Milord. You assaulted Mr Macintyre, didn't you, Constable Watson? Even after you had nearly crippled him, cracked two of his teeth, and had him handcuffed on the ground - you assaulted him!'

'Boll...' she stopped herself. 'I restrained him: that was all!'

'You kicked him in the ribs, it's in the photographs!' Hissing Sid held the glossy eight-by-tens up as proof.

'He fell. Ask DC Rennie.'

'You've been warned for excessive force before, haven't you, Constable?' And that was how it went for the next five minutes: he attacked Jackie's credibility as a witness, made her out to be little more than a thug with a warrant card. She looked ready to throttle him by the time he was finished.

'Milord,' he performed a slow pirouette, and pointed at the footballer, sitting all prim and proper like a good boy, holding his mum's hand, 'Robert Macintyre is an upstanding member of this community, a hero to many, an inspirational figure to children everywhere, a man who works tirelessly for local charities. We all heard Constable Watson admit that there is
no evidence
against my client. I've shown that the identifications obtained from these so-called "victims" are flawed to say the least. Let's not forget that Grampian Police were adamant that Laura Shand was attacked by Robert Macintyre, yet now we find that someone else has confessed to that crime. And most important of all: my client has an alibi for each and every night these rapes are supposed to have taken place. Milord, given all these
facts
, I have to ask why this frivolous and malicious case is being pursued. Surely it behoves the Procurator Fiscal's office to cease these proceedings before they waste even more of the taxpayers' money.'

The Sheriff pursed his lips, cogitated for a moment, then asked the Deputy PF if she had anything to add at this point. Rachael Tulloch didn't look happy as she stood to say she'd have to consult with her superiors. She'd pulled her long, frizzy, not-quite-red hair back in a severe ponytail and it was beginning to unravel along with her case.

There was an exasperated sigh, then the Sheriff called for a half-hour recess.

Jackie marched down from the stand, glaring at Hissing Sid the whole time. The lawyer just turned his back on her and shook the hand of his smiling client. 'Can you believe this shite?' she demanded, back at the prosecution bench. 'Where the hell did Macintyre get an alibi from?'

'His bloody fiancee,' said the Deputy PF, groaning. 'She now swears blind he was with her every night. Why does stuff like this always have to happen when the PF's away?'

Jackie stared at the footballer with his expensive suit and sticky-out ears. 'He's going to walk, isn't he.' It wasn't a question.

The Deputy PF scowled and dug out her mobile phone. 'Not if I have anything to do with it.'

Logan slumped in the visitor's chair on the other side of DI Steel's desk, while the inspector battered away at her computer keyboard. 'Oh, cheer up for God's sake,' she told him, 'it's not the end of the world, is it?'

He shrugged and went back to staring out at the grey granite bulk of Marischal College. The misting drizzle had given way to heavy rain, bouncing off the jagged spires, hammering down on the black tarmac streets and concrete pavements. Drenching the just and unjust alike.

'You know,' Steel stopped typing for a moment, 'I remember when Macintyre was a kid, wee bugger was never out of trouble, but you could always rely on his mum to lie for him.' Putting on a broad Aberdonian accent for, '"Oh, no, he couldnae hiv burnt doon yer man's sheddie, he wiz with me a'night!"'

'Arson's a long way from rape. And it's his fiancee this time, not his mum.'

'Aye, well, you've got to start somewhere, haven't you?' The inspector finished typing with a flourish. 'Right, they've cut our manpower budget, but I think we can still do this if we concentrate on the bondage scene and porn merchants.' She smiled and hoicked her feet up onto the desk, scattering a small pile of reports. 'I tell you, Laz, I've got a really good feeling about this one. We're going to get a quick result. I can feel it in me water.'