Skinner's Rules

special confectionery. Skinner saw Mackie’s hand tremble as he reached out to pick it up. For the first time, he noticed that his assistant was deathly pale.

Oh Christ, he thought, as the box was lifted from the drawer, knowing - without needing to see - what it contained. Mackie raised the lid and held it out towards them. And as Yobatu looked into the box, so Skinner looked at him. For the merest second he thought that he saw a flicker of confusion in the eyes. Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced by a look of terrible exultation.

Finally, Skinner forced himself to look, and as he did so, he became aware of the odour of decay, dissipated by time. Shun Lee; or at least the missing pieces. Martin turned away and retched. Still trembling, Mackie returned the box to its position in the drawer.

30

When Skinner spoke he was suddenly hoarse. ‘Toshio Yobatu, I am arresting you in connection with the murder in Glasgow of one Shun Lee. You have already been advised of your right to remain silent. You will accompany Mr Martin and me to police headquarters at Fettes Avenue, to assist us with our enquiries into several incidents which we believe are related to this murder.

‘Let’s go, now. Mackie, complete the search and advise Madame Yobatu of what has happened.’

Without a word, Yobatu accompanied the two men to Skinner’s car. He sat silent in the back, between them, as the capless constable drove back into the centre of Edinburgh. It was Sunday, and so they arrived unobserved.

Martin signed them in, with their prisoner.

‘Sergeant,’ he instructed the duty officer, ‘take Mr Yobatu to the interview room. He is to be accompanied by two men at all times. And make sure they’re big guys.’

He and Skinner went upstairs to the Chief Superintendent’s office, where they collapsed into chairs.

‘Good thinking down there, Andy. I don’t want an escape, and I don’t want any bloody hara- kiri either. This man has to be as dangerous an individual as we’ve ever seen, so make sure that the guys on guard duty are up to it.’

Suddenly Skinner sighed. ‘Let’s have a coffee, and wait for Brian to get back. Then he and I will get a statement out of the guy. You can get back to spycatching.’

Martin noticed a change in Skinner. With the adrenalin surge of the confrontation dissipated, he looked spent.

‘Boss, I should be saying “well done”, but instead I’m thinking, “what’s up”. You should be doing handsprings, but you’re not. Don’t tell me that bloke got to you.’

Skinner shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t know. It’s just a bit of an anticlimax, I suppose. I was expecting some master criminal, and all we wind up with is some poor bastard who’s been driven stark raving mad by his kid’s murder. He is a loony, Andy. After all that, he’s a loony. He just sat there and took it. No bluster, no denial, no nothing. I’ll bet you he’ll turn out to be unfit to plead.

‘I didn’t expect that. My famous instinct told me that if we found anyone at the end of the day, it wouldn’t be someone like that. An evil sod, yes, but sane, and with some sort of a purpose. Well, I was wrong.’ He shook his head. ‘I shouldn’t care. It’s catching him that counts. But I feel let down. Maybe I wanted him to have a go, to have a physical confrontation with the dark beast. As it is, I just feel empty. We’ve got him bang to rights and I don’t feel a thing.’

Martin leaned towards him and spoke gently. ‘Bob, this has taken more out of you than you realise. If Sarah was here she’d say you were reacting naturally to extreme stress.’

Skinner looked at him and smiled. ‘Sarah. Yes, I’ll call her. Alex too. She’ll be in Glasgow by now.’

31

When Mackie returned an hour later, Andy had gone. The newly promoted inspector told Skinner that nothing else had been found, other than the incriminating drawer.

Madame Yobatu had been stunned by her husband’s arrest.

‘Did she say anything when you told her?’ Skinner asked.

‘Nothing at all, boss. I told her that her husband had been arrested, and why. I told her about the weapons - not about the other, of course. She didn’t say a word. Just nodded, and went back to her children. I offered to leave Maggie Rose there, and she agreed.’

‘Okay, Brian, that’s fine. I didn’t really expect anything else. Right, I’ll call Willie Haggerty now, in Strathclyde, and tell him to get his arse through here, pronto. Then you and I will go and take a statement from our man, and wrap this thing up.’

But Skinner’s earlier assessment of Yobatu had been all too accurate.

The two detectives entered the drab, windowless interview room and signalled the uniformed guards to leave. Yobatu sat at a table in the middle of the room, his forearms on the surface, his head bowed. A mug of tarry black tea sat untouched before him.

The detectives sat down on two hard chairs opposite the man. Mackie slipped two cassettes into a tape- recorder on the table, and switched it to RECORD.

Skinner faced the microphone and spoke formally. ‘I am Detective Chief Superintendent Robert Skinner, with Detective Inspector Brian Mackie. It is 5.30 p.m. on Sunday, November the twenty-fifth, and we are here to question Mr Toshio Yobatu, a Japanese citizen, in connection with the murders of Mr Michael Mortimer, of a person as yet unknown, of Mrs Mary Rafferty, and of Police Constable Iain MacVicar.

‘Mr Yobatu is also being held in connection with the deaths in Glasgow of Mr Shun Lee, and Miss Rachel Jameson. Later, officers from Stathclyde CID will arrive to question him about these events.’

He repeated, for the tape, the formal caution given to Yobatu earlier in the day. Then he turned towards the figure opposite.

‘Yobatu san, you were present today when we found, in your garage, certain items which could be linked to the events I have described. You admitted to me earlier that you were present at the scene of Miss Rachel Jameson’s death, and that you held her and Mr Michael Mortimer responsible for a slur upon your late daughter’s honour.

‘You said also that you held Mr Shun Lee to be guilty of your daughter’s murder, and that you were pleased that he had himself been killed. Do you now wish to make a full statement describing your part in these murders and explaining your reasons?’

Since they had entered the room, Yobatu had not moved a muscle. While Skinner spoke, and for several seconds afterwards, he sat with his head bowed, his gaze fixed on the space within the ‘V’ of his arms on the table.

Then, slowly, he raised his head. His eyes, unblinking, tracked across the table, but rose no higher than Skinner’s chest.

The big detective looked into the man’s face, and winced at what he saw.

The unforgettable fire that earlier had burned so fiercely was gone completely. The eyes were empty, devoid of expression, dead, and pitiful.

Speaking carefully, Skinner invited the man, for a second time, to make a statement.

There was no response. No movement. Not a flicker in those blank and awful eyes.

Skinner spoke again to the recorder. ‘The subject has declined to answer. I am now instructing that he be medically examined. This interview is at an end.’

Mackie switched off the tape. He followed Skinner from the room and sent the two constables back in.

Skinner went back to his office and called Sarah again. ‘Business this time, love. I’d like you to come up and take a look at Yobatu, to examine him physically, and then, if you agree that it’s necessary, to call in a psychiatrist.’

‘What are the symptoms?’