nonentity. I don’t believe the story about the industrial tribunal; not for one second. Jackie simply threw that in for effect.
‘He thought that Medina was just a pipsqueak, stupid enough to try to steal a few quid from him. If he had thought that he was the sort who would set fire to even a single car out of revenge, then Medina wouldn’t have been sacked, he’d have fallen off a high building, or would have been a hit-and-run victim.
‘Jackie threw us that name as a bone, to set us on a false trail, while he starts his own investigation. We can warn all we like, but we won’t put him off pursuing his wife’s killer.’
‘Unless he did it himself?’ mused Donaldson, aloud.
‘Yes,’ said Rose, ‘we have to keep our minds open to that possibility. We’ve had no information that Charles has ever personally harmed anyone, but he has caused it. His closest associate, other than Carole, is, as we know, one Douglas Terry, the same man who was a suspect in the Indico payroll robbery. He went to work for Charles a couple of years afterwards and they’ve been as thick as thieves . . . now there’s a simile for you . . . ever since.
‘Terry’s official job is general manager of the betting shops and taxi businesses. But we know that he is the middleman into the loansharking and that, in every respect, he’s Jackie Charles’ fixer. His name and Jackie’s are linked inextricably.
‘Okay, we know that Charles was at Ibrox. But if he had wanted Carole dead for any reason he’d have told Terry, and Dougie would have seen that it was taken care of, specifically while Jackie was in a very public place.’
She looked across at Martin. ‘What do you think, sir? You saw Charles.’
The Chief Superintendent shook his head, slowly. ‘We can’t discount the possibility, but I don’t believe it. Neither does the Boss. When we gave him the news that Carole was probably dead in the fire, he was genuinely stunned, and he wasn’t acting. The second time we saw him, he’d worked out what had happened, and guessed that he’d been the target. He was quietly incandescent.
‘So, Maggie. Any thoughts on priorities?’
She nodded her red head. ‘Yes. One, trace Carl Medina and bring him in for questioning.
‘Two, go through the books of the car dealership for anything that might point us in the direction of someone with a grudge. Unlikely, I admit. I don’t think that Jackie’s legitimate business will give us any leads, but it has to be done.
‘Three, interview all of Charles’ known close associates, beginning with Douglas Terry, to see if we can pick up the slightest hint of anyone from whom Jackie might have been under threat.
‘Four, start pulling in the loansharks, at random. Lean on them until they cough up names of their biggest debtors, just to make us leave them alone.
‘Fifth, start pulling in his taxi drivers, off the street, to see what they might have heard. While we have them, check their driving licences, insurance situation, criminal background, everything else. If we find anything to show the person to be an unsuitable or illegal driver, we can go back to the court to have that particular licence removed.
‘Sixth, start interviewing the other taxi owners. Look for special grudges against Charles, and look for any hint that some of them might have got together to put a stop to his extortion.
‘Seventh, pull in every known gangleader in Edinburgh. Not just because we have an opportunity to make a nuisance of ourselves, but to see if any of them have heard anything from outside Edinburgh, about Charles being in trouble.
‘Eighth, using Special Branch, explore the criminal intelligence network throughout the UK to see whether that throws up any leads.’ She paused and looked at her colleagues, from one to the other.
‘That should be enough to go on with.’
Andy Martin leaned forward across his desk. He smiled in admiration yet again of Rose’s thoroughness. ‘I agree with all of those, Maggie, and I see the theme that runs through them. This isn’t just a murder investigation. It’s an opportunity at the very least to interfere with Jackie Charles’ illegal business interests, and at the maximum, to make it too risky or difficult for him to carry on with them.
‘So let’s pursue all of those lines of investigation. Use what manpower you need, but report to me at every stage. Neil McIlhenney and Sammy Pye, from my personal staff, are at your disposal too.
‘The first thing to do is find Carl Medina. The second is to get into the books of Charles’ legit businesses.’
He paused, and took a deep breath. ‘But the third . . . and this is another priority . . . is try to find his other records. Jackie’s criminal business is too extensive for it to have been conducted all in his head, or in Carole’s, or in Douglas Terry’s. Somewhere there have to be records, maybe bank books and evidence of cash deposits and movements.
‘We’ve worked for years in the belief that if we could find the nerve centre of his other business we’d have Charles by the balls. Twice in recent years we’ve had tips that there were books kept in properties belonging to his companies.’
Martin frowned. ‘In each case when we got our search warrant and got in there we found unfurnished apartments and empty safes. It was as if they had known we were coming. I want you to listen out for more whispers in the course of this investigation. We might be in luck next time.’
He paused. ‘The big complication in this investigation is the husband of the victim. You’re right, Mags. The DCC can warn all he likes. He could even take the guy into a small, dark room for half an hour. But it wouldn’t make any difference.
‘Jackie Charles will be after the man who killed his wife. He will run his own investigation alongside ours. If we can’t stop him, we might as well make what use of him we can. So from this time on, keep an eye on him, and on Douglas Terry.
‘You never know where the two of them might lead us.’
He stood up. ‘I’ve asked our press office to call a media briefing for one o’clock.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘That’s in five minutes.
‘Royston’s line has been melting all morning, but I told him to hold fire until the Boss and I had seen Charles and I was ready to make a statement in person.
‘Let’s go to meet the press, and start a few hares running.’
9
‘Your four o’clock appointment is here, sir.’ Ruth’s tone over the intercom was neutrally formal. It was the one which she used on the odd occasion on which the DCC summoned an errant officer for a reprimand.
‘
His supposition was all but confirmed a few seconds later when the door opened and Sergeant Masters entered briskly, in a sharply pressed uniform. She stood stiffly in front of his desk and saluted, looking nervous, her eyes unnaturally narrow. Her hair had grown since he had seen her last, and she had struggled to fit it inside her cap.
Skinner smiled broadly as he rose to his feet, returning her salute clumsily. ‘At ease, please, Sergeant. Take a seat.
‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you like CID?’
The expressive eyes widened. She shook her head at first, then nodded. ‘No, sir, I mean, of course I do, sir. I mean . . . oh God.’
He smiled again, moving from behind his desk, to the low leather chairs which surrounded his coffee table. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve confused you or embarrassed you,’ he said. ‘Come on and sit over here, and calm down, this is nothing to be nervous about.
‘I didn’t go into detail when I asked Ruth to make the appointment, but I should at least have made it clear that I didn’t expect you to come in uniform. You’re not on parade here, so take off that damn silly hat.’
Sergeant Masters sat where he indicated, arranging herself neatly, and tugging her uniform skirt down to cover her knees. She removed her cap and shook out her hair. ‘Then may I ask, sir, why am I here?’
