The woman offered a glance back in Fox’s direction as she followed them.
‘Know her?’ Kaye asked, his mouth close to Fox’s left ear.
‘Name’s Evelyn Mills,’ Fox admitted. ‘She’s Complaints, same as us.’
‘And she wears Chanel.’
Pitkethly was standing in the doorway of the interview room. The look she gave Fox told him it had been her decision to bring Glenrothes in. He nodded to let her know he’d have done the same.
‘What does he say?’ he asked.
‘Got a call from his uncle’s number. Caller hung up. Another call, same thing happened.’ She folded her arms. ‘Wondered what was going on, decided to go ask him in person, but got halfway and changed his mind.’
‘Maybe that’s what happened, then.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You don’t sound convinced.’
She glowered at him and decided against answering. Fox, Kaye and Naysmith watched her stride down the corridor away from them.
‘Home sweet home,’ Kaye said, making to enter the interview room. Fox saw that Naysmith was lifting a heavy-looking shoulder bag from the floor at his feet.
‘That stuff you wanted,’ the young man explained. ‘Took me half the night, a ream of paper and a change of printer cartridges.’ He made to hand the contents of the bag to Fox. ‘You’ll never guess how many hits there were on Francis Vernal’s name.’
He looked stunned when Fox got it exactly right.
It was over an hour before Mills had the chance to call Fox. He hesitated a moment before answering.
‘Your girlfriend?’ Kaye guessed.
‘Yes, Inspector Mills?’ Fox said into the phone, letting her know he had company.
‘I’m not sure what this means for the surveillance,’ she told him.
‘Me neither.’
‘If we catch Carter talking to Scholes and owning up to something …’
‘Might be inadmissible,’ Fox concurred.
‘I’ve got the Procurator Fiscal’s office working on the pros and cons, but knowing them, it’ll take a while.’ She paused. ‘Might be safer just to pull the plug.’
‘On the other hand,’ Fox reasoned, ‘the tap is on Scholes’s phone, not Carter’s. And Scholes isn’t the one CID have in their sights.’ It was Fox’s turn to pause. ‘How’s it looking for Carter?’
‘His superintendent tells us you were the one who came up with the left-hand/right-hand thing on the revolver.’
‘That’s true.’
‘It’s all circumstantial, of course…’
‘Of course,’ he agreed.
‘But it might add up to something.’
‘Foul play?’
‘Yes.’
‘A murder inquiry?’
‘Quite possibly.’
‘Based here?’ Fox looked around the small room.
‘It’s the nearest station. We’d have to send in our own team, naturally.’
‘Naturally. CID and the Complaints working together?’
‘If that’s what the bosses decree.’
‘Scholes, Michaelson, Haldane…?’
‘Sidelined.’
‘Sounds as if it’s going to be pretty hectic around here.’
‘You plan to stay put?’
‘Until told otherwise.’
‘Malcolm… you realise you’re a witness? We’ll need to ask you about Alan Carter.’
‘No problem.’
‘Scholes is already stirring things.’
‘Oh?’
‘Says you were on the scene pretty fast.’
‘Not half as fast as him and Michaelson.’
‘Difference is, they’d been called to the cottage.’
‘I’m happy to answer any questions, Inspector Mills.’
‘See you soon, then,’ she said, ending the call.
Fox relayed everything to Kaye and Naysmith, then told them he was stepping outside for a breath of air. Across the other side of the car park, Brian Jamieson was standing next to his scooter. There was a woman alongside him with some sort of recorder slung over one shoulder and headphones clamped to her ears. She was holding a microphone in front of Jamieson.
Local radio was interviewing local stringer.
Fox walked over. Jamieson had already spotted him and was telling the woman who he was. The microphone swung towards him.
‘I need a word,’ Fox told Jamieson.
‘Inspector,’ the young woman said, ‘can I just ask you for a comment on the arrest of Paul Carter?’
Fox shook his head and then angled it into the car park, knowing Jamieson would follow. That way, he would look important, and Fox got the feeling he’d want to look important in front of his colleague-cum- competitor.
‘We saw him being lifted,’ Jamieson was saying as he caught up with Fox. ‘Is that him off to Glenrothes?’
‘What made you go into the petrol station?’
‘Pit stop. After you left the scene, I was there the best part of two hours. Needed a caffeine hit.’
‘The attendant knew Paul Carter?’
Jamieson shook his head. ‘It was the car he described, rather than the man.’
‘So you can’t be sure it actually was Carter?’
Jamieson stared at him. ‘The forecourt’s covered by CCTV. I had to wait for the garage owner to okay me seeing the playback. That’s why I didn’t come forward sooner. No doubt about it, Inspector – it’s Paul Carter caught on camera.’
‘And he drives off afterwards?’
‘Yes.’
‘Still heading towards the cottage?’
‘Is he saying it’s coincidence?’
‘He’s saying he did a U-turn.’
Jamieson was thoughtful. ‘Camera only covers the pumps.’ He had moved ahead of Fox so he was facing him. ‘Funny, isn’t it?’
‘What?’
‘Paul Carter… so close by his uncle’s place the night the uncle decides to do away with himself. And who are the first two officers on the scene? Paul Carter’s best buddies.’
Fox kept his face a blank. ‘What made you think to ask the attendant if he’d seen anything suspicious?’
Jamieson gave a twitch of the mouth. ‘Maybe a hunch. Hunches have got me where I am today.’
‘You’re a regular Quasimodo,’ Fox agreed, heading for the police station’s back door. Waiting for him on the other side stood Ray Scholes, hands in pockets, feet apart.
‘You know who he is?’ Scholes cautioned.
Fox agreed that he did.
‘Are you giving him anything?’
