steepled his fingers, brooded for a minute, then asked Logan,'You still friends with that journalist scumbag?'
32
'All hail the conquering hero!' DI Steel was sitting in Logan's chair, feet up on his desk, a copy of that morning's Aberdeen Examiner open on her lap. 'Where the hell you been? I came in hours ago.' 'Really?' Logan stuck the brown plastic tray from the canteen down in front of her. 'Because Big Gary says you didn't get in till eleven. It's only quarter past.' Steel grinned,'Aye, aye: make with the bacon buttie, hero boy.' He handed over a tinfoil package and sat back against the room's only radiator. 'I didn't write the bloody thing, OK?' Steel unwrapped her buttie and tore a huge bite out of it. 'Chief Constable Baldy Brian wants to congratulate us personally for catching Leith. Of course, I put it all down to my inspirational leadership and--' 'You've got tomato sauce on your blouse.' The inspector peered down at her chest. 'Aw no' again!' 'Anyway,' Logan picked up his coffee and went to peel the Leith crime scene photos from the death board,'not as if makes any difference, is it? Doesn't get us any closer to catching the Flesher.' 'Are you mental?' 'Well, it doesn't, does it? He's still out there--' 'God, no' again ... Fine, be miserable. Your glass might be half empty, but mine runneth over. No' had a pat on the back from Baldy Brian for ages.' She took another massive bite, chewing happily. 'Mmmmph, mmm, mph- mmmm?' 'Yeah, I suppose. But not till Insch comes back.' He slipped the crime scene photos back in the Leith file, then stuck the whole thing in his out-tray. 'If there's nothing urgent on, I thought I'd go home and--' 'Oh no you don't! You heard the DCS last night: if Wiseman's slipping out the frame we need to find someone else to pin all this shite on. You and me are going through that 1987 case file with a nit comb.' 'You're kidding - we pulled a twenty-hour shift yesterday!' 'Aye, well feel free to whinge to your Federation Rep about it. And have one for me while you're there.' She polished off the last of her bacon buttie, scrunched up the tinfoil and lobbed it at the bin. Not even close. 'We've already been over the historical stuff, and--' 'And now we're doing it again. OK?' She sooked something out from between her teeth and chewed. 'Don't be such a work-shy bastard. Our pat on the back's not till after lunch: plenty of time to get cracking.' She pulled out her cigarettes and stood. 'Let me know how you get on. I'll be in a ... meeting. Yeah - anyone asks I'm in a meeting.'
Logan stifled a yawn, took another mouthful of coffee, and crawled back inside the McLaughlin case file. He hadn't been entirely honest with DI Steel - he'd not really read the whole thing before. Not all of it. He'd just skimmed the day-to-day stuff on his way to the post mortem and crime scene reports. Going through it from start to finish was something of a revelation. Once Detective Chief Inspector Brooks - this was 1987, before he'd got the promotion to DSI - had Ken Wiseman in his sights, he never looked at anyone else. As far as Brooks was concerned, Wiseman was guilty.
