'Listen love,' said Bob, 'to what I have to say. We've got a media problem, and it could be messy. Stay where you are for now. Don't answer the phone, and don't answer the door until I get there. I'l give four quick buzzes so you know it's me.
'Before then I have to see the Chief, and I have to go to back Fairyhouse Avenue.'
'Why do you have to go there?' Her tone was one of bewilderment.
'Because I have to phone Sarah, and it just seems right to me that I do it from there.'
'Bob. This problem involves me, yes?' She sounded completely scared now.
'I'm afraid so, honey. You and I wil be al over the scandal sheets tomorrow, thanks to a wee man with a grudge. But don't you worry: things are under control, and hopeful y we can nip it in the bud.
'I'll be with you as soon as I can.' He ended the cal just as Alex reappeared in the doorway.
'Dad,' she said. 'I've got Mr Laidlaw on the line. He wants to speak with you.' Skinner nodded and followed his daughter through to the flat's main bedroom. The telephone was lying off its cradle on a bedside table. He sat down and picked it up. 'Mitch, hello. Sorry to break into your Saturday evening, but this fucking scandal sheet's left me no option.'
Skinner had known Mitchell Laidlaw socially for twenty years, as a fellow member of an informal group who gathered together on Thursday evening in North Berwick Sports Centre to play enthusiastic, if largely unskilled, indoor five-a-side football. However this was the first time the two had ever spoken on a professional footing.
Laidlaw's career had paralleled that of Skinner, as he had risen through the legal ranks to become Scotland's leading litigation solicitor, and finally, head of its largest law firm, Curie, Anthony and Jarvis, which Alex had joined a month earlier on leaving university.
' So I gather from your daughter, Bob.' Skinner was struck at once by his friend's tone. There was no hint of the normal Thursday-evening banter. Mitch Laidlaw sounded solemn and totally professional.
'Alex has read the article to me, and described the photographs. I admit that charging the people involved with breach of the peace is a nice idea, but even if the Sheriff convicted, he'd be overturned at appeal for sure, and your force would be open to an action for malicious prosecution. So you were right to veto that.
'As for an injunction, I'm afraid that we just don't have time to injunct successful y. By the time we had drafted it, and rounded up a judge, the article would be in the hands of the broadcast media, and I suspect in the hands of the Spotlights sister publications.'
Skinner growled. 'You mean there are more of these damn things?'
'Oh yes. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with this magazine on behalf of angry clients. There's an American version, one in Australasia, and issues in French, German, Spanish and Japanese.
The chain is US-owned, and each version is marketed purely through supermarkets, at checkouts and at in-house newsstands.'
'Okay, if we can't stop them, can we sue the bastards?'
On the other end of the line, he heard Laidlaw take a deep breath.
'Can I ask a very delicate question, Bob?'
'If you have to.'
'I do. Are you completely confident of Miss Masters' integrity?'
'One hundred per cent,' the policeman replied without hesitation.
'Good. In that case, I'd say that she has a very strong case in an action for defamation. The paper implies beyond challenge that her relationship with you is motivated by a hope of personal advantage.
Tell me Bob, what was the sequence of events here? How did the relationship – which Alex says you don't deny – how did it develop?'
Skinner reflected for a few moments. 'Let's see. The first time I ever met Pam was when I chaired a promotion board for prospective sergeants. It was a twenty-minute interview and she passed unanimously.
'A few months later, my Executive Assistant was promoted and I was looking for a successor. I remembered Pam, interviewed her and gave her the job. My marriage was in trouble before that. In fact her appointment virtual y coincided with my moving out.
'We worked together well and amicably for a while. We had a few late shifts, which led to a few meals together. I realised early on that I was attracted to her, but our physical relationship didn't develop until after Sarah had taken our son to the States. We spent two nights under the same roof, once at her place when I was snowed in, and once in Gul ane. But we didn't actual y sleep together until my separation from Sarah had been legal y recognised. I can give you dates later, Mitch, but that's the sequence of events.'
'That's good,' said the lawyer. 'Now what about Miss Masters' post as your assistant?'
'As soon as I saw how things would develop, I moved her out of my office. I transferred her to Andy Martin's personal staff, and took Sergeant Neil Mcllhenney as her replacement.'
'Ah!' said Laidlaw. 'So because you and she were entering a physical relationship, Miss Masters actually lost her important, fast-track job as your Executive Officer?'
'Absolutely.'
'Then al she has to do to pursue a defamation action is to decide on the quantum of the claim. That is, how much the accusation that she was prepared to sell herself for advancement is worth to her, or 38 at least how much a court is likely to think it worth.'
'What do you think?'
'Hmm.' Mitch Laidlaw contemplated. 'She has good career prospects, yes?'
'Yes. She was a late entrant, but she can expect to make Chief Inspector, as a minimum.'
'Well in that case, I think they'd settle out of court for at least a hundred and fifty thou. Maybe two hundred. Plus costs, of course.'
The solicitor paused again. 'She'll need to instruct me personally if she wants to proceed, but that can be done tomorrow.
'Now. About your own case. That's not so clear-cut, I'm afraid.'
'Why not?' Skinner protested.
'For a couple of reasons. First, you are a very senior officer. Even if Miss Masters sues successful y, the defence against an action by you could be that you used your position, a glamorous and powerful position, to turn the lady's head, or to pul her, if you want a Thursday-night term. Second, you may be separated legal y, but you are stil married.'
'Hold on, Mitch,' Skinner protested. 'The article says that Sarah went to the States on holiday and that I've been having it off behind her back.'
'No, Bob. You read it that way, but it didn't actual y say so. The phrase used was 'staying in the US with her parents'. In any event, their defence would be that an action for adultery would succeed, and if one was lodged and decree granted before your case reached the Court of Session we wouldn't have a chance.
'To sum up, if you instruct me I'll lodge a writ for defamation on Monday, but with no great expectation of success. In that case, any short-term benefit which may accrue to you would be lost when you were forced to drop your action and meet defence costs.'
The big policeman sighed. 'So what do you recommend?'
'I wil issue a statement on your behalf, saying that your relationship with Miss Masters is private and personal, with no professional overtones, and that it began after you and your wife entered a formal separation agreement. I wil say also that I have advised you of the potential for an action for defamation, and that you wil consult with me on Monday to determine the course of proceedings.
'That'l put the Spotlight thing into some sort of perspective, and it'll make the rest of the media think carefully about carrying on the story.'
Skinner grunted agreement. 'Okay. I know I couldn't be in better hands, Mitch. So you do as you advise. How wil you go about it?'
'I'll give the statement to our marketing officer, and tell her to issue it in an hour. We'l say that you have nothing to add to the statement, but you'd better make sure anyway that your force press 39 people are briefed to refer to us all callers who come on looking for you or Pamela. If Alex has my home number, she'll have the marketing lady's as well.'
'Okay,' said Skinner. 'I'll alert everyone. Look, thanks again Mitch.
We'l speak on Monday.'
'Earlier if necessary,' said Laidlaw. 'Incidentally, Bob,' he added.
