A Dark Shadow Falls (17 page)

              ‘Where were the knife wounds positioned on Nancy’s body?’

              Hawthorn indicated the areas on his own torso. ‘The majority were to her back and side. We assume that she was lying, facing away from the bedroom door when the killer struck.’

              ‘Any sign of the murder weapon?’

              ‘Not so far, Ma’am. I’ve got officers doing a sweep search up the hillside at the rear. The intruder got in through the kitchen door. The neighbour says the Macallans kept a spare key under a plant pot in the garden.’

              ‘For heaven’s sake,’ Dani muttered. ‘I expect it took him about five minutes to locate the thing.’

              ‘The security light outside has been smashed. It looks like he made off with a cash box. According to one of Macallan’s employees, it contained the day’s taking from the garage he ran in the centre of the village. It was a few hundred pounds, max.’

              ‘It doesn’t seem a great deal for two lives.’

              ‘We’re hoping to lift prints from somewhere in the house, but the chances are the perpetrator was wearing gloves.’

              ‘Are you aware of the Murphy murder in Dundee?’ Dani asked.

              ‘Aye, I followed it on the news. The woman there was stabbed too, wasn’t she?’

              ‘Multiple stab wounds to the back and shoulders. Just like Kenneth Macallan. I strongly recommend that you give DI Gordon Alexander a call. He’s in charge of the case. There are strong indications here that we may be looking at the same attacker in both instances.’

              ‘But haven’t they got someone in custody for the Dundee murder?’

              Dani nodded. ‘Since when has that been any guarantee that the guy was guilty?’

              Hawthorn chuckled. ‘I’ll get on to Alexander as soon as we return to the station.’ The man lowered his voice. ‘You realise that this may mean we have some kind of serial offender on our hands?’

              ‘Yes,’ Dani said carefully. ‘I do.’

Chapter 30

B
evan led the way back to Calder’s car, her mobile phone clamped to her ear. ‘So when
exactly,
was the guy released?’ She demanded. ‘Okay, well thanks for your help, Sally.’

              Dani climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door, waiting for Andy to join her. ‘Fisher’s been out of prison for five days,’ she said flatly. ‘He could have done this.’

              ‘But he couldn’t have killed Morna Murphy,’ Andy replied, turning the vehicle round in the middle of the road and heading back in the direction of Perth.

              ‘No,’ Dani replied softly, staring out of the window at the lush, green fields. ‘What about Mark Bannerman? He’s been out there somewhere for over a year. If he was the one who murdered the Fishers, then these other killings could be down to him, too.’

              ‘But why wait so long before striking again and then murdering twice within such a short space of time? It doesn’t make any sense.’

              Bevan turned to look at her companion. ‘What if Bannerman was living in another part of the country up until recently. Maybe he’s only come back to east Scotland in the last few months.’

              ‘Or perhaps the Fisher case generated so much publicity that he had to lie low. If Bannerman wanted Eric Fisher to get the blame for the murders, then he’d have to rein himself in for as long as possible, otherwise it would be obvious to the world that it wasn’t an incidence of family annihilation at all.’

              ‘Of course,’ Dani replied with feeling. ‘Whoever killed Peggy and the children would have to suppress any urge they had to do it again. But after nearly a year of waiting, the man couldn’t control himself any longer and he started killing once more.’

              Andy was about to say something but stopped.

              ‘What is it?’

              He shrugged his shoulders, keeping his vision fixed on the winding road ahead. ‘I don’t know. It’s a bit far-fetched.’

              ‘Go on, we need to consider everything.’

              ‘Well, what if these break-ins across the eastern region have something to do with this? Perhaps Bannerman had to find other ways to release his urges. It might have been like the next best thing. Sorry, it sounds a bit weird to say it out loud.’

              Dani furrowed her brow in thought. ‘Can we take a detour on the way back?’

              ‘Sure, Ma’am, where are we headed?’

              ‘To see a couple of old friends.’

*

Bill Hutchison appeared surprised but pleased to see the two officers. ‘Do come in,’ he said eagerly. ‘Joy is out shopping in town, I’m afraid.’

              ‘That’s okay. We won’t disturb you for long.’

              Andy put out his hand to the older man. ‘I’m glad to have the opportunity to see you again, Bill,’ Calder said. ‘I’ve wanted to tell you how impressed I was with the way you sprung that prostitution racket. You’ve got more balls than most men on the force. I’m not exaggerating, either. We’ve got so many box tickers these days you wouldn’t believe.’

              Bill sighed. ‘What Detective Sharpe and I did wasn’t really enough, if truth be told. There must be hundreds more girls still in that awful predicament.’

              They were led into the sunny lounge, where Dani took a seat on the sofa.

              ‘You can’t afford to start thinking that way, Bill.’ Calder laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘It’ll drive you round the twist. Just be satisfied with the small changes you were able to make.’

              ‘Can I offer you both a spot of afternoon tea?’

              ‘That won’t be necessary, thank you.’ Dani shifted forward. ‘Did you have any more ideas about the local burglaries – do you know if the police have come up with any suspects yet?’

              ‘They’ve certainly not made any arrests. But I
have
done a little bit of digging myself, yes.’ Bill rested his weight on the arm of a chair.

              Dani waited patiently for her friend to continue.

              ‘Joy and I invited some of the neighbours round for drinks last weekend. We took the opportunity to ask them a few questions.’

              ‘Nice cover.’ Andy nodded his head, looking impressed.

              ‘What we ascertained was that a couple of the houses which were broken into
had
used that carpet cleaning company recently – the one that Rita employed.’ Bill cleared his throat and looked sheepish. ‘So Joy and I booked an appointment with them ourselves. They came to do the work yesterday.’

              Dani sat bolt upright, but couldn’t help glancing at the soft, beige pile beneath her feet, thinking what a good job they’d done. ‘What did you do that for, Bill? These men could be extremely dangerous!’

              ‘Well, our theory was so speculative, that I felt the local detectives wouldn’t be interested. Also, when our grandsons were here for the weekend, they did make a terrible mess by the back door.’

              ‘What did you make of them?’ Calder asked with interest, ignoring his boss’s reservations and Bill’s comments on the house’s domestic upkeep.

              ‘We found the two men who came to be efficient and rather charming. There was an older chap by the name of Oliver and his nephew, Dean.’

              Andy reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the photograph of Mark Bannerman. ‘This was taken a couple of years back. Could this person be one of the men who came to your house yesterday?’

              Bill examined the image very closely. He shook his head. ‘No, Detective Constable Calder, that man isn’t the right age. I’d say that Oliver was in his forties and Dean in his twenties. The individual in your photograph is somewhere between the two.’

              ‘When you spoke with the neighbours, did any of them say they’d come into contact with the person who broke into their property – was there violence of any kind involved?’ Dani asked.

              ‘No, the break-ins tended to occur when the householders were out, as one would expect with a burglary. Most criminals do not wish to come face-to-face with the person they are robbing. It increases their chances of getting caught. A burglar who gets discovered in the house hasn’t done their job properly.’

              ‘Unless the point of breaking in wasn’t actually to steal stuff,’ Calder put in dryly.

              ‘But what else could it be?’ Bill asked innocently.

              ‘What else indeed,’ Dani replied.

              ‘Now, let me at least fetch you a cold drink. Joy will be home soon and she’d love to see you both. So you really can’t go dashing off without taking refreshment of some kind.’

Chapter 31

A
strong wind was whipping across the golden sands, but thankfully, it was at their backs as the three walkers proceeded along the shore to the cairn.

              Huw had to admit that the jumble of stones looked a little pathetic, standing as it did on the edge of a messy building site. The machinery sat motionless around it, like a group of inanimate worshippers at the foot of a sacred monument.

              Jilly climbed the mound ahead of them, carefully picking up the loose stones and attempting to reassemble the structure as best she could.

              Grant Bryant strode briskly around the hillock, closely observing the scene. ‘It’s certainly a cairn. I’m amazed that the landowner never mentioned its existence on this spot when the property was sold to us.’

              ‘I believe the folk who passed on the property to you didn’t know the island at all well. The bothy and its garden were all part of a bequest. One that was obviously unwanted.’

              ‘Why were the Macfie clan so important to the history of Colonsay?’

              Huw was surprised by Bryant’s apparent interest. ‘The Macfies are one of the oldest of the Scottish clans. Colonsay is their ancestral home. The family was understood to have a mystical connection to this place. That is why the landmarks associated with the clan have always been so special to the islanders. In 1623, the last of the Macfie Chiefs was tied to a standing stone over at Balaruminmore and shot. After that point, the clan were dispersed and the Macdonalds ruled in their place.’

              Bryant nodded, turning to gaze out to sea, where the brisk breeze was making it difficult for the clouds to congregate for long. He could just make out the distant outline of the coast of Donegal, where his own family had originated from. ‘How about I take another look through those plans,’ he called over to the retired headmaster. ‘I’m sure we can shift around the boundaries a little, in order to preserve this piece of the island’s history. Maybe there would be a story in it, for the local paper, I mean? We could make a feature of the cairn. Help to preserve it properly for the future. So that others might be able to enjoy its simple beauty. The publicity could be very beneficial to us all.’

              Catching the businessman’s drift straight away, Huw strode across the churned up earth and put out his hand to Grant. The man shook it firmly.

              ‘You’ve got a deal,’ Huw pronounced.

              ‘Now, have you got any whisky back at that house of yours?’ Bryant wrapped his arms around his chest, feeling the merciless bite of the southerly wind.

              ‘Aye. I might even be persuaded to get out my single malt.’

              ‘Just lead the way,’ Grant responded with a smile.

              ‘Jilly! Are you coming back to my place for a wee dram to celebrate?’

              ‘Of course, Huw,’ the woman shouted down to her friend and neighbour, from a precarious position halfway up the hillside. ‘Do you need to even ask?’

Chapter 32

A
ll that Louise Keene could hear was the tweeting of the birds outside her bedroom window. She glanced at the digital clock. There was forty five minutes before she needed to go and pick up the boys from school.

              Louise sat up and reached for her bra and pants, from where they’d been discarded on the floor a couple of hours earlier. She decided to take a shower later, when the boys were back and settled in front of the TV. Once Louise had pulled on her jeans and sweater she padded into the en-suite bathroom and washed her face, observing the pinkish glow that radiated from her cheeks. The woman couldn’t help but smile. She’d not felt so bloody good in years.

              Downstairs, Davy had put on the kettle and was sitting at the kitchen table, examining the contents of the package that had arrived that morning. Louise placed her arms around his shoulders and brushed her lips across his soft, wavy hair.

              ‘Who’s this?’ Davy asked, indicating the young boy in the photographs that were spilling out of the pack.

              ‘It’s my brother, Neil.’

              Davy looked puzzled. ‘He’s very young.’

              ‘This picture was taken thirty years ago. He died when he was ten years old, in a walking accident. The weather closed in when his class were on a school trip. Three of the children got lost and died of hypothermia.’

              The man clasped her hand and pulled her onto his lap. ‘God. I’m really sorry.’

              ‘It was a very long time ago.’ Louise scooped up one of the prints. ‘Mum wanted some copies made of this picture. It’s her favourite. You know, I hadn’t realised before how much Ben and Jamie resemble their uncle. Not until I looked at this photo more carefully. I think that must be a comfort to my parents.’

              Davy nuzzled his face into her neck. ‘Yes, I believe it must be too.’

              ‘Now, come on,’ she said affectionately. ‘Let’s have a quick cuppa. Then I really need to go and fetch the boys.’