By All Means (Fiske and MacNee Mysteries Book 2) (17 page)

'The picture on the screen is exactly as Aisha found it.  The guys In the video analysis section are doing what they can to enhance it.  That may make it possible to compare the image of Mathieson with the pictures of Nuttall from his Ebright ID and the CCTV images.  No guarantees, boss, but we may be able to tell, with an exact percentage accuracy, if it's the same person in both images.'

'Thanks, Dongle.  And please note that I've just said your name without laughing.  When will we have something from video analysis?'

'This afternoon, I think.  Anil Jasthi said he would email his results as soon as he has them.  Might even come while we're still here.'

'Aisha, first of all, good work.  This is the first thing we've seen that looks like a breakthrough.'  Everyone in the room rapped the table in appreciation.  Aisha smiled, and blushed a little. 'So where do these two guys live?  You wouldn't want to leave the job half done.'

Fiske's tone was light but the question was serious. Sara Hamilton answered. 'One of the DCs here knew MacIlwraith at uni and thinks he lived outside the city, Lanarkshire or Ayrshire. We're working through the appropriate databases for these areas and, of course, for Glasgow.  We've got a number of hits on the names and we now need to check ages.  We're assuming that both our suspects are in their early thirties, so we should have it narrowed down by later today.'

'OK.  Once we know how many possibles we've got we'll have to decide how to identify our men.  I'd like to avoid bringing in people solely on the basis of name and age, so we may be into surveillance and, if we are, we'll need to rely on Strathclyde for support.'

DI Colin MacNee turned to Andy Hanna.  'Anything on the financial side to report before you leave us?'

'Not much.  I managed to get hold of the prospectuses Burtonhall sent out to possible investors.  They were a bit more bullish about the likely performance of Hedelco and Ebright than the current numbers support, but that's common enough and nothing to kill for.  You could just about find a motive in an attempt to prevent adverse operational reports coming to light, but it would be a stretch.'

'We'll only get that if there's really negative stuff in the emails Keller sent back before he was killed.'  Colin looked at Fiske in a way that expected a response.

'The Foreign Office has agreed to help us to get them without going to court.  I'm just about to sign off the brief that Fiona Marchmont and I have prepared.  I had hoped to get it off yesterday, but something came up.  It'll go today, so we can't really expect an answer from Hedelco until the middle of next week.'

'They'll resist,' Andy Hanna said.  'It'll depend on whether the Yanks have any leverage and if they're prepared to use it to help us.'

'Thanks for all your help, Andy.  We'll call you if we think you can assist further.'

'There's one more thing.  Just for fun, I had a rake around the public domain information on Last and Mercury...'

Esslemont stirred.  He had said nothing so far, but that wasn't unusual when he sat in on a team meeting. 'A bit outside your brief, Inspector.'

Hanna had the unfazed look of a man who'd soon be on his way. 'Yeah, probably. I'm sorry. I was pushing the envelope a bit, but you may still want to hear what I found.'

Esslemont looked at Vanessa, who nodded.

'As far as I can tell, Burtonhall doesn't have a financial interest in either of them, but there's some cross-membership on the boards.  James Roskill's a non-exec on Mercury's board, and Richard Seaton chairs Last's Remuneration Committee.  Nothing sinister in that, but interesting.  As far as financial performance is concerned, Last is on a knife edge - the up-market leisure sector isn't doing well in the recession.  Mercury, like many Internet-based businesses, is making money hand over fist. Their employment practices, however, are, to use their preferred euphemism, "robust".  Their car park in Cumbernauld is known as "Picket Plaza".  Up to you to decide if any of that is useful.'

'Interesting, but not immediately relevant,' Vanessa said. 'I'll think about it.  Now, if there's nothing else, Colin and I need to go and talk to Eisner again.'

*

In Edinburgh, Paul MacIver was preparing for the weekend.  The First Minister had spent most of the day in Fife, trying to ensure that her government took the credit for the fact that the sun had come up that morning and for the likelihood that it would set in the evening.  MacIver had been at her side throughout, ensuring that the press picked up the best soundbites, keeping her increasingly regal progress to time, identifying for the security team known troublemakers so that they could be kept well away from microphones and cameras.

In the middle of the afternoon, as DCI Fiske was about to close the team meeting, the FM left her last engagement - the opening of an new hi-tech component plant that had received much public subsidy and provided very few jobs - and set off for her constituency in the North East.   MacIver asked the political editor of the
Glasgow Banner
to drop him off at Leuchars so that he could catch a train to Edinburgh.   He intended to be a little indiscreet so that a "helpful" exclusive would appear in the Sunday edition of the paper.

*

As the murder investigation team was gathering their papers together for the end of the meeting, Dongle Donaldson looked at his phone.  'Hold on, boss.  I've just got the enhanced image of MacIlwraith and Mathieson.  Anil's emailed it to you. You might want to call it up.'

Vanessa logged on, went to her email and opened the attachment.   Anil Jasthi had done a good job.  The faces of the two principals were much sharper and the supporting cast were now  distinguishable from each other.  The team looked closely at the new image.   The likeness between the MacIlwraith in the student paper and the MacIlwraith identified from the hospital CCTV was compelling, that between Mathieson and Nuttall less so.

'Anil is running the facial comparison software over both pairs of images.  Later this afternoon he'll be able to tell us how certain he is that the two MacIlwraiths are the same person and that Mathieson is also Nuttall.  His report should be waiting for you when you get back from talking to Eisner.'

*

'Before you and Colin go to see Eisner, I need a word.'

Esslemont had intercepted Vanessa as she left the conference room and was now walking towards his office.  Vanessa followed. The DCS asked her to close the door.  He logged on to his computer and brought up the enhanced image of MacIlwraith and Mathieson at the Scottish Freedom Party demonstration outside the university union.   He picked up a pen and pointed to a young man in the middle of the line of students standing behind the two suspects.

'I think that's Paul MacIver.'

Vanessa looked closely at the screen.   She had never met MacIver and she couldn't recall having seen a picture of him.

'The FM's special adviser?'  Her tone was incredulous. 'Are you sure, sir?'

'Pretty sure.  I've met him occasionally when I've had meetings with the First Minister in connection with constituency matters. He's ten years older now, and he's put on a fair amount of weight, but I think I'd be prepared to swear in court that that's MacIver.'

'So we have evidence that the FM's closest aide was a "known associate" ' - the quotation marks were audible - 'ten years ago of the prime suspects in two murders.  What do you suggest we do?'

'Nothing yet.  I just want you to be aware.  If you find that the connection is anything other than historic and you think it may be relevant to your enquiries, we'll have to decide how to proceed. Meanwhile, keep me very closely informed.'

*

One of Vanessa Fiske's administrative support team had arranged for her and Colin MacNee to see Jack Eisner at the Ebright building at four o'clock.   Tammy Wootten was less than warm in her welcome, but she said that as she had some shopping to do, they could use her office.

'I need to speak to you about your interest in my investigation.'

Eisner looked at Fiske and said nothing.  As the press often say of murderers about to be sentenced, he showed no emotion.

Vanessa went on.  'I believe that you have received confidential information and I need you to tell me how you got it.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'  Eisner poured himself a glass of water from the jug on Wootten's desk.

'Have you been in touch with Frank Mancuso at Last Cairngorm?'

Eisner looked uncomfortable.

'I've known Frank for a long time.  Naturally, when I came to Aberdeen, I got in touch.  We had a drink.'

'Nothing more?'  Colin MacNee's tone had become much more aggressive. 'So why did he try to set up Shelley Mehring, who works for me and my wife as an
au pair
, to pass on information that she might pick up at our house?  It can't have been about the explosion at Last Cairngorm.  Why did you want an inside track on our murder investigation?'

Eisner shook his head, but said nothing.

'We also know that Mancuso attempted to blackmail Shelley.'

'I'm sorry, inspector, but I can't help you.'

'Can't or won't?

Eisner smiled. 'Does it matter? There's no more I can say.'

'Mr Eisner, you work for an organisation which finds itself a lot closer to two murders than it would like.  You came here to try to prevent what you call "reputational damage" to Burtonhall Inc.   I don't think a blackmail charge that involved you would help you in your mission.'

Eisner looked more worried.  Vanessa pressed her slight advantage.

'I believe that on Wednesday you passed a piece of sensitive information to Cy Packard, your CEO.  Very few people in North East Constabulary knew about it.  I need to know how you got hold of  it.'

'If I did, and I'm not saying I did, the communication would be commercially confidential, just like the emails you're trying to get the Federal government to force Hedelco to release.'

Colin looked at Vanessa and shook his head almost imperceptibly.   They both knew that they couldn't ask him directly about Richard Fleming.   But they also knew that they had indirect confirmation - nothing admissible as evidence but enough to inform their enquiries - that Eisner had got information and had passed it on to Packard.  They already knew, pretty well, what Packard had done with it.   But they still had no clear motive, either criminal or commercial, for the murders at GRH and on Vermont One.

*

Vanessa was about to leave for the weekend when DS Anil Jasthi phoned to say that he was more than 95 per cent certain that the two MacIlwraith images were of the same person. The other comparison yielded results that were less conclusive, but Anil still put the likelihood that Mathieson and Nuttall were one and the same at over 75 per cent.  She would consult the DCS, but Vanessa thought that was enough to arrest them, if they could be found and positively identified.

Sara Hamilton sent an email just before rushing for her train to Aberdeen.   She and Aisha had found addresses for three Andrew MacIlwraiths and two Simon Mathiesons.  They had found no Thomas Nuttalls. Strathclyde surveillance officers would provide new pictures of all five men by the time she got back to Glasgow on Monday.  Aisha had told her mother she would visit on Saturday afternoon and then gone to her hotel to get ready for her date with Cam Ritchie.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Paul MacIver was pleased with the result of his off-the-record chat with the political editor of the
Glasgow Banner.  
The headline on the front page of the Sunday edition was the first thing that caught his eye as he collected the papers from the newsagent on Sunday morning.  It had a "Banner
EXCLUSIVE"
strap line and it read:
"Cops and pols at odds on attacks on US firms".

With no sign of any arrests following the murders two weeks ago at Grampian Royal Hospital and on the Vermont One oil rig, highly placed sources have told the
Banner
that very senior political figures at Holyrood are becoming frustrated at the refusal of the police to consider the possibility that Scotland may be the target of a concerted campaign to undermine and deter US investment.  Both murders happened at locations owned or managed by subsidiaries of the American conglomerate Burtonhall Inc. 

Within days of the killings, two other American-owned businesses in Scotland, Last Cairngorm and Mercury Fulfilment, were hit.  Last's leisure complex near Aberdeen was bombed and, on the same evening, Mercury's warehouse at Cumbernauld was the target of a devastating cyber attack that knocked out all its IT systems.  Last was due to open fully within weeks, but that is now unlikely.  Mercury's claim that it would be back online "within days" has proved to be wildly optimistic.

Sources say that the police investigations are concentrating "too exclusively" on the purely criminal aspects of all the investigations. They say that "at this very sensitive time", which is code for "in the run-up to the Independence referendum", greater priority should be given to the possibility that opponents of independence may be attempting to destabilise the Scottish economy.

There is also some frustration that the UK authorities have been less than fully engaged with the investigations.  Initially, the Foreign Office was reluctant to intervene with the Americans to help North East Constabulary detectives get access to emails thought to be vital to their enquiries. Assistance was given only after detectives agreed to restrict their request to the company, Hedelco, that runs the hospital where Peter Keller was murdered.

There has already been one piece of collateral damage.  Lack of progress on the murders has made it almost certain that the NEC Chief Constable is no longer considered a serious candidate for the top job in the new all-Scotland police service. 

It may be an exclusive today, MacIver thought, but the other papers will follow it up tomorrow.   By Tuesday, when the FM was due to report again to Parliament, the political temperature should rising nicely.  And a certain amount of turmoil inside NEC might also keep the pot boiling.

*

On Friday afternoon, Sara Hamilton had given the addresses of three men called Andrew MacIlwraith and two called Simon Mathieson to the area commander at Govan Police Station and requested, on behalf of her SIO, DCI Vanessa Fiske, that photographic surveillance be mounted at each address.  The object was to eliminate those individuals whose descriptions and photographs did not match those of the suspects in the GRH and Vermont One murders.

The MacIlwraiths located by the data searches undertaken by Hamilton and Gajani had addresses in the Springburn area of North East Glasgow, in Saltcoats on the North Ayrshire coast, and in Carluke, in South Lanarkshire. The Mathiesons were in the West End of Glasgow, near the University, and in Uddingston, a suburban town just South East of the city.  Two officers in plain clothes and trained in long distance camera surveillance were sent to each address on Saturday morning, with instructions to identify and describe the men living there. On the basis of the descriptions, it proved possible, acting on information on the suspects provided by the murder investigation team to the Strathclyde officers, to eliminate one MacIlwraith and one Mathieson.  The surveillance photographers at the Springburn and Uddingston addresses were stood down.

The photographs of the two remaining MacIlwraiths and of Mathieson were waiting for DS Anil Jasthi when he got to his office in Aberdeen at eight o'clock on Monday morning.  By 0930 he had eliminated the MacIlwraith in Carluke as a possible match to the hospital murder suspect.  He phoned Vanessa Fiske.

'Morning, boss. I've got a 95 per cent match on the Saltcoats MacIlwraith and 90 per cent on Mathieson/Nuttall.  That's about as good as we ever get with this software.  Up to you to decide if it's enough for arrests.'

'Thanks, Anil. I'll talk to the DCS, but I think Colin and I are looking at a trip to Glasgow and Ayrshire.'

*

Vanessa Fiske was relaxing with a good book on Sunday afternoon.  She hadn’t read the papers, so she hadn't seen the
Banner
’s exclusive when DC Duncan Williamson texted her to say that he would like to come round to see her.   Vanessa’s partner, Neil Derrick, groaned when she told him that Williamson was coming round to report on his enquiries into Richard Fleming.

‘You had a bloody hard week last week, and I’d be surprised if next week is any easier.  And we have to go to GRH for your scan on Tuesday.  Couldn’t you at least take a weekend off?’

She put her arms round his neck and kissed him.  ‘I’m sorry, darling, I really am.  But the tempo of these cases has suddenly been cranked up  a notch or two, and I’ll probably have to go to Glasgow this week, perhaps tomorrow, with an overnight and back on Tuesday.  Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for the scan.  Wouldn’t miss it!  But the sooner I can get these murders out of the way, the sooner we can start some serious planning.’

‘When’s Duncan coming round?’

‘He’s on his way. Be here in about twenty minutes.’

Neil let Duncan in and then went to his study, leaving the two detectives alone in the living room.

‘So, Duncan, what have you got on our Inspector Fleming?’

‘It wasn’t easy, boss.  Fleming lives in Stonehaven. It’s a small enough town for things to get around pretty quickly, so I had to be careful not to raise too much interest.  I started with the local sergeant.  He told me that Fleming kept a fairly low profile.  He lives on his own in a flat overlooking the sea and, so far as the sergeant knew, he hasn’t been in a relationship while he’s lived there, which is a couple of years.’

Vanessa interrupted him. ‘ “In a relationship” is an odd way to put it..  I would have expected you to say “had a girlfriend” or even – what’s that term I’ve heard people use?- a "bidey-in".’

‘Well, that’s the point.  No-one’s very sure about Fleming’s sexuality. The sergeant said that the talk around the station was that he might be gay, but that he wasn’t doing anything about it because he’s very ambitious, and it might slow his progress.’

‘Well, he won’t have to worry about that any more!  If he’s gay, he’ll be able to come out with impunity.  But perhaps not immediately, if he ends up in prison. Go on.’

‘He hasnt taken much part in local life, except the occasional pub quiz.  I went to the
Dunottar Castle
and had a word with the licensee who, like many publicans, likes to keep on the right side of the police.  I emphasised the need for confidentiality and asked him what he knew about Fleming.  Again, the answer was not a lot, but there is one thing that may be significant. Apparently, his regular team captain in the quizzes was a guy called Martin Gilbertson who lives just outside Stonehaven in a village called Fetteresso.  Gilbertson works in public relations at Mid-Aberdeenshire Council.’

Vanessa sat forward. ‘Does he, indeed?  So he would have contacts in the local press.’

‘Yeah. But there’s something else.  According to my source, he sometimes had on his team somebody from Last Cairngorm, an American with something to do with security.’

‘Good work!’

‘The American hasn’t been seen in the pub for some time, and nor has Fleming.  But Gilbertson still drinks there most nights.  Nothing heavy, just a pint or two after work.  The licensee considers him a regular.’

'I need to speak to Gilbertson, but I don't know when. There's a lot going on!'

'Before I go,' Williamson said, 'Have you seen the front page of today's
Banner? 
If you haven't, you should.  There may be some shit flying in the office tomorrow.'

*

After she had read the
Banner
front page online, Vanessa knew she would have to make some phone calls.  Duncan Williamson's report on Fleming had made it urgent that she speak to Esslemont, as did the likelihood that she would have to go to Glasgow to arrest her two prime suspects.  That would need the co-operation of Strathclyde Police, both in supporting the early morning visits to the suspects' homes and in applying for warrants to search them.   She would need to see Colin MacNee to tell him that MacIlwraith, the suspect in the murder of Keller at GRH, had been located in either the Glasgow area or in North Ayrshire and that he would be heading the team that arrested him while she picked up Mathieson/Nuttall.

She knew that she should also be in the office early enough to call DCC Ingram at Lothian and Borders to brief him in advance of his daily meeting with the Justice Secretary.  She was in some difficulty, however, in knowing how much to tell him.  If she gave him all the details, and if he then had to brief the First Minister, and if the connection between the suspects and Paul MacIver wasn't merely historic, her investigation might be compromised.  Her instinct was to keep her report to Ingram very general, but she would have to discuss it with Esslemont.  She might be able to delay her report until later in the day, and the fact that Parliament did not sit on Monday might also buy her some time.

She knew, also, that the
Banner
report would, as Duncan had predicted, cause the shit to hit the fan.  The Chief would be incandescent and would demand a report in person from Esslemont, who would want her support, and possibly Colin MacNee's as well.

And then there were Fleming and Gilbertson.  She would have to talk to Gilbertson before she and the DCS interviewed Fleming again, and it was possible that she might have to have another go at both Eisner and Mancuso.

Vanessa had just finished making notes covering all that needed to be done next day when Neil came in from his study.  She looked at him and smiled weakly as she reached for the phone.