Authors: George McCartney
Chapter 36
The next morning Jack was sitting in a deck chair outside the cabin, chewing his pen and staring disconsolately at the same
Times
crossword he’d been stuck on for the past three days. He eventually tossed the paper aside and then snapped the ballpoint pen in half, before announcing, ‘I don’t think I can do this anymore, Annie.’
Annie looked up absentmindedly from checking through the email inbox on her MacBook. ‘Come on, don’t give up boss. It’s probably just early Alzheimer’s, caused by a lifetime’s over-exposure to Hank Williams songs and fish suppers. But don’t worry about it, half the old guys in Glasgow are probably in the same state. Anyway, what’s the clue you’re struggling with this time?’
Jack stood up and started pacing around. ‘No, it’s not the crossword, Annie, it’s
this
,’ he said, waving his arms. ‘It’s about sleeping on an old settee in a garden shed and being on the run, constantly looking over my shoulder for the bogey man.’
‘Look, you know why we’re here,’ countered Annie. ‘A madman back in Glasgow wants to kill us both. It’s completely unfair, no argument, but we just have to deal with it.’
‘Yes, I know. But I’m starting to think there are some things more important than being dead.’
‘Oh r
eally?
Do tell.’
‘I know this will sound stupid, but I just want to be able to sit on a stool in the Royal Bar again with a cold, foaming pint of Best in my hand and I’d
really
like to be able to flush the toilet after I’ve had a shit. I want to stretch out in my armchair and fall asleep watching the football on television. I want to be surrounded by the noise and smells of the city, the pure buzz of a place where all human life doesn’t revolve around cattle, dipping sheep and the price of hay bales.
And
I’m fed up stepping in sodding cow pats. I just want my life back, Annie, it’s as simple as that.’
‘Well you were right about one thing, that
did
sound stupid,’ replied Annie sourly.
‘Look, Burke could have dropped dead with a heart attack or been knocked down by a bus. He might even have gone back to Ireland for all we know. But what we
do
know is that he doesn’t appear to be still in Glasgow. Or if he is he’s keeping a lower profile than Craig Whyte, because the police haven’t been able to find him.’
Acknowledging that her boss wasn’t going to change his mind any time soon, Annie advised, ‘Okay then, what we need is some
safe
way to find out if he’s still around and still wanting to play silly buggers.’
‘I’ve been thinking about that. How we can maybe use the little tracker gizmo that you found on Senga, to lure him out into the open.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Okay, let’s say we drive back up to Glasgow and then switch the vehicle tracker back on. We could cruise around the city and then find somewhere suitable where we can park up and wait. If Burke is still monitoring the tracker, he might take the bait and come sniffing around to see what we’re up to. It’s worth a try, what do you think?’
Annie made a final pitch for her favoured option, which was to prolong their stay by the Solway coast. ‘But we’ve done okay down here, haven’t we? I know that it’s early days, but we’ve actually started to earn a good reputation amongst the locals and people are phoning us to ask if we can take on new cases. I think that’s a great position for a small business to be in and that just wasn’t happening for you back in Glasgow, remember? Am I right?’
‘I know all of that, Annie. But for me this was always just a temporary thing, mainly to keep you safe. Don’t get me wrong, I know I moan about it all the time, but I have actually enjoyed being in the country for the first time ever. That’s all down to you, but now it’s definitely time for me to go back home and sort this thing out once and for all. If you would rather stay here a bit longer, until the dust settles, I will completely understand.’
Resigned to going back, Annie said, ‘Okay then, boss, why not? What’s the worst thing that could happen? Live fast and die young. But before we do anything, you should give Andy Welch a bell, to see if there have been any developments at his end in the last few days.’
Jack nodded in agreement and they drove up to the main road to make the call. When he had a network signal, Jack tried to phone Andy. But the call immediately went over to voice mail, where a recording advised that Detective Inspector Welch was on holiday, and instructed that anyone leaving a message needing immediate attention should leave their details and a colleague, who is familiar with his case load, would make contact. Jack duly left a message and waited. Ten minutes later his phone rang.
‘Yes, this is Jack Davidson speaking.’
‘Good morning, it’s DC Peter Mactaggart from Glasgow CID, responding to your earlier phone call. You maybe know that my boss, Andy Welch is on holiday
again
, the lucky sod. I don’t know how he manages it, but please don’t tell him I said that. Anyway I’ve just been looking for the latest updates on the search for Thomas Burke. I’ve also been reading about him and he’s a right nasty piece of work, according to Andy’s notes.’
‘He got that bit right. So are there any developments, any reported sightings.
Anything?
’ said Jack.
‘The short answer is no, unfortunately. We’ve been checking your office and also both yours and Ms James’s home addresses several times a day, but it’s been all quiet for almost two weeks now. Our patrol guys haven’t seen him and the neighbours at all three locations haven’t seen any suspicious characters hanging about either. I see here that Andy has also had checks done on Burke’s last known associates in the city, from the period before he was jailed, and the word is out on the street with our entire CI network that a substantial reward is available for anyone with information about an Irishman answering his description. But, as I said, there’s been nothing so far. So that’s where we are right now and, unless you have any thoughts yourself about further lines of enquiry we could pursue, I’m afraid we will be winding up our surveillance effort at the end of the week. Andy is due back by then and I’m sure he was intending to call you personally.’
‘Okay, thanks for the update Peter. I appreciate it.’
‘What’s the word then, boss?’ asked Annie.
‘Short version, there have been no sightings and they’ve received no tips or whispers about him either, absolutely nothing. He’s disappeared
and
the police are stopping the surveillance, because basically they’re thinking he must have left Glasgow. The case isn’t closed, of course, but until some new information comes along they can’t justify any further action. It’s fair enough, Annie. I’ve said more or less the same thing myself to people, umpteen times over the years. It’s called maintaining a watching brief, which is a polite way of saying we’ve done everything we can, now fuck off and stop bothering us.’
Back at the beach cabin, Annie asked, ‘So what’s our next move?’
‘As things stand right now, it’s a bit of a stalemate. Burke wants to know where we are, but he doesn’t, and we would like to know where he is, but we don’t have a clue either. What we do know is that, if he thinks that we’re back in Glasgow, then he’ll be periodically checking the office and both of our flats. So we need to come up with some way to turn the tables on him and get one step ahead, instead of just reacting to his moves.’
Annie looked up from her MacBook and said, ‘Take a look at this, it might be just what we’re looking for, boss. I’ve been checking out the website of a shop in the city centre that sells covert surveillance equipment. It could even be the same one where Burke bought his vehicle tracker. Anyway, they stock a cool little remote CCTV camera that might be very useful. It’s battery operated and takes pictures any time it senses movement. The pictures are then sent instantly, as file attachments to a standard text message, to a designated mobile number. So I’d be able to check them on my iPhone anywhere.’
‘God, that’s really clever,’ said Jack.’ If I’d been given half a dozen of these things, back when I was still in the polis, they could have sacked half of the useless drongos who worked alongside me.’
‘What I’m thinking is, that if we bought three of them and set them up to cover the front doors to the office and both of our flats, then that would actually be better than having the police lurking about outside. I mean, obviously we know Burke is smart and very patient, so he’s going to expect them to be waiting for him and he just won’t wander round while they’re still on the scene. But now that things have gone quiet and the police are winding down the surveillance, he might come back. But he probably won’t be expecting the cameras, especially if I can tuck them away where they’ll be hard to spot. What do you think? Obviously it’s a fair amount of cash to lay out, but the cameras
could
give us the edge we’re looking for.’
Nodding enthusiastically, Jack agreed. ‘You’re right, we need to make something happen, so let’s go for it, Annie. The cheque we got from old man Blake should have cleared by now, so we’re solvent. Let’s do it.’
Chapter 37
Next morning, on the drive back up to Glasgow, Jack asked Annie to pull over at the same lay-by where they had briefly stopped on their journey south, two short weeks before. Getting out of the Land Rover, Jack lit a cigarette and looked out over the beautiful view he had sneered at previously.
Annie also got out to stretch her legs and asked, ‘So, Mr Davidson, do you still think there’s nothing worth bothering about down here?’
‘Okay, okay … I admit it, I was a complete twat before. But I get it
now
, Annie I really do. I’ve actually been standing looking around for that poor wee cow I insulted the last time we were standing here. I was going to apologise for my loutish behaviour, but I don’t see it anywhere.’
‘It’s probably undergoing counselling somewhere, boss, but don’t worry about it. Anyway, in recognition of your recent transformation from city slicker, it falls to me to present you with an honorary local yokel award …
here
.’
Graciously accepting the offered stalk of long grass, Jack stuck it in the side of his mouth and gurned madly, as Annie giggled and took a picture of him on her iPhone.
Before continuing their journey back to Glasgow, Jack placed the vehicle tracker on the dashboard and switched it back on, in the hope that Burke was still monitoring the device.
Chapter 38
Peggy McKay, the landlady of the Royal Bar, looked up from washing glasses and saw Jack and Annie coming into the pub together. She immediately rang the “chucking out” bell in loud celebration and exclaimed, ‘Well hallelujah, look what the bloody cat dragged in. The wanderers have returned at last.’ Hurrying out from behind the bar, she gave Annie a kiss on the cheek followed by an affectionate hug. Jack’s welcome was somewhat more subdued, consisting of a chilly stare followed by the barked instruction, ‘
You
…
buggerlugs
, sit on your arse in the corner and don’t dare move until I have a word with you.’
‘Can a man at least have something to drink and a bite to eat, before sentencing?’ asked Jack meekly.
‘I suppose so, the usual, is it?’ said Peg grudgingly, as she picked up a pint glass and held it under the “Best” tap.
‘Actually no, just a diet coke with some ice and lemon. Oh, and a tuna salad sandwich on wholemeal bread, if you’ve got it, please.’
‘Excuse
me, what did you just say?’ said Peggy, completely taken aback by Jack’s non-alcoholic and grease-free lunch order. ‘You mean you don’t want any beer, no soup or mince pies and gravy? What the hell’s matter with you?’
‘Nothing’s the matter with me, I don’t need to have the same thing
every
time I come in here.’
‘Well you
did
for the last twenty years.’
‘That’s a fair point, but a man can change,’ said Jack mysteriously.
Turning to Annie in bewilderment, she asked, ‘He’s not sick is he? He does look a bit peculiar, kind of rosy cheeked.’
‘No he’s not sick, but you’re right he does look a bit peculiar. That’s because he
is
peculiar, but in a good way,’ Annie replied, winking at Jack. ‘Seriously, where we’ve been based for the past two weeks, there aren’t many pubs or takeaways so I’ve been organising the food supplies and it’s been mainly salads, pasta and barbecues. What you see before you is the result of two weeks of fresh air, a healthy diet, a little bit of exercise and not much booze.’
‘I feel great, never better, said Jack, truthfully. ‘I wish I’d tried this years ago.’
‘Keep your voice
down
, will you,’ urged Peg, looking behind her. ‘Are you trying to put me out of business? This is a Glasgow pub, for God’s sake. I don’t want any of my regulars hearing about how Jack Davidson gave up pints of beer and greasy pies and now feels
great
.’
Peg then sat down beside them. Gripping both of her niece’s hands tightly, she said sternly, ‘Annie James, I want you to look me straight in the eye, and swear that you’re telling the truth. So no more messing about and no more fibbing. What the
hell’s
been going on?’
Annie looked sideways at Jack, panic stricken at being put directly on the spot. Jack came to her rescue by saying, ‘You’re absolutely right Peggy, there has been something going on. I’m really sorry that we’ve had to be so secretive, with you and everybody else, for the past couple of weeks, but through no fault of our own we’ve been caught up in something quite serious. I can’t tell you everything right now, because there’s an ongoing police investigation, but we were advised that for our own safety we should get out of Glasgow for a while.’
‘Holy mother of God, I
knew
it. But who? What’s it all about?’
‘It’s to do with a case that I was involved in before I left the police. It was so long ago that I thought I’d left all that stuff behind and moved on, but it seems the past has a habit of catching up with you.’
‘So is this one of these, what do they call them … cold cases?’ asked Peggy, a keen student of the Glasgow underworld, who was intent on learning more. ‘Where the police review old files and then re-test all the evidence for DNA matches, or maybe somebody just phones up out of the blue after thirty years to identify the murderer.’
‘No, it’s nothing like that. Tell me, has there been anyone coming in here asking for me, in the last couple of weeks?’
‘Apart from the usual sheriff officers you mean? That’s getting really embarrassing, by the way. Why can’t you just pay the rent for your office on time? You mean a stranger, or somebody suspicious looking?’
‘Yes, that’s what I mean.’
‘No, there’s been nobody like that. But wait a minute, there was a nice Irish guy who came in one day last week, Tuesday or Wednesday at lunchtime I think it was, for a pint of Guinness and a plate of soup. He got chatting away and said that the two of you were old pals from the police force and had lost touch, so he was wondering if you still drank here.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I just said that you were still a regular but I didn’t know when you would definitely be back in. I offered to pass on his name and number, but he said not to bother because he wanted to surprise you and would look in again the next time he was in the area. I really didn’t think any more about it, to be honest. So is he something to do with this business, whatever it is?’
‘If the pub CCTV system is working, Peggy, I’d really like to take a look at this guy.’
‘It is working, but I don’t know if the recordings from last Tuesday and Wednesday will still be there. I’m pretty sure the machine works on a continuous loop and only stores pictures for the previous seven days, so we might not have the Tuesday recording. But the Wednesday footage should definitely be there, so you’re welcome to check that.’
‘I’ll go and set up the recorder Auntie,’ said Annie. ‘I’ll give you both a shout to come through, when I’ve got it ready, and we can all have a look at it.’ She then headed to a small office at the rear of the pub and began to examine the digital footage from the pub’s four security cameras.
With her niece safely out of earshot, Peggy wasted no time getting ripped into Jack. ‘I don’t bloody believe it. What was the first thing I said to you when you came in here with Annie two weeks ago? You sat right here in the same seat and promised me faithfully you would keep that lassie safe, away from all the crazy people. Didn’t you?’
Raising both hands in a gesture of surrender Jack said, ‘Look, I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know that this was going to happen, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken anybody on at all, far less Annie. And more than once I’ve tried to send her abroad, somewhere she would be completely safe, until this all blows over. But she’s so stubborn, she just won’t hear of it. That tells you a lot about the kind of person she is. So this is where we are, I’m afraid.’
‘The Irish guy who came in here, is he the one who’s after you?’
Seeing little point in telling any more lies, Jack sighed and said, ‘Yes. To cut a long story short, I put him away eighteen years ago and now he’s back out on the street looking to even the score. That’s what this is all about, revenge pure and simple. The police are giving us all the help that they can, but there’s only so much they can do and this guy has been very clever so far. He’s like a ghost. He shows his face briefly and then seems to disappear completely.’
Peggy then looked around and leant towards him, before lowering her voice to confide, ‘Look, I know people who might be able to help, Jack, if you need some muscle for back-up. They’re a rough pretty crew, into all sorts of mischief. In fact, I’ve had to bar them from the pub a few times over the years, when they’ve got out of hand and started fighting amongst themselves. But they always come back a few days later, to apologise and pay for any damage caused, so I tolerate them. For the right wages I’m sure they would be up for pretty much anything you think is necessary. Do you want me to ask them?’
‘Thanks for the offer, Peggy, but no. I really don’t want to drag anyone else into this. We have one or two things we’re working on to try and find this guy. But meantime we’re not taking any chances. It’s going to be okay, honestly.’
Briefly reassured, Peggy then asked, ‘How has young Annie been doing anyway, as your new assistant?’
Jack smiled for the first time since entering the bar, and confided, ‘Don’t say anything to her, but she’s a natural at the business. It’s only been two weeks since we started working together, but what a difference she’s made to everything. I think so much of her that, once we get past all of this, I’m considering making her a full partner. That’s if she still wants to make a career as a private detective.’
No longer hectoring, Peggy then wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and said softly, ‘I just can’t help worrying, Jack. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her. I feel responsible because I was the one who encouraged her to apply for the job.’
‘I feel exactly the same way. I couldn’t care any more about her, if she was my own daughter, so I give you my word that I’ll always put her safety first. Until this guy is caught, that’s all I can do.’
‘Fair enough then, Jack. That’s good enough for me.’
Annie then shouted through from the back of the pub, for both of them to come and look at the CCTV footage. ‘As you suspected, Auntie Peg, there isn’t anything on the system for last Tuesday, that’s gone. But all of the Wednesday footage is still here so, hopefully, that was the day he came in.’ Starting just after eleven o’clock on the Wednesday morning, Annie then began scrolling through the recorded images from the pub’s four security cameras, which were displayed simultaneously on a monitor screen.
As Jack and Peggy looked over her shoulder, Annie said, ‘It’s actually quite hard to concentrate on all four segments of the screen at the same time, so I can either slow the replay down a bit, if that helps, or maybe we should just concentrate on one of the cameras.’
‘Yes, that would be better,’ said Peggy, pointing at the monitor. ‘Use
that
camera, number two, because it covers the area around the till and part of the bar counter. I’m pretty sure he sat down on a stool opposite the till and then just chatted away to me, while I was serving other customers.’
Ten minutes later, with the time on the monitor screen showing a quarter past one, Peggy said, ‘Wait, can you freeze it just there, Annie. Yes, that’s definitely him.
That’s
the guy who was asking for you.’
Jack and Annie closely studied the full face image clearly shown on the monitor and then compared it with a picture of Thomas Burke, which was stored on Annie’s phone. ‘This one was taken on the day of his release from prison,’ said Jack. ‘He’s obviously had his hair cut really short since then and it looks like he’s been growing a beard as well, but that’s him no question. Annie, we need to send a copy of this to Andy Welch right away, so he can get it out to all the cops on the street.’
‘Fortunately this machine seems to record in overlapping three minute segments,’ replied Annie. ‘So it should be easy enough to make a copy of the file with the clearest images on it, and then fire it off as an email attachment to Andy. I’ll do that right now.’
Turning to Peggy, Jack said, ‘This has been really helpful and remember, if he shows his face in here again, just behave normally and phone me right away as soon as you get a chance.’
‘I could always thump him with an old police baton I keep under the bar. He wouldn’t be the first nasty piece of work that I’ve had to lay out on the floor with that.’
‘No, that wouldn’t be a good idea, Peggy, but you could offer him the two for one happy hour deal, on that new
Nuttbanger
lager. Five or six bottles of that stuff have the same effect, it just takes a little longer.’
Driving away from the Royal Bar, Annie sighed with relief and said, ‘That wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be. Thank God you rescued me, when she had me pinned by the wrists, ready to launch into the third degree.’
‘Well I thought we were probably as well telling her most of the story, so she at least knows what’s going on. And, of course, now that she’s in the loop she’ll be on the lookout for Burke, if he shows up at the bar again.’
‘So where to now, boss?’
They then headed into the city centre to pick up a backlog of mail, which had been accumulating in their separate PO boxes. Sifting through the bundle of letters and bills, which had diverted from his office, Jack was delighted to discover that Annie’s earlier efforts to chase up several unpaid invoices, had been partially successful. He waved aloft three cheques, which totalled £1,250, and said, ‘Great news, Annie, this means that your first pay cheque
definitely
won’t bounce. Remind me to do a pay-in slip for the bank while we’re here.’
Their next stop was at a small electronics shop specialising in surveillance and security equipment, located in a side street near the city centre. Jack stayed outside with the Land Rover, which was parked on a double yellow line, while Annie went in and bought three of the tiny remote cameras, which she had previously checked out online.
On her return, she took one of the cameras out of its box to update Jack. ‘The guy in the shop said that these little babies are so light, you can fix them to a wall with Velcro pads, which just peel off and stick to any surface. So they should be perfect to use on the stair walls where the cameras are going. I think, if I can put them high enough up, above and to the side of the entrance doors, they shouldn’t attract too much attention.’