editor that his problem was solved, when my phone sent me off in another direction.
‘Can we meet?’ Carrie McDaniels asked. ‘I can’t think of an excuse to screw any more money out of you, so I’d better report on what I’ve done.’
‘Fine,’ I told her, ‘but you come to me. My car’s parked and I’m not moving it.’
I gave her directions to the Fountainbridge office, then told the front desk to send her up when she arrived. Like all newspapers, the Saltire is pretty choosy about who it lets into its building.
She was with me inside fifteen minutes: I reckoned there would be a taxi on the expense account when she sent me her invoice. She looked pleased with herself, with an added sparkle in her eye that made me wonder if she and the boyfriend had patched things up.
‘What have you got for me?’ I asked, when she was settled into the chair that Alex had vacated an hour before.
‘A bonus,’ she began. ‘Remember that hotel robbery I mentioned?’
‘Rachel Higgins’ jewels? Of course.’
‘There’s one thing you don’t know about me. I still work for the insurance company; it’s my biggest client. That’s how I was able to set up on my own. As such I still have access to the stuff I’ve worked on. I thought you might like a copy of the report on the Higgins case, so I pulled it.’ She handed me a small black memory stick. ‘It’s on there.’ She smiled, adding, ‘It’s a freebie, by the way.’
‘Thanks very much,’ I said, pocketing it. ‘Now, to the main business in hand. What have you got for me?’
‘As much as there is,’ she replied, ‘which isn’t a hell of a lot, to be honest. I hope you weren’t expecting me to close your case for you. All I can tell you is that your client keeps very good company indeed. As a general rule, you have to be the brightest and best to get on his guest lists. You couldn’t give me an introduction, could you?’
‘If you’ve got undisclosed marine engineering skills,’ I said, ‘there might be a chance, otherwise, I don’t think so.’
She stared at me for a moment, puzzled, then shrugged and pulled a folder from her case. ‘Your client is a very popular man,’ she began. ‘He has a track record of making money for people, even if he does make even more for himself in the process.’
She took a single sheet from her folder. ‘Before I begin I have to tell you that my report’s incomplete, because I had no access to some of the people on your list, for example those who had no obvious business connection to Mr Higgins, like the footballers and rock stars, and the catering staff. All that I’ve been able to do is focus on those where there is a connection, through his business.’
‘Fair enough,’ I agreed. ‘Cut to the chase.’
‘This is it. Higgins Holdings is a family investment trust, owned by Eden and his wife, Rachel. One son, Rory, a chartered accountant who has floating oversight of all the companies.’
‘That’s history to me, Carrie,’ I grumbled. ‘I’ve known them as a family for twenty years. Concentrate on the business side.’
‘I was going to,’ she complained. ‘You’re a bloody awful client, you know.’
I grinned. ‘But I pay my bills promptly.’
‘In that case, you’re the perfect client and I treasure you,’ she declared, cheerfully. ‘The trust is a majority shareholder in seventeen companies, in the engineering, light and heavy, property and construction sectors.’
‘Not retail?’ I asked.
‘No, when Eden sold his furniture chain to a Middle East consortium for six hundred and twelve million, he signed a five-year restrictive covenant denying him involvement in that sector. He hasn’t missed it; the value of his investments across the board is estimated at one point two billion; in other words . . .’
‘He’s doubled his money.’
‘Precisely,’ Carrie said. ‘His dividend income is fifty million. God knows what he does with it all, that’s to say with the thirty million he’s left with after tax. That’s one reason he’s a media darling,’ she added. ‘He pays his taxes in the United Kingdom and has never been caught in any form of tax avoidance.’
‘It’s not about money for Eden,’ I told her. ‘It’s about success. Go on.’
‘Okay, the business guests on his hospitality days on the Princess Alison were nearly all directors and senior managers of the trust companies. The exceptions were targets, owners of companies that Higgins Holdings wanted to bring