I were you.’
‘Why’s that?’
Haddock looked him in the eye. ‘If we haven’t caught up with him by then, we’ll be waiting here for him. Although,’ he added, ‘the chances of him turning up are about the same as Dunfermline winning the Premier League.’
‘Is he in real trouble?’ Jagger asked, his cockiness abating for the first time.
‘Oh yes.’
‘Is it that kid? The one in the car?’
Three heads turned to look at Ian Harbison.
‘Why should it be?’ the DS murmured.
‘I saw the lunchtime news on the kitchen TV,’ he said. ‘There was a report from Fort Kinnaird, and the cop on the scene gave a description that could have been Dino.’
‘You’re supposed to be thick,’ Wright observed.
‘No, miss,’ Drizzle replied. ‘But I don’t mind people believing that. It’s good to be underestimated. You want Dino for the dead kid, don’t you?’
‘Yes, we do,’ Haddock admitted.
‘In that case, I’ll help you find him.’
‘Hold on here, Driz,’ his friend intervened. ‘This is the polis.’
‘Yes, and they’re looking for our pal because he had the body of a child in the boot of his car. Leaving aside the fact that it would be a jail time offence to help him, it’s time you showed just a trace of personal morality. We’re thieves, Jagger, that’s all; so don’t go quoting some stupid Mafia code of silence at me.’
He turned to Haddock. ‘If Dino’s in trouble, Singer’s the only one he’ll go to. I don’t know where she lives, because he never said, but she’s due to be working at Lacey’s tonight. That’s all I can tell you, but you’re welcome.’
He stopped for a few seconds then added, ‘No, one more thing. Dino didn’t kill a child; he’s a fool, he’s a thug and he’s a coward, but he wouldn’t do that.’
Nineteen
‘Thanks, Sauce,’ Pye said. ‘Do you fancy a trip to Lacey’s this evening? You and me,’ he added. ‘Young Jackie would be a wee bit out of place there.’
‘What’s that?’ the DS retorted. ‘Denying her overtime on gender grounds? You’ll have the discrimination police after you, Sammy.’
‘Maybe so, but I wouldn’t take a rabbit to a greyhound track either. As for the overtime bit, that’s an issue these days. We’ve all got budgets, every CID area, and we can’t exceed them. I’ll meet you there at seven. My apologies to Cheeky if she had other plans for you.’
‘She hasn’t, but if I tell her where we’re going she might want to come. There’s a pole-dancing exercise class down in Leith; she’s been talking about signing up. It’s all the rage, apparently; you should tell Ruth about it.’
‘With the cost of child care these days,’ the DCI murmured, ‘that might come in handy. I hear these girls make a lot of money in tips.’
Haddock laughed. ‘It’s as well for you that you do my job appraisal, gaffer, or I might be tempted to tell her that.’
‘Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin. And as you say, it’s bad for your job prospects. What did you make of Jagger and Drizzle?’
‘They’re a contradiction. Levon Rattray told us that Harbison was a thicko, but it’s the other way around. Jagger’s the idiot, not him. The probation officer told us that Drizzle is a very good thief, but I didn’t understand that till I met him. He has the gift of invisibility. He could be standing on his own in a big room and nobody would notice him. The market stall was Jagger’s idea, apparently. Drizzle didn’t know about it; he only got drawn in when the investigating officers looked at the CCTV footage.’
‘Is he worth keeping an eye on,’ Pye asked, ‘given that we don’t see Dino as a mastermind?’
‘Let’s not ignore him, but he gave up his mate in a heartbeat when he realised why we wanted him.’
‘Fair enough. What about Donna Rattray? Have you spoken to her yet?’
‘We’re at the university now,’ Haddock replied. ‘We’re waiting for her to finish. Where are you?’
‘I’m at the Western General. Grete Regal was transferred there from the Royal because that’s where the neurosurgeons are. She’s just out of the theatre and I’m waiting to speak to the woman who operated on her. You speak to Dino’s sister, then go back to the mobile HQ unit at Fort Kinnaird. I’ll meet you there, and we can head for Lacey’s together.’
Pye ended the call, then switched off his phone to comply with a warning in the hallway of the building where the surgical wards were located. He followed a series of