wee Toyota. Most days I drive here, even though it’s not far.’
‘And park here?’
‘Of course.’
‘Is your car still there?’
Donna Rattray stared at the DC. ‘Why shouldn’t it be?’
‘Just wondering. Can you see it from here?’
‘Yes.’ Donna raised a hand, pointing across the car park in the open area outside. ‘There it . . .’ She stopped. ‘It’s not,’ she exclaimed. ‘It’s gone! Are you bloody psychic?’
‘Sometimes,’ Wright said. ‘Does Dean ever drive it?’
‘Yes, quite often. He can’t insure one himself, with his record.’
‘Does he have a key?’
‘Yes. Are you saying that he . . .’
‘That’s exactly what we’re saying,’ Haddock replied. ‘Colour?’
‘White. It’s the Aygo model. The little . . .’ she hissed.
The DS handed her a card and a pen. ‘Write the number down there.’ She obeyed; he handed it to the DC. ‘Call it in, Jackie.’
‘This is more serious than fish, isn’t it?’ Donna said quietly.
‘Yes it is,’ the DS told her. ‘I’m afraid we’ve got some bad news for you, about your kid brother.’
Twenty-One
‘How did she take it?’ Sammy Pye asked, just before he bit into his burger.
‘Utter denial,’ Haddock told him. ‘What big Levon said was right. Dean is Donna’s weak spot.’
‘There is no chance, I suppose, that he could just have stolen Cosie from Fort Kinnaird, after someone else had left it?’ The DS stared back at him, both eyebrows raised theatrically. ‘No, there isn’t,’ the DCI chuckled. ‘Forget I said that.’
‘Remember the Makka Pakka doll that was found on the wee girl?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Control had a message from Lucy Tweedie in North Berwick; it’s just been passed to me. She went along to Poundstretcher herself. The boy on the till remembered selling one to Dino yesterday. He remembered because he knows him, and he laughed when he bought it. He even asked him who it was for. Francey claimed it was for his niece. The lad asked him when Donna had a kid, and Dino changed his story. It became his girlfriend’s niece.’
‘Has anyone come up with an address for this Anna Harmony yet?’
‘Not a sniff; she’s a mystery. There’s nobody of that name holding a National Insurance number anywhere in Britain, or a passport, or a driving licence.’
‘The story was, she lived in a student flat,’ Pye reminded his sergeant. ‘Have the team checked the universities and colleges?’
‘Yes. No trace of a student with that name.’ He paused, to drink from a large mug of tea. ‘However, we asked Donna Rattray about her and she said she has an east European accent. I’m wondering whether Harmony might not be her real name.’
‘We may find out at Lacey’s. Let’s go.’
The two detectives finished their snacks and left the mobile command unit, heading for Pye’s car, which was parked close by. The shopping mall was still busy; most of the units were closed, but the newly opened multiscreen cinema was doing good business.
‘How long will we keep the HQ van here?’ Haddock asked.
‘Another twenty-four hours, max,’ his boss replied. ‘The BMW’s gone to the lab for examination, and I doubt if any more witnesses are going to turn up. We might not need any more, truth be told.’ He paused to press his unlock key.
‘There have been developments that you don’t know about,’ he continued as he slid in behind the steering wheel.
‘I thought you were looking pleased with yourself,’ the DS chuckled, fastening his seat belt.
‘On two fronts; I had a report from the forensic team at the scene of the attack and the abduction at Garvald. They’ve recovered the rock that Grete was hit with. It had been tossed into some bushes, but there was plenty of blood and hair still on it.’
‘Do they think they’ll find the attacker’s DNA on it?’
‘Unless he was wearing gloves, they’re hopeful. Dean Francey wasn’t, on the CCTV we’ve seen, and none were found inside the car.’
‘That’s assuming Francey was the attacker,’ Haddock pointed out.
‘Granted, but my money’s on him because there’s another link. We have the three friends, Maxwell, Hazel and Dean. Maxwell’s the link to the car. Dean’s the driver, found with the child’s body in the boot. And then there’s Hazel.’
‘What about her?’
‘Grete Regal had a legal problem in her design business. A client defaulted on her, leaving her stuck with supplier costs that she’d met herself in the expectation of payment. She won a court judgement against that client, on a personal basis, a short time ago. Her aunt said that she’s been pressing Grete to execute it to recover the debt. That