shuddered. ‘What a job she’s gone to. Now I’m wishing she hadn’t had that tuna steak.’
Twenty-Six
Sarah called me from the scene of the call-out, fifteen minutes after my conversation with Mario, to confirm what he had told me, that she was heading to the mortuary from the crime scene.
‘I’ve just called Roshan,’ she said, ‘and he’s on the way there too. I have no idea how long it’ll take us to do both examinations, but you can set the alarm before you go to bed, because I won’t be home. I’ll get some sleep at my place when I’m done and go in to work from there tomorrow.’
‘They’re sure it’s the lad Francey?’ I asked.
‘It’s subject to DNA confirmation, but they seem to be. The number plates on the car are still recognisable. It’s bizarre, Bob; the fire crew leader says it’s his wife’s, and that the dead man’s his brother-in-law. As for the girl, if Sammy and Sauce are right about her identity, they know where she lives, so proving it won’t be difficult.’
‘Doesn’t sound like it,’ I agreed. ‘Mario says that the lads are treating the deaths as linked to the attack and abduction, but I suppose that’s a no-brainer.’
‘Literally,’ she replied, grimly. ‘She was shot in the head. It’s not so easy to tell by looking at what’s left of him but my expectation is that he was too.’
I’ve seen pathologists at work, Sarah among them, more often than I care to remember. It’s horrible, bloody, smelly work, and I knew how she’d look once she was finished. I’ve seen, on occasion, how long she’d spend in the shower after a particularly nasty one, ridding herself of the last possibility of contamination by her subject. I knew that if she changed her mind and came back to Gullane after dealing with Dean Francey and his girlfriend, even in the middle of the night she’d be reeking of expensive shampoo and Chanel Number Five.
‘Go to it, baby,’ I told her. ‘They couldn’t be in better hands.’
I hung up, but some images that I really didn’t want in my head lodged themselves there. In a bid to drive them away I went back to the police report and to the gaps that could be filled.
Eden had given me his mobile number, saying I could call him any time. I took him at his word; when he answered I could hear festive sounds.
‘It’s Rachel’s birthday party,’ he explained, his voice raised. ‘Hold on, while I go somewhere private.’
I waited as the music and chatter faded, then disappeared entirely with the sound of a closing door. ‘What can I do for you, Bob?’ he asked.
‘I’ve got the police report,’ I replied. ‘It’s not the most thorough I’ve ever seen,’ I added, diplomatically. I should explain that for all his failings, DI Randolph McGarry was nonetheless a serving police officer, and I was not about to excoriate him to a civilian.
‘As Mary Chambers told you, the inquiry got nowhere, neither in what used to be the Strathclyde area, nor with any of the other forces who were asked for input.’
‘So it’s a goner?’
‘Probably,’ I conceded, ‘but there are things I can still look at. For starters I want those lists of guests at your floating reception, and also, details of anyone else who was there in another capacity: caterers and their staff, I’d imagine. I’d like them annotated, with an explanation of who each guest is and why he or she is there.’
‘Can do,’ he said, crisply. ‘I’ll put Luisa on it first thing in the morning and have the stuff emailed to you as soon as it’s done.’
‘Thanks.’
‘What are the prospects of success?’
‘I have no idea. To be frank, Eden,’ I admitted, ‘in all my career I’ve never encountered a theft like this. Sure, things have been stolen from boats, and maybe even the odd dinghy or inflatable’s been taken, but in my experience this one’s unique.’
‘Mmm,’ he murmured. ‘Are you telling me you haven’t a clue where to start, Bob?’
‘Hell no,’ I exclaimed. ‘I’m going to start with the “why”. If I can establish a motive, other than the sheer value of the vessel, then the rest might well fall into place.’
I let him go back to his party. Rachel and I crossed paths a few times when I was with Alison, but we’d never really got to know each other until that lunch in Eden’s office. From the early times, though, my impression had always been that what she