‘And you gave him and Anna venison burgers, for the road.’
‘Aye. An’ a box o’ crisps and a case o’ Vimto.’
‘Did he say where they were going?’
‘As far away as they fuckin’ could. But he said he had tae meet a bloke. The guy owed him more cash.’
‘But he came to you for money as well?’ Haddock exclaimed.
‘He said they were goin’ tae need all the dough he could raise. He said if they could, they were going tae get on a car ferry and head for Holland and then Poland.’
‘Did he have a passport?’
‘Ah dinnae ken.’ Jagger shrugged. ‘Like Ah said, he was crappin’ himsel’, no’ thinkin’ straight.’
‘And Singer, Anna, how was she?’
‘Like Ah said, she was feart too, but no’ as bad as Dino. She was under control.’ His eyes widened. ‘Aye, that’s right. Ah remember noo; she said she had her passport and that when they got tae the ferry, she was goin’ tae hide Jagger in the boot, just like he hid the kid. She reckoned that once they got tae Holland she’d be able tae use her credit card.’
‘You’re a couple of bastards, you and Dino,’ Drizzle growled. ‘Anna was a nice kid. What the hell she was doing with you bum holes I’ll never know.’
‘Ah, fuck you,’ Jagger sighed. He looked at Pye. ‘So what happens now?’ he asked. ‘Ah’ve told yis what Ah know.’
‘This is what’s going to happen,’ the DCI said, smiling. ‘This is the bit I like. Do the honours, Sauce.’
‘My pleasure, gaffer. Michael Smith, he began ‘I am detaining you under Section Fourteen of the Criminal Procedure, Scotland, Act, nineteen ninety-five, because I suspect you of having committed an offence punishable by imprisonment, namely giving assistance to a person or persons you knew to be fugitives to escape from the police.
‘The reasons for my suspicions,’ he continued, ‘are the facts that on your own admission, the suspects were here yesterday afternoon after you knew that one of them was wanted by the police in connection with a serious crime, and were given financial assistance by you.
‘You will be detained to enable further investigations to be carried out regarding the offence and as to whether or not you should be reported for prosecution. You will be taken to a police station where you will be informed of your further rights in respect of detention.’
The DS stopped, then added, ‘It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it means you’re lifted, Jagger. When you’re sitting in the remand wing in Saughton, I want you to think on this. If you’d done the right thing by the dead child and called us when Dino and Singer turned up here, they’d still be alive, and you wouldn’t be locked up. I hope you choke on your porridge, pal.’
Thirty-One
‘Is this really a holiday resort?’ Haddock asked, as he drove carefully through the narrow, crowded streets of the seaside town.
‘Absolutely,’ Pye assured him. ‘In the old days they called this the “Biarritz of the North”. It’s still popular. You’re thinking like a young single man, Sauce.’
‘I’m not single! We’re a couple.’
‘No, you’re a Dinky: as in, Dual Income No Kids. It’s the same as being single, in most ways. When you think of a holiday, you think of getting on a plane and getting off somewhere twenty degrees warmer. When you think of a beach it has to be so bloody hot underfoot that you can’t walk on it.’
The DS grinned. ‘That just about sums it up, I’ll admit.’
‘Then wait till you’re like Ruth and me, with Junior to look after. We did it once, the package holiday thing. Nightmare. Getting him on and off the plane, to the hotel, never taking our eyes off him while he was crawling about near the pool, finding something he could eat without him spitting it out.
‘Ever since then we’ve rented a cottage. Next summer we’re going to CenterParcs in the Lake District. If it’s warm at the weekends and we fancy the beach, we take him to North Berwick, or over to Fife. Elie’s nice, or would be if it had more facilities.’
‘We’ll bear all that in mind,’ Haddock said, ‘in five years’ time, or maybe in ten. Meanwhile, in this place there isn’t even a yellow line we can park on.’
‘Go back to the police station,’ the DCI suggested. Haddock was about to take his advice when a space opened up for him, as a Volvo estate pulled out. ‘See?