unnerving reality.
"I'm waiting, Mr. Malkiewicz," Maclennan said.
"The Land Rover belongs to one of the other students who shares the house with us. We borrowed it last night to get to the party."
"You borrowed it? You mean, Mr. Cavendish gave you his permission to ride around in his Land Rover?" Maclennan pounced, refusing to give Ziggy the chance to get into his stride.
"Not exactly, no." Ziggy looked off to one side, unable to meet Maclennan's stare. "Look, I know we shouldn't have taken it, but it was no big deal." As soon as the words were out of his mouth. Ziggy knew they were a mistake.
"It's a criminal offense. Which I'm sure you knew. So, you stole the Land Rover and took it to the party. That doesn't explain how it ended up where it did."
Ziggy's breath was fluttering in his chest like a trapped moth. "I moved it there for safety. We were drinking and I didn't want any of us to be tempted to drive it when we were drunk."
"When exactly did you move it?"
"I don't know exactly. Probably some time between one and two in the morning."
"You must have had quite a lot to drink by then yourself." Maclennan was on a roll now, his shoulders hunched forward as he leaned into the interrogation.
"I was probably over the limit, yes. But?
"Another criminal offense. So you were lying when you said you never left the party?" Maclennan's eyes felt like surgical probes.
"I was gone for as long as it took to move the Land Rover and walk back. Maybe twenty minutes."
"We've only got your word for that. We've been speaking to some of the other people at the party, and we've not had many sightings of you. I think you were away for a lot longer than that. I think you came across Rosie Duff and you offered her a lift."
"No!"
Maclennan continued relentlessly. "And something happened that made you angry, and you raped her. Then you realized that she could destroy your life if she went to the police. You panicked and you killed her. You knew you had to dump the body, but you had the Land Rover, so that wasn't a big deal. And then you cleaned yourself up and went back to the party. Isn't that how it happened?"
Ziggy shook his head. "No. You've got it all wrong. I never saw her, never touched her. I just got rid of the Land Rover before somebody had an accident."
"What happened to Rosie Duff wasn't an accident. And you were the one who made it happen."
Flushed with fear, Ziggy ran his hands through his hair. "No. You've got to believe me. I had nothing to do with her death."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm telling you the truth."
"No. What you're telling me is a new version of events that covers what you think I know. I don't think it's anything like the whole truth."
There was a long silence. Ziggy clenched his jaw tight, feeling the muscles bunching in his cheeks.
Maclennan spoke again. This time, his tone was softer. "We're going to find out what happened. You know that. Right now, we've got a team of forensic experts going over every inch of that Land Rover. If we find one spot of blood, one hair from Rosie Duff's head, one fiber from her clothes, it'll be a very long time before you sleep in your own bed again. You could save yourself and your father a lot of grief if you just tell us everything now."
Ziggy almost burst out laughing. It was so transparent a move, so revealing of the weakness of Maclennan's hand. "I've got nothing more to say."
"Have it your own way, son. I'm arresting you for taking and driving away a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. You'll be bailed to report to the police station in a week's time." Maclennan pushed his chair back. "I suggest you get yourself a lawyer, Mr. Malkiewicz."
Inevitably, Weird was next up. It had to be the Land Rover, he'd decided as they'd sat in silence in the interview room. OK, he'd told himself. He'd hold his hand up, carry the can. He wasn't going to let the others take the blame for his stupidity. They wouldn't send him to jail, not for something so trivial. It would be a fine, and he could pay that off somehow. He could get a part-time job. You could be a mathematician with a criminal record.
He slouched in the chair opposite Maclennan and