Death of a Valentine Part 8

"I didn't even know they were here," said Hamish. "It's you I want to be having a word with."

The minister led the way into a dark study, sat down behind a large desk, and indicated with a wave of his hand that they were to be seated in two chairs opposite. Hamish took off his cap and placed it on the desk.

"Get that thing off my desk!" snapped Mr. Tallent.

Hamish put his cap on the floor beside his chair. "I don't want any germs from your head on my desk," said the minister.

He had large angry grey eyes framed with thick spectacles. The skin of his face was thick, open-pored, and creased in folds rather than wrinkles. His grey lips were large and fleshy.

There was little of gentle Jesus meek and mild about the face opposite, thought Hamish cynically. This minister, he judged, probably preached a grand h.e.l.lfire sermon on Sundays.

"As you know," began Hamish, "we are investigating the murder of Annie Fleming. Did you know her very well?"

"I am a great friend of the family. Annie was a beautiful G.o.d-fearing angel. Whoever did this will burn in h.e.l.l for eternity."

"So Mr. and Mrs. Fleming are staying with you?"

"Yes, they could not possibly go back to that house until the police have finished with it and the kitchen is repaired."

"Was Annie particularly friendly with any member of your congregation?"

"I do not know."

"Did you know that Annie had been having a fling with her boss?"

"What do you mean? Speak plainly."

"She'd been having s.e.x with him."

"Rubbish. Who is spreading this filth?"

"Her boss, Bill Freemont, admits to it. A neighbour saw him going in to spend the afternoon with her when she was supposed to be off sick. Annie also frequented a disco over her lunch break."

He thumped the desk. "I will not believe it. Annie Fleming was a saint." His eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Just get out," he said.

Hamish and Josie got to their feet and made their way out. They had almost reached the garden gate when a voice from behind a laurel bush whispered, "Psst!"

"Come out," ordered Hamish.

"Father will see me. Walk down the road a bit to the left and I'll catch up with you."

Hamish and Josie walked along to the end of the road. It ended at a scraggy field of gorse and tussocky gra.s.s, bordered by a dry-stone wall.

They were about to turn back again when Hamish saw a slight figure hurrying down the field, slipping and sliding on the frozen snow. A young woman came up to them, looking nervously to left and right. "I'm Martha Tallent." Martha had obviously come round some back way.

"The minister's daughter?"

"Aye."

She had a large nose which dominated her thin face. Her sandy hair was sc.r.a.ped back from her forehead. She was wearing a dark anorak over black corduroy trousers.

"So, Martha, what do you want to tell us?"

"I was listening at the door and I heard what Father said. It's not true. Annie was a right b.i.t.c.h. She hated the church. She told me. I thought we were friends. There's this boy who goes to our church and one day he asked me out. I was that excited. We were only going to have a drink in Braikie. I told Annie. She was the only one I told. She told my father and he came raging into that pub and dragged me out in front of everyone. We were only having soft drinks! That boy never turned up in church again. And someone told me he had been seen in a pub in Braikie with Annie. I'm sure she did it to spite me. But Father found out as well. I don't know who told him. In fact, Father blamed me and claimed I had been introducing his precious Annie to corrupting influences."

"What's his name?"

"Mark Lussie."

"And where does he live?"

"Down in the council estate. Culloden Way, number twelve."

"How old are you, Martha?"

"Nineteen. The same as Mark. Oh, if you see him, could you say how sorry I am?"

"Yes, I will. The Flemings are staying with you? What are they like?"

"They're grief-stricken. They and Mother and Father sit around of an evening talking about how good and beautiful Annie was. I've nearly finished my computer course at Braikie College and the minute I get my diploma, I'm going off to Glasgow to look for a job."

Hamish glanced along the road. He saw that a car had arrived; Jimmy Anderson was getting out of it, followed by a policewoman. Jimmy saw Hamish's Land Rover and looked down the road until he spotted him and began to walk towards him. Martha let out a squeak of alarm and scampered back off over the field.

"Who was that you were talking to?" asked Jimmy.

"The minister's daughter. But don't let on."

"Find out anything?"

"Nothing much except Mr. Tallent thinks Annie was a saint and furthermore, I think he had a crush on her. The daughter had a date in a pub and Annie told the minister and the minister descended on the pub like the wrath of G.o.d."

"We've now got at least a couple of witnesses to testify that Annie was a regular visitor to the disco," said Jimmy. "Mr. Tallent's just about to see his idol topple off her pedestal."

"What's happening about the shooting?"

"Blair's in charge of that."

"Jimmy, I think a leak came from headquarters somehow."

"We're checking. I'd best be off to see the minister. I've a feeling it's going to be nasty. You try your luck with that latest boyfriend."

Blair was sitting at a corner table in The Clarty Duck with Barry Fitzcameron.

"I swear I had nothing to do with the shooting o' Jake," said Barry. "I'm surprised an old friend like you could think such a thing."

"I phoned you and you said you'd take care o' it," said Blair. "I didnae mean kill him."

Barry raised his hands. "Would I do a thing like that? The silly fool was into drugs. Probably he didn't pay for the last lot."

Blair looked nervously around the bar and inched forward. "If it ever gets out that I tipped you off about the raid, I'm finished."

Barry looked the epitome of the successful businessman from his well-tailored suit to his barbered silver hair. "n.o.body can find out. I didn't tell anyone, you didn't tell anyone, so what's your problem?"

"Let's jist say it's that lang dreep o' nothing, Hamish Macbeth."

"Oh, the lion tamer. What's he got to do with anything? Strathbane isn't his beat and you're in charge."

"He's sneaky. He poaches on ma territory."

"I'm telling you. Don't worry about it. Have another drink on me. Got to run."

Blair watched him go. Surely he had not arranged to have Jake killed. And yet he'd said he would fix it. What if he had Hamish Macbeth killed? A slow smile crossed Blair's fat features.

Hamish suggested they have something to eat. Josie's mind flew immediately to a corner table in a shaded restaurant. The balloon of her imagination was p.r.i.c.ked when Hamish parked outside a fish-and-chip shop and asked her what she wanted. Josie stared moodily out of the Land Rover window at the large menu on a board: fish and chips, haggis and chips, deep-fried pizza slice and chips, deep-fried Mars bar and chips, chicken and chips, black pudding and chips, and sausage and chips.

"Fish and chips," said Josie.

Hamish returned with fish and chips for himself and Josie, fish for Sonsie, and sausage and chips for Lugs. He put the animals' food in their bowls at the back and then climbed in the front and gave a greasy package to Josie. He had also bought a bottle of Irn Bru, that famous Scottish fizzy drink which once had the slogan, "Made from Girders." It was an amazing success in Russia where it was advertised as a hangover cure. Hamish produced two paper cups and poured Josie a drink of it.

"I'll get spots...sir," said Josie gloomily.

"These are the best fish and chips for miles around," said Hamish. "Eat up and then we'll go and see this Mark Lussie."

When they had finished, Hamish collected up all the papers, put them in a bin outside the shop, and got into the Land Rover after wiping his greasy hands on his trousers. If only he'd let me cook for him, thought Josie. I'd show him what good food really really tastes like. tastes like.

Hamish whistled "The Road to the Isles" as he drove to the council estate. The day was clear and sparkling and for once, the dreaded gales of Sutherland had decided to leave the county alone.

A tired-looking woman with a squalling baby at her hip answered the door. She said she was Mark's mother and Mark was at work at the bakery. Hamish rea.s.sured her that Mark was not in trouble, then headed back into the centre of Braikie and parked at the bakery.

He asked for Mark at the counter. The baker looked alarmed. "I hope he hasnae been up to anything. He's a good worker."

"No, no. Just a few questions," said Hamish soothingly.

The baker went into the back shop. A few moments later, Mark emerged wearing white overalls and a white cap. He looked much younger than his nineteen years. He had a very white face and pale green eyes. He was small in stature, and his shoulders were stooped.

"Would you mind stepping outside?" asked Hamish. "Just a few questions."

"Is it about Annie?"

"Yes, I believe you were dating her."

Josie decided the time had come to show Hamish Macbeth that she was a real policewoman. "Did you kill her?" she demanded.

Before Mark could say anything, Hamish rounded on her. "Please go and sit in the Land Rover, McSween."

"But..."

"Just go!"

He waited until Josie had left and then said, "No one is accusing you of anything, Mark. McSween is new to the job. Let's begin again. I gather you were dating her."

"Aye. I couldnae believe ma luck. It was after Bible cla.s.s one Sunday afternoon. She asked me if I'd like to meet her on the Monday evening for a drink. I said all right and she said she would meet me in the Red Lion. She started to drink vodka doubles wi' Red Bull. I'd never drunk alcohol before and what wi' her being such a beauty, I decided to start drinking vodka as well.

"I dinnae ken what idiot said that vodka didn't smell because my mother smelt it the minute I got home. But I didnae care because she had promised tae meet me the next night. We had just got sat down when her father burst into the pub and starts howling and cursing. Says I led his daughter astray. She didnae say one word to defend me. 'Forget it, Da,' says she. 'He's not worth bothering about. He's just some little fellow from the Bible cla.s.s.' And that was that. I'm frightened to go back to the church in case the auld scunner accuses me of her murder."

Hamish left the bakery and got into the Land Rover. He looked wearily at Josie. "Policing in the Highlands," he said, "is not like a hard-cop American TV series. You deal gently wi' people and you'll get more out of them." He let in the clutch. "We're going back to the Flemings' house. Maybe something from the blast ended up in the garden and SOCO might have missed it."

Josie felt near to tears. It seemed she couldn't do anything right. She sat in brooding silence until they reached the Flemings' home.

It was still cordoned off with police tape. They both got out. "We'll go round the back," said Hamish. "As the blast was in the kitchen, there might be something blown outside."

The back garden consisted of a drying green with tattered washing still hanging on the line. There were a few bushes in the narrow flower beds that formed an edging around the green.

Hamish began to search carefully in the bushes by the kitchen door, and Josie began to look through the bushes on the left-hand side. As she worked her way round the garden, she grew cold and bored. The sun shone on the tattered washing. One of the items not too damaged was a serviceable pair of knickers. Josie suddenly noticed that there was something stuck inside the knickers. She went over to the washing line. The clothes were just beginning to thaw out. She unpegged the knickers. Hamish came over to her. "Found something?"

"Maybe nothing," said Josie. "But when the sun shone it looked as if there was a bit of paper stuck inside."

Hamish put on a pair of latex gloves and told Josie to do the same. He opened up the knickers gently. Sure enough, there was a sc.r.a.p of paper. "We'd best take this down to the forensic lab in Strathbane," he said. "We don't want to risk damaging it."

Hamish's heart sank when he saw forensic scientist Lesley Murray, formerly Lesley Seaton. She had pursued him at one time and was now married to her boss, Bruce Murray.

"You can leave it with me," she said.

"If you don't mind, we'll hang around and see if there's anything important," said Hamish.

Josie looked about in disappointment. It was hardly a scene out of CSI Miami CSI Miami. The room was dingy with frosted-gla.s.s windows. A faulty fluorescent light buzzed overhead like an angry wasp. There was a cup of coffee on Leslie's desk with a skin of milk on the top. She had imagined the underwear being subjected to forensic scrutiny under high-tech machines, but all Lesley did was snip open one side of the knickers and with tweezers carefully extract a piece of scorched cardboard.

"There's some writing on it. Typewritten," she said. "It looks like part of a valentine card."

Hamish leaned over her shoulder and read: "Rose are re...

"Violets...

"You're going t...

"Just what's coming to you."

"I'll telephone Mr. Blair and tell him about this," said Lesley.

"You better telephone Jimmy," said Hamish. "He's in charge o' the case."

"Right. You can go," said Lesley. "I'll see if I can get anything more out of this."