Don't Cry, Darling: murder and kidnap in Scotland by Robert McNeill

Author:Robert McNeill [McNeill, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS bestselling British crime fiction publisher
Published: 2023-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Soon after Knox and Fulton had left to interview Salter, Hathaway logged into Traffic Scotland’s video recordings for the weekend beginning 10pm Friday 14 April. McCann sat at his side, the officers having set the automatic number plate recognition to pick up sightings of the registration number of Grossman’s Toyota RAV4.

A few minutes earlier they’d got their first lead when they received a call from the Traffic division to say Grossman’s Corolla had been located in Edinburgh’s suburbs. It was found parked in Northfield Road, to the east of the city.

‘The boss was right,’ Hathaway said. ‘He’s transferred to the RAV4.’

McCann pointed to the screen. ‘So it’s the A1,’ she said.

‘I’ll activate the ANPR from Milton Road,’ Hathaway said.

The desktop pinged and a section of video came up on the screen. It showed Grossman’s vehicle passing a vantage point at a busy crossroads where the A1 intersected Duddingston Park South.

The young detective clicked the mouse a second time. The screen blanked momentarily, then a message flashed “Searching…”

A moment later the computer pinged again and a section of video captioned “Milton Link/Edinburgh Bypass” came on the screen.

‘We’re still on the A1,’ Hathaway said.

‘He’s heading south?’ McCann asked.

‘Maybe not,’ Hathaway said. ‘There’s another big intersection coming up. The city bypass leads off, and after that there’s two possible choices: the A68 and A7.’

‘Both routes to the Scottish Borders?’ McCann said.

‘Yes, the A7 more to the west; Carlisle, the M6.’

The detectives watched the ANPR follow the RAV4 through a series of vantage points, then the vehicle took the A7 via Galashiels, Hawick and finally, Langholm.

‘Traffic Scotland’s cameras take us as far as Longtown,’ Hathaway explained. ‘After that, we’d have to switch to the English network.’

‘Where’s the next CCTV?’ McCann asked.

‘Canonbie,’ Hathaway replied. ‘The last of Traffic Scotland’s cameras is a couple of miles from the English border.’

They studied the screen. It pinged again and the caption read “Canonbie”.

The vantage point of the camera was at a well-lit petrol station. The detectives saw Grossman behind the wheel and Olivia in the passenger seat.

‘Look,’ McCann said. ‘Olivia. We couldn’t see her in the Market Street footage. He must have moved her.’

‘Would’ve looked suspicious if he’d left her in the back for any length of time,’ Hathaway said. ‘Still slumped in her seat, though.’

‘Wouldn’t necessarily draw attention,’ McCann said. ‘Anyone would think she was sleeping.’ She pointed to a caption on the screen, which read “End of ANPR sightings”.

‘What does that mean?’ she asked.

‘It’s where the trail ends,’ Hathaway replied.

‘You mean–’

Hathaway cut in. ‘Grossman pulled off the A7,’ he said. ‘Somewhere between Canonbie and the next ANPR point.’

* * *

‘You told us you had no ammunition for the Browning,’ Knox was saying. ‘Yet officers who carried out a search of your house found a box with eighteen cartridges. How do you explain that?’

He and Fulton were sitting opposite Salter at a plain metal table in Interview Room 2 at Gayfield Square Police Station. Also present was Salter’s legal representative, Alan Strang, who was seated next to his client.

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