We Were Not Innocent by Douglas Lindsay

Author:Douglas Lindsay [Lindsay, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

35

‘Boss,’ said Kane, nodding at Buchan as he walked back into the office. ‘You changed. How’d you get on in Dunblane? Someone throw you in the pool?’

‘More or less,’ he said, pulling out a seat. ‘Where’ve we got to?’

‘We obviously don’t know yet where Oscar Newman was drugged, but we have confirmed the movements that got him into the church. There’s the gate at the back that opens out onto Cromwell Road. Always locked, but whoever did this, had the key. They obviously picked their moment, which wouldn’t have been too hard to do since it was only Constable Rafferty on the front door. They dragged the body through the open gate, up the path. They then hid out behind some of the rear gravestones. There’s evidence of extended indentations on the grass. Perhaps they realised Rafferty was coming, perhaps they just decided to lie low until they had the lay of the land.’

‘Or the lights had changed at the intersection with Holland, and there was traffic,’ said Buchan.

‘That would make sense,’ said Kane. ‘At some point, after a length of time that presumably wasn’t too long, the still living, but unconscious body of Newman, is dragged to the door and into the church. Dragged through the building to the nave, and there the deed is done.’

‘You’ve spoken to Donoghue?’

‘Yep,’ said Kane, and she made the phone sign. ‘As we thought, same m.o.’

‘GHB?’

‘Yep.’

‘OK, that part’s coming together at least. How are we doing on alibis?’

‘Fifty-fifty. Trouble with an alibi for the middle of the night, same as always, is most people are sleeping. Even if they’re sharing, the other person could’ve slept all night and can’t honestly testify on their behalf.’

‘OK,’ said Buchan. ‘And the ones who’ve fled the coop?’

‘I was including them. Some can be squared away, a couple are just plain out of range to have travelled back, but several of them... well, nothing to stop them coming back to the church and then leaving again.’

‘Hmm,’ said Buchan.

‘That would include Lucy Devonshire,’ said Kane. ‘How did that play out?’

‘Not good,’ said Buchan.

He was feeling cool at last. It had taken a while. He turned and looked at the coffee machine. He was about to go and try to erase the memory of interviewing Devonshire by interviewing Bearman, which promised to go just as badly. This was the day he was having. The movie production was in turmoil, the church was in turmoil, and they were, as ever, bang in the middle of it, on the receiving end of everyone’s ire.

Buchan was aware that both Cherry and Dawkins had lifted their heads temporarily from their desks to hear the tale.

‘Should we get Agnes in to hear it?’ asked Kane, smiling.

‘Agnes, I’m sure, will hear soon enough,’ said Buchan, then he reluctantly started. ‘When I got to the hotel, Ms Devonshire was in the Finnish smoke sauna. So there was that.’

‘Wow. You didn’t just wait for her to come out?’

‘She’d booked herself a weekend in an expensive spa resort,’ said Buchan.

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