AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Doreen Urquhart spoke for the first time. ‘Divers have recovered the barrel, the stock and a small piece of the working parts. A firearms officer has had a look, and he thinks that it’s military grade, and probably chambered for a .338.’
‘Is that big?’ said Wakefield.
‘It’s very big, boss,’ said Max.
‘Just how big?’
‘Big enough to remove heads. Snipers use them, in fact the British Army main sniper weapon is chambered .338.’
‘I hear that we also think that he used a motorbike? Tyre tracks recovered, Billy?’ Miles turned to the crime scene manager.
‘We got a decent cast, may be able to narrow the bike brand down with some tyre company manufacturers,’ said Billy.
‘Already in hand,’ said DCI Davies.
‘Okay, thanks everyone for your hard work. I really need to get to Tulliallan, or I’ll be very unpopular with the DCC. Anything on the rescuer’s car?’
‘The drone didn’t capture the plate number, and no sightings nearby. Still combing what CCTV there is, but it’s sparse,’ said Davies.
‘Is that all the main parts before I go?’
‘Lots more happening, but that’s the salient lines of inquiry we’ve been concentrating on,’ said Davies.
‘PIRC?’
‘They sniffed about a bit, but seem happy to leave it with us. They’ll be looking at the planning and tactics of the operation in slow time, as it’s a death in police custody.’
‘Lastly, before I go, how are DS Maxwell, DS Laithwaite and the driver?’
‘Shocked, but okay. We sent them away after they gave initial accounts, and seized all their clothing, which look very much likea Jackson Pollock piece after the spray caught them,’ said Davies, with a grimace.
‘Okay, thanks all. We need a big push on this one, as the scrutiny is going to be intense. Keep at it one hundred per cent, am I clear?’ There were nods and murmurs of assent.
‘One thing, boss?’ said Ross. ‘The deaths of Steven Mitchell and Jack Slattery.’ His voice was almost hesitant.
‘What about them?’ said Wakefield.
‘Both Hardie henchmen, and both killed within hours of this going down. It must be connected, no?’
‘No one has told me anything that suggests that. Slattery being ex-cop was hardly going to be popular in jail, and Mitchell was a career criminal living in Newcastle, I was told. We’ve enough on right now, and I don’t want us distracted by minor coincidences. As I understand it, Slattery was killed by a psychotic criminal, who daubed about pigs in his victim’s blood, and Mitchell was a criminal shot dead in an unconnected fashion. Unless you have evidence, we won’t be distracted by that.’
‘That feels like a mistake to me, sir,’ said Ross, politely.
Wakefield’s face darkened, the stress showing in his lined, pale features, as a silence descended on the room, which was thick and uncomfortable.
‘Well, it’s my mistake to make, DI Fraser. Now, unless you have tangible evidence linking the cases, we carry on as agreed under Heather’s direction.’ He straightened his tie, nodded and left the room, Malky in tow, shrugging as he walked past Ross.
Ross just smiled back, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
The murmur in the room increased in volume, and people began to stand, stretching their backs and loosening ties.
‘Okay, folks. Once all your submissions are in, and evidence and statements handed into the receiver, I want you all to head home, ready for a long day tomorrow. We have to be ready to deploy urgently if we get a DNA hit on the fag butt, and the PM’s at 1 p.m. I’ll behanding out all the actions in the morning, and there’ll be a lot of them. Ross, do you have a moment?’ Davies said.
Ross nodded and they moved over to the corner of the room.
‘Mitchell and Slattery, do you actually have anything at all?’ said Davies, in a whisper.
‘No, but does anyone not think that’s a coincidence too far?’
