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‘Aye, maybe. So, we film what we do on BWV, and justify it as we urgently need any comms data from in that car. Some bent bastard fed them the name of Frankie’s solicitor whose car was lumped up, and I’m betting that someone gave them the layout of the cop shop. We know that someone influential has been at the top of this, but it couldn’t be just Droopy. How did they know when and where Davie would be to shoot him? How did they know the layout of this place? We can’t wait for the PIRC to release this, they’re too slow.’
‘A wee shufti can’t hurt, but glove up, yeah?’ said Nige, producing some nitrile gloves from his pocket and handing them to Max and Janie, who snapped them into place.
‘Okay, let’s do it. Danny, can you switch on your BWV?’ said Max.
Danny reached to the small dark box secured to his body armour and pressed a switch. It began to flash with a red light. ‘We’re filming,’ said the armed officer.
‘Okay, this is an urgent flash search of the suspect’s vehicle, for safety reasons. Primary aims are any communications devices on which evidence may be available, but could be at risk of auto deletion after a certain amount of time has elapsed.’
Max pulled his penlight from his pocket and switched it on as he approached the car.
Janie was on the passenger side and began shining her torch through the open window. ‘I’m going to give a commentary for the benefit of the camera. Lots of gore here, presumably has come from the deceased, who is currently sat in the driver’s seat and is pretty encrusted, fortunately window being open is allowing a good view. I can see the large and chunky phone in the middle of the centre console. It appears to have a flashing light on the screen, possibly indicating notification. Something in the cupholder, Max.’
‘What is it?’
‘It’s closer to your side, but I think it could be a SIM card.’
Max approached the driver’s side window, which was also rolled down, trying not to look at the lolling head of Droopy, whose eyes were still wide open and seemingly staring at Max. His heartbeat beginning to accelerate as the stench of death assaulted his nostrils, Max felt his stomach tighten. ‘Not now,’ he muttered to himself, as the beginnings of familiar nausea started to bubble. He bent down, his head close to the open window and saw what Janie had seen. It was a single micro-SIM. So Droopy had changed SIMs on this trip, meaning that there could be evidence available on it.Maybe a new number? ‘Aye, it’s a SIM. How far away are Ross and Barney?’ said Max.
‘Last I heard an hour, but that was about half an hour ago. What are you thinking?’
‘I’m thinking we get Barney to download the SIM.’
‘Will that help us if it was in an EncroPhone?’ said Janie.
Max considered this. They knew that Droopy changed SIMs regularly in his phone, and now it seemed clear why. Ditching SIMs after every call made it almost impossible to follow phone data, and if the EncroPhone couldn’t be cracked, which was likely, then the phone wouldn’t help them at all. If that SIM had been removed from the EncroPhone after being used, they’d know about it from the data obtained via Norma.
‘Maybe we leave it. We can get the data from Norma.’ Max looked around the inside of the car, trying to ignore the oozing blood, brain and shards of bone on the roof, dashboard and windscreen.
He sighed, a sinking feeling in his gut. ‘This is a waste—’
A green wink of a light from the driver’s door pocket caught his eye, and the words died in his throat. He shone his torch down into the black space, and his heart lurched.
A tiny, dark plastic mobile phone was nestled in the door pocket. It flashed again, a pinprick of light on the top of the handset.
‘Janie, phone Barney, and find out how long they’ll be,’ said Max, reaching down into the door pocket and picking out the phone with a thumb and forefinger. He pressed a key on the side of the phone, and it lit up, the greenish hue casting a ghostly shadow on Droopy’s ruined head, the crusted blood almost black in the half-light. There was a preview of a message on the screen.
I need an update urgently.The message had been received just thirty minutes ago.
Max withdrew his head from the car and looked across to Janie, who returned his gaze with a frown. ‘I’m just on the phone to Barney now, who’s twenty minutes away with Ross, what’s up?’
‘Get Ross to make all the calls. This job needs locking down tight as a drum. No press release, no comments, nothing at all, and in particular, “need to know” in force, we have a leak, but we have an opportunity, as long as we control the flow of information.’
‘Ross is swearing a great deal and asking what the devil is happening? Although he may have used more salty language,’ said Janie.
‘We’ve a burner phone, and I think that The Ace messaged Droopy half an hour ago. We have a live phone for him.’
61
ROSS AND BARNEYarrived, as promised, within twenty minutes, Barney at the wheel of his camper van, and Ross scowling in the passenger seat, as they pulled up outside the police station.
Danny and his team had left in a marked car and were on their way to Ullapool police station, which had been designated for the post-incident debrief and holding location. As they’d used lethal force, clear cut though it was, the post-incident procedure was now in full swing. They’d be confined to the debrief location until the initial investigation had taken place, BWV had been viewed, firearms seized for examination and initial accounts recorded.
The crime scene manager had arrived and the cordon was in place around the police station, the car containing the body of Droopy and the two police cars that had been shot up with the mannequins inside them. There was still no sign of the PIRC investigators, and Max was confident they’d be some time yet.
‘Fucking hell, Craigie, here we go again, you’re a bloody Jonah, you are. I’m starting to think that working with you may be detrimental to every facet of my bastard life.’ Ross had appeared as if by magic at Max’s side.
‘Hi, Ross,’ said Max, and he was surprised to feel a smile stretching across his face.
