Page 102 of Better the Devil

‘That’s a point.’ Logan turned to Dave. ‘Any joy with all the Bitcoin stuff?’

Dave winced, like he’d been braced for this question. ‘Not really. Haven’t been able to track down any of her wallets yet. Though, I did find out she didn’t buy that house in cash.’

‘She used crypto?’ Hamza asked in surprise.

‘She used a mortgage,’ Dave corrected.

‘Why would she need a mortgage if she’s got a hundred million quid?’ Tyler asked.

Looks were exchanged, but no answers were voiced. Knowledge of high finance generally wasn’t necessary on a Police Scotland wage.

‘Wait, wait!’ Hamza clicked his fingers and pointed to Sergeant Fleck. ‘At the thing. The presentation. When you were listing off the volunteers, you mentioned a bank manager.’

The sergeant nodded slowly. ‘Archie Howden. He’s with the Caledonian.’

‘What’s the Caledonian?’ Dave asked. ‘Is that not a pub?’

‘I think it’s one of them private banks. Headquarters in Edinburgh,’ Fleck explained. He looked slightly embarrassed by all the sudden attention. ‘He told me all about it, but I wasn’t really listening. I generally just use him as the butt of the joke at these group meetings.’

Panic flashed across his face, like he had just talked himself into trouble.

‘He’s fine with it, I should stress. He’s a good laugh. You know, for a bank manager. Which, I appreciate isn’t really a high bar.’

‘Could he advise?’ Hamza asked. ‘Not on Eleanor Belov’s particular circumstances, obviously, but in general?’

‘Like, why someone with a hundred million quid would have a mortgage?’ Tyler reiterated.

Fleck gave a little shrug that wasn’t about to commit to anything. ‘I mean… I can ask. I can run it by him.’

‘Or we could just ask her directly,’ Sinead suggested. She looked around at the others, before settling on Logan. ‘I mean, I know you spoke to her at her house, but a lot’s changed since then. If that’s her bag… If that’s her money…’

Logan groaned. She was right, of course. Pulling Eleanor Belov in for interview not only made sense, but was long overdue.

He suspected it wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded, though.

‘She said she’s got a team of lawyers. If she has the sort of money she’s claiming to, then you can bet they’ll be a pain in the arse. I want to make sure we’ve got something on her before we bring her in. Something concrete.’

‘What about the lassie Joe Robertson saw?’ Hamza said. ‘Could that have been her?’

Logan hesitated, feeling Tyler and Sinead’s gazes on him.

Hamza was referring to the young woman seen walking near the murder scene.

The young woman with the attitude problem, who had not yet been identified.

Maybe it could’ve been Eleanor. Maybe it was.

Or maybe it was someone closer to home.

‘It’s not enough. That could have been anyone,’ Jack said. ‘We need something more solid.’

‘Um…’

Sergeant Fleck half-raised a hand again.

‘What if you just asked her to voluntarily give some fingerprints?’

He blushed once more when all eyes turned his way.