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‘Aye, I’m proud of our record, sir.’
‘So you should be.’ He nodded, and Ross just couldn’t help but stare at the flabby fold of skin as it quivered.
‘So, where are we, then?’ asked Macdonald.
‘How much do you want? Lot’s happening right now, and leads are developing as we speak,’ said Ross.
‘Well, how about Hardie for a start?’ said Macdonald, looking at Crookston.
‘I have four of my guys signing him out of HMP Shotts and transporting him to a secure and covert location this afternoon, where we’ll hand him over for debrief by DS Craigie and DC Calder starting tomorrow. I understand that there was a serious attempted attack on him in jail, by an Albanian prisoner just recently, so he’s being held in solitary at the moment until we can remove him for his debrief.’
‘Initial account from Hardie, Ross?’ said Campbell.
‘He’s given one, but not under caution and no lawyer, so we can’t rely on it yet. Essentially, he’s alleging that his late brother was involved in the disposing of Beata Dabrowski’s body as ordered by his father, who was working for an individual who is now in a position of power. He claims that the murder was carried out by a man he knows as Droopy, assisted by someone else called Mitch, and another called Billy Watson, all facilitated by Jack Slattery, who I think we all know about. It’s of course now noted that Jack Slattery and Steven Mitchell were murdered within the last few days. Slattery was killed by a man called Galbraith in Saughton, and Mitchell was shot dead at his home in Newcastle.’
‘How about Billy Watson?’ said Campbell.
‘Died some years ago, of natural causes.’
‘Anything linking them to this case other than coincidence?’ said Jacobs.
‘Nothing direct, but it’s far too big a coincidence for me,’ said Ross.
Wakefield cleared his throat. ‘Far too big for us on the MIT as well, Ross. We’re keeping an open mind, and all the investigative teams are talking to each other, but no obvious and firm links from us, as yet. We really need you guys to pull it out of the bag, Ross.’
‘We’ll do our best, boss.’ Ross paused to sip his coffee, and grimaced just a touch.
‘Can Hardie assist on this?’ said Jacobs.
‘Not directly.’
‘How about this Droopy character?’ said Macdonald.
‘We believe we’ve identified him as Gordon Malone. An ex-soldier from Glasgow, no criminal history, some weak intelligence linking someone called Droopy to major crime as a fixer, but this is hot off the press, and we’re still developing the picture as we speak,’ said Max.
‘Any actual solid evidence?’ said Campbell.
‘Less than we’d like. We’ll get witness testimony from Hardie, but we need Droopy. We need him quick.’
Townsend cleared his throat and spoke, his voice clear and authoritative. ‘Well, I’m happy to recommend to the Lord Advocate that in return for a full witness statement from Frankie Hardie that details his knowledge of the death of Beata Dabrowski, and the involvement of his father, his brothers and others as yet unidentified, we will consider an immunity deal for Hardie. I’ll also recommend that in the event of solid evidence or intelligence leading to an arrest and prosecution of those responsible, his parole will be considered early, and authorised removal out of general population. It’ll be in writing by this afternoon once I’ve had chance to brief the Lord Advocate. This will be reviewed after his interviews, and nothing is promised until his evidence has been evaluated. Clear?’ he said, his head held high, stretching the wattle taut.
‘Crystal clear. We can proceed then?’ said Max.
‘Hardie will require independent legal advice to make this solid. Does he have his own solicitor?’
‘He did, but he’s now minus a head.’
‘Of course. We really can’t do this without him receiving independent advice, but you’ll want someone who’s security cleared, I imagine?’
‘Already in hand, we have Shona Devlin from Devlin and Bird in Glasgow acting for him, he was happy to leave it to us. She’s appropriately vetted, but we still won’t brief her until she arrives at the location, we need to be so careful,’ said Ross.
Townsend and Jacobs looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
‘Shona is highly respected. I’ve encountered her more than once over the years. She’s pretty ferocious, you know,’ said Townsend.
‘No bother for us. We want him properly advised,’ said Max.
‘Excellent.’
