Chapter 54
EDINBURGH
‘What do you mean, he had a fucking partner?’ Cross said. The afternoon sun was high in the sky but they were in the shade from some trees.
‘I’ve had this feeling, if you will, ever since I got stabbed by Kane.
You see, that night, I was walking through the depository, and I saw him at the far end.
Then he ran around the shelving, and I lost sight of him.
But I’ve lived that moment repeatedly, because something wasn’t right.
I thought I was just delirious, but now I know what it was. ’ He looked at him.
‘Don’t keep us in suspense, son,’ Cross said.
‘His height. I see him running around the end of the shelving, and before he turned, his head was level with a shelf with a big red book on it. Fourth shelf up. But when I was stabbed and turned to see Kane, the red book was at shoulder level. When the first guy was running, he wasn’t ducking.
He was shorter than Kane. There were two of them there that night.
And the first one got away. He could have been hiding somewhere in there and waited until we left before leaving.
There were two of the fuckers that night. ’
‘Who would the other man be?’
Lucy walked across to them and looked at Brodie. ‘Forensics had bagged the book that was lying on Sylvia,’ she said, holding up the clear evidence bag. ‘I flipped through it. It’s a John Sandford. Latest paperback. But that’s not the interesting point. I took a photo.’
Brodie pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves and reached into the bag, taking the book out. Inside the front page of the book, with a sticker from his mother’s café. The name, phone number, address, and the fact they had a book exchange.
‘You seen those stickers before?’ Cross asked.
Brodie nodded. ‘My dad puts them in the books. He reckons people will come to the café if they like books.’
‘Considering this is a new book, it’s safe to say it was in the café recently.’
‘It would appear so.’ He thought about his mother telling him Moira was talking with a customer. Somebody called Peter.
‘Could be that this killer was in your mother’s café,’ Cross said.
‘Let me call her.’ Brodie walked away and called his father instead. ‘Dad, it’s Liam.’
‘Have you heard about Moira yet? Did those Uniforms go to her flat?’
‘Not yet. I’ll chase them up. But I have to ask you about one of the books you had in your book exchange. You wouldn’t happen to remember if you had the latest John Sandford, would you?’
‘Of course. It was mine. I bought it and put it on the shelf when I was finished.’
‘And you put a sticker inside, with the name of the café on it?’
‘Always.’
‘I don’t suppose you know who took it?’ Brodie asked.
‘I do actually. A very nice woman.’ He heard his father click his fingers. ‘Now I remember, she was with the customer who was chatting with Moira. Peter.’
‘Did they leave together?’
‘They did, actually. Why? What’s happened?’
‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Just don’t tell Mum I asked, okay?’
‘Sure, if that’s what you want.’
Brodie disconnected then walked back over to Cross and Lucy. ‘My dad remembers who took the book. A woman. She was with a man called Peter. The same customer who my sister was chatting to. Now nobody can get a hold of my sister.’
‘There were other books on the women. One of them, the one on Marianne, had words in the book highlighted in yellow.’
‘Highlighted?’ Brodie said.
Brodie’s phone rang again. It was control informing him that a patrol had attempted contact with his sister and got a negative response.
‘Did you get a hold of her?’ Cross asked.
Brodie shook his head. ‘She’s not at home. Or answering her phone. But my dad remembers this guy Peter was with the woman who took the book, more than likely it was Sylvia.’
‘Right, again, who could his partner be, if we’re working on your theory? This Peter. How would he know Kane?’
‘It obviously has to be somebody he knows, but Kane doesn’t have any friends. Who else would he be able to coerce into murdering?’ Brodie said.
Cross glanced up at the sky for a moment, as if a plane were flying by with a banner trailing behind it bearing the answer.
‘One of his patients,’ Lucy said.
‘Exactly. It has to be. We need to get a list of his patients that he worked with just before his arrest.’
‘That could be a lot,’ Cross said.
‘I know. But I need to go and talk to somebody. Lucy, let’s go.’