Chapter 48
forty-eight
COLL
“Alright, Ms. Todd—we’ll play,” Detective Scott said, his tone flat and edged with something grim.
The detective sat across from the crazy woman at the scuffed plastic-and-steel table, the kind that made every room feel colder than it already was.
Coll’s men had been waiting to detain Todd as soon as she’d stepped off the bus, along with Edinburgh officers in plainclothes, only blocks from her mother’s neighborhood.
Hannah didn’t have a relationship with her mother for obvious reasons, which meant that she wasn’t visiting for social reasons. Money. It had to be.
She watched the two detectives with a strange, unsettling calm, causing the hair on the back of Coll’s neck to stand.
Coll and Thomas were being allowed to sit in the room overlooking the interrogation cell where Hannah Todd was being questioned.
Dr. Portman was being held in a cell nearby, having been arrested after admitting to forging Todd’s release papers.
Thomas had gone with the police when they surprised the doctor at the hospital with a search warrant to look through his computer and personal phone for anything non-private and patient-related.
His phone was the jackpot. Hundreds of videos of Todd and three other patients performing various sexual acts on or with the doctor. The abuse went back years. Over a decade for Todd.
He admitted that Todd had blackmailed him for money and an early release. It was a mess and one that would, unfortunately, have a negative impact on the hospital staff and doctors, even though they most likely weren’t involved and had no idea what Portman had been pulling.
A task force had already seized staff records. If anything untoward had been reported and snuffed out by anyone in administration other than Dr. Portman, it would come to light.
Dependent upon Todd’s answers, she would either be transferred to another high-security hospital or prison.
“You should know, Ms. Todd, that your mother is concerned about your mental health. You never let her know that you’d been released.”
Hannah’s face turned a brilliant, angry red at the mention of her mother. “That cunt can rot in hell. Do you know how many times my dear old mom visited me these many years?”
“How many?” the younger detective asked.
“None. Never. Not fucking once.”
“Then I understand your hesitation in contacting her once you were released, but it appeared to our officers that you were on a bus that would take you within two blocks of your childhood home. Were you going to your mother’s?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”
“Why now?”
“The bitch owes me money,” she hissed before slamming her palm against the tabletop.
The detectives hoped to learn her motives for traveling to Dublin and what, if anything, she did while there. So far, she had avoided any mention of her time there, no matter how they went at it.
After her stint at the station, she would be released into psychiatric doctors’ care for evaluation of her mental fortitude.
If her odd behavior was anything to go by, Coll would bet she was destined for a straitjacket, not bars.
Thomas nudged Coll’s side when an officer interrupted the room and whispered something to the detective. Scott nodded and motioned to someone waiting just outside their door.
A woman brought in a large book or binder. It looked worn or haphazardly made. One thing was certain, Hannah Todd recognized it.
“That’s my personal belonging, Detective. Unless I’m under arrest for something, I would appreciate my things not being rifled through.”
“As I’ve explained, ma’am, your release was made possible outside of the law, and I’m afraid that your hospital, all the staff, and you will have to be questioned.
Legally, you are still a ward of the local authority under the Mental Health Act, and your belongings can and will be confiscated until it’s deemed safe. ”
The two detectives made a point of flipping through the pages of the ratty book, and Coll noticed that Hannah became more and more agitated, murmuring and whispering to herself.
“It seems this woman, Mirren, is of particular interest to you. Can you tell me why that is?”
Coll felt his heart lurch. Thomas cursed under his breath and sat forward. Every word from that crazy woman’s mouth had become more ominous.
“Ms. Todd, Hannah,” Detective Scott’s partner began, “be honest with us now. Why do you have a scrapbook of Mirren Campbell? Why did you go to Dublin? What have you been doing these past weeks?”
“It’s over, ma’am. Tell us what we want to know, and you can leave.”
“Leave where? Can I go to my mother’s?”
“I’m afraid not today, Ms. Todd, but you do need to cooperate. What were you doing in Dublin? Were you following Mirren Campbell?”
“No, I wasn’t following that dumb bitch. I hate her. She ruined my career. My life!”
Coll could see spittle flying from her angry lips. “Keep talking,” Coll said quietly.
Todd’s mannerisms were becoming even more erratic. She glanced over first one shoulder and then the other. She looked up, to the left, to the right, at her feet. A continuous stream of whispering, gestures, and winces throughout.
The woman was clearly battling demons of her own, and the sooner she was in the hands of doctors who would actually treat her—properly, humanely—the better. Part of him couldn’t help but feel a flicker of sympathy.
But it didn’t last.
Her destructive behavior had started before Dr. Portman. Long before that, she’d already crossed lines most people never even approached. Whatever had been done to her had only sharpened something that was already there.
And then there was his niece.
The moment that thought surfaced, any lingering compassion burned off. Whatever pity he might’ve managed was gone, replaced by something colder, harder to shake.
“If it’s Mirren you’re angry with, then why did you go to Dublin when she lives here in Edinburgh?” Detective Stubbs’ partner asked.
“You’re all wrong. Let me handle this damnit,” she hissed, and it was clear she wasn’t speaking to anyone in the room.
“Ms. Todd? Dublin. Why?”
Thomas spoke in a low voice so they could still hear what was going on below. “Did Margaret ever mention anything about a bird or a cat? Hannah asked what the girl thought. It didn’t seem like rambling.”
Coll thought about that for a moment. “Mags never mentioned anything like that to me, but Eze’s guard, Nasir, has been following her for a while. He might know.”
Coll dialed Nasir directly, since they’d made the calls to the family that Hannah Todd had been picked up, and he didn’t need to follow Margaret anymore.
He answered on the first ring. “Mr. Barr.”
“Nasir. MacGregor and I are witnessing Hannah Todd’s interrogation. She mentioned dead animals and what the girl thought about them. Mean anything to you?”
“Yes. I was with Miss Morrow when she found a dead cat on the stairwell leading to her workshop. She mentioned thinking the animals were getting in some way because she’d found a headless dead bird and a kitten before that.
“She tossed the bird in an outdoor bin, she said, because it was tiny and bloodless at the point she found it. She buried the kitten in a park on the way to work. I took care of the cat.
“The woman did these things?”
“It appears that she did, which means Hannah Todd had been in Dublin for a while.” Coll felt bile surge up his throat. The woman had been in Dublin for Margaret. “Anything else happen that might seem strange?”
“A car swerved onto the walking path. I saw the car swerve and only managed to pull Margaret just far enough that she wasn’t run over. It clipped her and sent her tumbling.
“Witnesses believed the man purposely swerved toward her. The police believe he was under the influence. He ditched the car and has not been caught.”
He and Thomas looked at each other in horror. That was no accident. That woman tried to have her killed.
“Please hold for Mr. Otaji,” Nasir said.
“Barr. MacGregor.” Eze’s deep voice filled the room.
“I have been listening to your conversation and wish to add that before Nasir was sent to Ireland and before I had her move in with me due to her horrid living conditions, Margaret fell down a flight of outdoor stairs.
She called me, and I took her to the hospital.
“She didn’t mention that it was anything but an accident, but she was very quiet and reserved. At the time, I felt that she wasn’t telling me something.”
Thomas stood abruptly, staring at the scene below him with an intensity that put Coll on alert immediately.
“Why do you ask if Mirren’s sister is still alive?” Detective Scott asked. Clearly, Coll had missed something that Todd had said.
Hannah Todd giggled. “You can’t fool me, Detective. I saw her family here.” Her gaze jerked toward the ceiling, and she said, “That’s not true. Shut up.”
“Stay on the line, Eze,” Coll whispered down the line. “Have Nasir call Margaret.”
“Ms. Todd, answer the question. Why do you think Margaret Morrow is dead?” Detective Scott deepened his voice in demand, standing and slamming a fist on the table, making the paper cups and water bottles tremble.
“She isn’t answering. Neither is Jonathan O’Faolain,” Eze spoke grimly in Coll’s ear. He barely heard the words from the roaring in his ears.
Hannah smirked, enjoying the attention of the two detectives. “I assume she found my present. Bombs aren’t so easy to set, I’ll have you know.” She grinned and clapped her hands in glee. “Tell me! Did Mirren cry over the pieces of her sister?”