Chapter 60
They had been recording for over an hour. Erling could sense how tired the man was, but anguish at the death of his granddaughter drove him on.
Arriving back on Mainland, Hugh had declared himself ready and willing to fill in the gaps in his previous statement, given in the immediate aftermath of Eilidh’s death.
He’d begun at the point at which his father, Ivor, had declared that he no longer wished to live on Hoy and was moving into a care home in Kirkwall.
‘I suspected then that he was angry with the family about something, but I didn’t know what,’ Hugh had said.
‘I was aware that he’d been looking back at the war years on Hoy.
Revisiting his youth, which happens when you get old,’ he’d added.
‘I thought he just wanted away from the present and, of course, the constant family fallouts.
His hold over us was diminishing, especially his influence with Harald.
I thought he wanted out and it was my turn to keep them all in order.
‘Then came the news that he’d sold the family croft to an English bloke he’d read about in The Orcadian.’ He’d shaken his head at this. ‘Not only that, but Maitland was bent on building an eco-house there.
‘I know now why Ivor wanted the place dug up. But when the lassie’s body was found, your eyes turned on us and Harald wasn’t happy about that.’
He’d continued.
‘I’d suspected the Aberdeen nightclub that Harald owned and Max ran was involved in dealing drugs, but it was far enough away to be ignored . . . until Max ended up in court. In truth, I hoped he’d be sent to prison, but he got off and came home to crow about it.
‘Then Ivor told me about Kris and I saw his coming here as yet another threat. I thought my father had lost his wits on that one. Didn’t see the danger of producing an heir, who I thought was more than likely a fraud.
That was why we argued. I couldn’t believe Dad died that night.
He’d been so determined. So strong, like the old days.
‘Then I learned the truth from you. That Harald had raped Betty and Kris was his son. No wonder my father was so angry and so determined to acknowledge Kris. But Harald didn’t want Kris here.’
They’d paused the recording there and Erling had coffee and biscuits brought to the interview room. He was concerned at Hugh’s white face and wondered how long it had been since he’d eaten or drunk anything.
The dose of sugar in both the chocolate biscuits and the mug of coffee brought some colour back to his face.
‘You okay to go on now?’ Erling checked. When Hugh nodded a response, he started the recording again and asked Hugh to continue.
‘My father told me that Kris would be in danger when he came here and that I would have to protect him. He said he’d warned Kris, although he didn’t think Kris believed him. So he wanted me to make sure the boy would be okay. The thing is, he never told me when Kris was coming. Then Ivor died.’
‘And you didn’t inform Kris?’ Erling said.
‘I didn’t have a contact. I didn’t even know if what Ivor had said about him was true. Then Kris turned up at the funeral.’ He shook his head. ‘Harald was mad about that. He was fighting me on two fronts now. On Kris and on the drugs.’
‘The county-lines drug gang from Liverpool?’ Erling said.
Hugh nodded. ‘Harald thought he was big enough in the game to deal with them but he wasn’t.
I warned Eilidh about them, told her to stay away from that nightclub.
But she tried to do what I couldn’t. She warned one of them off.
No doubt told them she was going to you lot. And for that my granddaughter died.’
Erling waited, allowing Hugh to regain his composure before asking his next question.
‘Tell me about Kris and Cava.’
‘Ivor mentioned Cava. About going there as a boy to hide from his brothers’ wrath.
That if things got bad, Kris might go there.
I thought my father was rambling. If Kris was bona fide, which at that point I wasn’t sure he was .
. .’ He paused there for a moment, before continuing.
‘Then Kris arrived just in time for Ivor’s funeral.
’ He met Erling’s gaze. ‘You were in the cathedral. You saw the anger among my brothers.’
Erling acknowledged this with a nod.
‘Harald threatened Kris at the wake. Told him to fuck off or else.’
‘And he did,’ Erling prompted. ‘Did you know where?’
‘I hoped he’d taken Harald’s threat to heart and just left Orkney altogether, because I didn’t know then about Rachael. The lass complicated matters. And then the body was found at Lyrawa. I thought it was Kris. Harald denied he’d done that, but I wasn’t sure.’
‘So you waited?’ Erling said.
He nodded. ‘Then came the will reading and Rachael turned up in Kris’s place. Brave but foolish. Now she was a target too.’
‘But Kris came back for her?’ Erling prompted.
‘I wasn’t sure it was Kris who took her. It could have been one of Harald’s lot. He denied that, of course. I’d been given Ivor’s laptop and mobile when he died. I searched his phone and there was one message I didn’t understand. It was to Kris about Cava, or Kalfey as Ivor called it.’
‘You thought Kris might be hiding there?’ Erling said.
‘I wanted the body on the beach not to be Kris, so I decided to believe he had taken the girl to hide on Cava.’
‘Did Harald have access to the laptop and phone?’
‘No. I wiped them, then handed them in to you. That was something I got right,’ he added.
‘I thought Harald was looking for Kris and Rachael, so hoped I was correct about the beach body. Then I heard about Ivor’s notebook and that Auld Mackie and your detective sergeant were working on it.
So I went there, told Mackie enough to get him to confirm Ivor’s message about Kalfey.
The rest you know.’ He looked stricken. ‘What about the lassie?’
‘DS Green is still at the Balfour. She’ll keep us informed. You do know that Mackie was attacked after you left his place?’
‘DS Green told me.’
‘And who was that, d’you think?’
‘Harald’s been keeping tabs on me. But I don’t know who was on my tail. Maybe Harald. Maybe Max.’
‘Both Harald and Max are supposedly in Aberdeen,’ Erling said.
‘More likely they’ve been out on the water somewhere between here and Aberdeen.’
That was something Erling hadn’t considered up to now.
‘I’ll list possible boat names for you,’ Hugh said. ‘I want them caught. The sooner the better.’
They ended there with a handshake and a commitment by Hugh Mowat to give evidence at the trial that would undoubtedly follow.
‘I owe it to my granddaughter,’ he said.
Seeing Hugh to the door, Erling now gave Jo a call. Her answer was prompt and positive.
‘Rachael is okay, as is the pregnancy, although they plan to keep her in for tonight at least.’
‘And Kris?’ he checked.
‘Remaining by her side. Also, I’ve visited Mackie, who gets out today. He confirmed Hugh’s visit, and says it was Max Mowat who turned up after Hugh and was the one to hit him and take his mobile.’
Despite the positive news all round, Erling felt his sergeant didn’t sound quite right. Aware that if he asked her why outright, she would likely deny this, he instead asked if Ethan was still there with her.
When she confirmed he was, Erling asked to speak to him.
‘Everything okay there, Ethan? DS Green sounded odd despite the good news about Rachael and Mackie.’
There was a pregnant silence, then the sound of movement as though Ethan was stepping away before answering.
‘DS Gowan,’ he said. ‘That’s what’s wrong. He was here, looking for Jo. I saw him manhandle her outside in the car park. I told him to stop and he did, but he wasn’t happy.’
Erling waited, knowing there was more.
‘She says they were together in Caithness. When she fell pregnant, she had an abortion because he was violent towards her.’
Erling was at a loss as to how to respond to this. Why had he not questioned Jo more closely about Gowan? He’d known she wasn’t telling him the full story.
‘Right. Thank you, Ethan. I’ll deal with this.’
‘I suspect she told me because she couldn’t bring herself to tell you. If you’d seen Gowan’s face . . .’
‘Please give the phone back to DS Green, Ethan. And thanks for your help with Cava, and with my sergeant.’
‘Sir?’ Jo’s voice came back on.
‘Can you come back to the station now, Sergeant? There’s things we need to discuss.’
Her ‘Right, sir’ sounded relieved, Erling thought, so he followed it up with, ‘See you shortly, Sergeant.’
He then put a call out for DS Gowan to come to his office. The call went unanswered. Gowan may have been at the hospital but he wasn’t as yet back here at the station. Erling now rang his personal number with no result either.
The thought crossed his mind that DS Gowan was making himself scarce for fear of having to answer questions about his conduct this morning.
Ethan Howie, Erling realized, might not be known to Gowan. After all, Ethan was a member of the public, not in any obvious way connected with the police force. But he’d intervened in whatever Gowan had been up to. And had challenged him with regard to his behaviour towards DS Green.
Gowan would be wondering whether the confrontation would be reported. He wouldn’t be worried about Jo doing so – after all, she hadn’t disclosed his behaviour up to now. Not all of it, anyway. Gowan would no doubt be hoping she would keep quiet again.
But if the unknown guy in the hospital car park reported it . . .
Informing the desk sergeant that should DS Gowan appear, he would like to see him, he was surprised to be told that he was reported to be heading for the Stromness ferry to Scrabster.
When Erling demanded to know on whose authority, the puzzled voice said, ‘On yours, I thought, sir.’
So he’s done a runner, Erling thought, ringing off. Well, good, so DS Green need not see him again. But that doesn’t mean we won’t pursue him back in Caithness.
When Jo arrived, he immediately told her that DS Gowan was on his way back to Caithness.
Surprised, she said, ‘But he was at the hospital earlier.’
Erling waited, watching her struggle to decide whether to speak up or not.
‘Ethan told me about it, but I’d like to hear it from you, Sergeant, and I’d like to record it.’
She was hesitating. She’d survived this far without speaking about it. Maybe now that he was gone, she didn’t have to.
‘You won’t be the only woman he’s harassed,’ Erling said quietly. ‘And you won’t be the last. The force needs to know they have a man capable of that in their midst.’
He waited quietly while she went through the implications of what he was asking.
She made up her mind. ‘I told Ethan, so I will tell you,’ she said firmly.