‘ And their exploitation,’ said Steven.
Verdi ignored the comment. ‘John was a computer buff. He convinced me that that was where the real money was to be made. All we needed was a few willing girls and some film equipment. I had a few friends who were in the sauna business so we pooled our resources and made a few videos. John distributed them via the net and they went like shit off a shovel. Then I found out what his day job was and we decided to help each other out there as well.’
‘ He faked evidence for you?’
‘ Fucked more like. He messed it up and I brought it to the attention of the court.’
‘ Tell me about the Julie Summers case. That was different.’
‘ Yeah, that was different. God help me, I don’t know too much about that. None of it was anything to do with me. It was John’s thing. He had some bee in his bonnet about the guy who was charged.’
‘ David Little?’
‘ That’s right. John maintained that he was as guilty as sin and was determined to see him go down for life. The DNA fingerprint evidence against Little was perfect but John said that some of the other stuff was a bit iffy. He asked me not to challenge it so I didn’t but that bloody case was just about the end of us.’
‘ How so?’
‘ Lee, John’s boss was a piss artist. He didn’t suspect anything about what had been going on until the Summers case. John could usually convince him that he must have screwed up but this time he kept on arguing with John about some gel pattern I think he called it. He refused to accept that he’d made a mistake. The drunken old bastard overheard John telling me on the phone about it in one of his sober moments and checked up on the phone number afterwards. He got in touch with Seymour and Nicholson to say that he thought that something ‘gravely unprofessional’ had been going on.
The old queens called me in and made noises about calling in the police. I had to point out that they had been sharing handsomely in the money I’d been bringing in to the firm and even if they didn’t go down with me, it would be the end of the line for dear old S amp; N. I put forward the alternative of my resignation from the firm with a bit of a pay-off and they went for it.’
‘ What about Lee?’
‘ I had a word with him.’
‘ What does that mean?’
‘ I told him that S amp;N were not going to take the matter any further so there would be no support for him from that direction. If he tried doing something on his own he would be exposed publicly as a drunk who couldn’t run a pie stall let alone a forensic lab. On the other hand, if he forgot about the whole thing he would be paid generously for his continuing silence. Guess which option he went for?’
‘ When did you last hear from him?’
‘ Funnily, a few weeks ago. He called me to say that some nosy bastard was asking questions about the evidence in the Summers case. I suppose that was you. He was up to high doh about it.’
‘ So you killed him in case he started talking about it?’
‘ Christ no, I didn’t give a damn about the Summers case. It was nothing to do with me. All I did was not ask a few questions.’
‘ Did you tell John Merton about Lee’s call?’
‘ As a matter of fact I did.’
‘ So you’re still in touch with him?’
‘ He runs the website.’
‘ And finds the customers?’
‘ No comment.’
‘ Where can I find him?’
‘ I haven’t seen him in ages.’
‘ Then how?’
‘ Through the website. Aren’t computers wonderful?’
‘ So he could be anywhere?’
‘ You got it. Can I have the card now?’
Steven handed over the card without another word and left the cell.
TWENTY
‘ How d’you get on?’ asked McClintock when Steven entered.
‘ Real good, how about you?’
‘ The news went down like a shit sandwich but you couldn’t really expect anything else,’ said McClintock. ‘However, our illustrious leader has come to terms with the situation and has switched his attention to damage limitation. He pointed out that we could do a lot to minimise the harm to the force’s reputation if we get a quick result with Verdi and his pals. He’s thinking along the lines of, “Edinburgh’s finest solve prostitute’s murder and smash international porn ring. Oh, and by the way, we locked up the wrong man for eight years.”’
Steven nodded and took out a piece of paper from his wallet. He handed it to McClintock. ‘This may help.’
‘ What’s this?’ asked McClintock, reading out the numbers on it.
‘ I promised Mr Verdi that I wouldn’t say a word about it to the police,’ said Steven.
‘ Christ, these are account numbers!’ exclaimed McClintock. ‘They couldn’t be Ver…’
‘ My lips are sealed,’ said Steven.
‘ But where?…’ began McClintock. ‘Shit, they were in the tin, weren’t they? Tracy’s tin,’ he said. ‘And you held on to them?’
‘ I needed an edge,’ said Steven.
‘ You made some sort of a deal with him?’
‘ He told me what I wanted to know about his arrangement with the forensic lab and I gave him Tracy’s card back without saying a word to the police. I didn’t say I wouldn’t give you a copy of the numbers and let you work it out for yourselves.’
‘ Remind me not to buy a used car from you, Dunbar.’
‘ You’ve started the hunt for Merton?’ asked Steven.
‘ It’s under way. We managed to get his old staff photo from departmental records at the university. It’s years out of date but better than nothing. It’s already been sent out.’
‘ Maybe I could have a copy?’ asked Steven.
‘ A keepsake?’ said McClintock.
‘ I want to see what evil looks like,’ said Steven.
‘ If only you could tell,’ said McClintock. ‘It’d sure make the job a whole lot easier.’
Steven picked up the photograph that McClintock slid across his desk and nodded, ‘Wouldn’t it just,’ he said. He was looking at the photograph of a man in his early thirties with nothing to suggest what he might be capable of. He wouldn’t have attracted a second glance in a bus queue.
‘ He’s still involved with Verdi,’ said Steven. ‘But Verdi maintains he doesn’t know where he is. He says they communicate through the website that Merton runs as a front for the porn business. He runs his legit business the same way. You might be able to trace him through that but I have my doubts. Merton’s no fool when it comes to computers.’
‘ Shit, he could be in California,’ said McClintock, ‘or Thailand or anywhere. This just aint gonna be easy. Maybe I’ll have another go at Verdi about him. He must have a base somewhere.’
‘ Have you thought what you’re going to do about Little’s wife?’ asked Steven. ‘Someone’s going to have to tell her.’
‘ I’ve been pushing it to the back of my mind,’ admitted McClintock. ‘But you’re right. She shouldn’t have to read it in the papers. It’s funny; I’m not sure if she’ll see it as good news or not. I mean, how do we tell her that the husband she divorced and left all these years ago was innocent all along?…’
Steven grimaced and remembered how upset she’d become when he’d brought up the possibility of the porn on Little’s computer having been a plant. ‘She’s going to need some kind of support,’ he said.
‘ Do you think there’s any chance your people could deal with this?’ asked McClintock. ‘I hate to ask but somehow I think the less she sees of the Edinburgh police in the circumstances, the better.’
‘ I’ll have a word with John Macmillan,’ said Steven.
‘ Does she know Little’s got AIDS?’
Steven shook his head. ‘That’s another little surprise to add to the package,’ he said.
‘ Christ, what a fucking mess,’ said McClintock, letting his head drop forward on to his chest and rubbing his temples with his fingertips. ‘Do you think that bastard Merton has any idea what he did?’
‘ It’s my fear that he does,’ said Steven. ‘When Little told me how Merton didn’t believe that he was really doing anything wrong when he was caught selling corpse glands, I saw the warning signs. No conscience; the sure fire trade-mark of the psychopath’