‘So I gather.’ In an instant Skinner’s amiability vanished. ‘Which brings me to the point. Did you really think you had any chance of keeping a secret from me, in my own city?’
He felt ice in his veins. Surely Alex could not have gone to her father? ‘What do you mean?’ he retorted.
‘You know damn well what I mean.’
‘I want to hear it from you.’
‘Yesterday morning,’ Skinner paused, his unblinking gaze locking on to the other man, ‘you gave Neil McIlhenney and Sammy Pye information that related to a homicide inquiry that they have under way. For which I thank you. And then for some reason you suggested that they might keep it from me. What the hell did you think you were doing?’
‘Christ! Is that what’s behind all this? McIlhenney ran straight to you and spilled it out. I might have bloody known.’
‘Yes, you might have. We’re not talking about friendship here, Andy, we’re not even talking about loyalty, although if that was put to the test, I think you’d find that Neil’s lies with me. We’re talking about duty. It’s his duty as an officer under my command. . and I don’t mean line management; in two days I’ll be his acting chief. . it’s his duty to report to me. That’s black and white, or are you going to argue there’s a shade of grey?’
Martin shook his head. ‘No, I’m not, but didn’t he tell you why I made that suggestion?’
‘He did, but I want to hear it first hand.’
‘It ties in with Aileen. My thinking was, and still is, that if you knew about a secret surveillance, outside the knowledge of the local police force, and you told her, then given her position. . there would be a huge political argument, she’d get hurt and your career would be crippled in the process.’
‘Bullshit!’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Martin insisted.
‘No, it’s what you persuaded yourself you thought. Do you think for one moment that I’d put Aileen in harm’s way? If I’d a problem with military intelligence playing silly buggers on my patch, I’d have sorted it myself. As it is, I accept that sometimes national security has its own requirements. And in case you hadn’t noticed, that isn’t a function devolved to the Scottish Parliament, because like it or not, we ain’t a fully self-governing nation, chum, not yet at any rate. My duty to Aileen is to keep her safe, and if that means shielding her from information that’s outside her official remit, then so be it.’
‘Wait a minute, are you telling me you knew about Coben?’
‘I’d never heard of the guy before yesterday but I knew about what was happening. You came on to my patch and stirred it, instead of calling me and asking me to sort it out, as you should have. . not just because of the territorial thing, but because you had a family connection with the man involved. Of course the ripples got back to me, man. When they did, I looked into it, and found out what was up. The people who ran the surveillance apologised but said it was necessary.’
‘To the point at which they took my poor hapless cousin out of the game?’ Martin snapped.
‘Don’t be fucking daft. The intelligence community had nothing to do with his murder, I’d bet the house on that. They may have been playing silly buggers after it, but that’s as far as they’re involved.’
‘Did you tell them to have a word with me, though? Did you know about that?’
Skinner stared at him. ‘Are you crazy?’ he asked. ‘No way would I do that, or countenance it. If I ever had a visit like that, the guy would leave the room in a fucking bin bag.’ He frowned. ‘Come to think of it, I did once, and he did. But that’s what’s at the heart of this, isn’t it? That’s what’s behind your strange order to McIlhenney, isn’t it? And that’s why you tried to keep Pye out of the discussion. This man Coben got to you.’
Martin sat silent; then he nodded. ‘He did, Bob. He sat there, military sharp, with is wee Union Jack lapel badge in his blazer, and he threatened me, professionally; that’s no problem on its own, but he threatened my family too, and that’s different. I lost it, and I told him to get the fuck out of my office before he left via the window. I meant it, yet he just smiled at me. What he was saying to me was, “I can reach right into your life and hurt you where it causes you the most pain.” If you want me to come right out and admit it, yes, that scared me.’
Skinner sighed. ‘You shouldn’t have been keeping that from me, son, you should have told me. National security or not, we can’t have the state intimidating chief police officers. That’s what I call a real excess of zeal. Look, I’ve been at this level for a lot longer than you, and I’ve got connections you haven’t. Do you want me to put it right?’
‘No, I want you to forget about it. You weren’t there, Bob, and it isn’t your family.’
‘Andy, he takes orders like the rest of us, and he’s exceeded them. A word in the right ear and he’ll be reprimanded.’
‘Leave it,’ Martin insisted. ‘It’s all history now anyway. Ainsley’s dead, so the surveillance is over and there’s nothing for the spooks to get their knickers twisted over. I just want it to go away.’
‘OK,’ Skinner conceded. ‘But I want something from you: that list your late cousin gave you.’
‘No problem, but if you don’t think the watching operation was linked to his death, what good’s it going to do?’
‘I won’t know that until I’ve seen it, will I, but if the people he was in touch with were being watched themselves, his contact with them might have drawn attention from people we don’t know about. It’s a long shot, but it’s a line of inquiry that has to be followed.’
Martin nodded. ‘Sure.’ He rose from his chair and stepped across to a small secure cabinet in the furthest corner of his office, unlocked it, and took out a white envelope. ‘There,’ he said as he handed it over. ‘For what it’s worth.’
‘Thanks.’ Skinner slipped it, unopened, into an inside pocket of his jacket. He picked up his coffee and drained what was left in the mug, making a face as he realised that it had gone cold. ‘How’s Karen?’ he asked.
‘Expanding, and it’s pissing her off. She’s a great mother, but she’s not hugely fond of being pregnant.’
‘I wouldn’t expect her to be. As I remember, Myra and Sarah in the same condition were about as approachable as a wasp’s byke. Myra, God bless her, was fond of declaring that if women and men took turns at being pregnant and giving birth, the maximum family size would be three, because no man would ever do it twice.’ His forehead twisted into a frown. ‘Not that she had the chance herself, poor lass. We’d planned to have four, she and I.’ Bob Skinner looked at his friend. ‘I’ve never stopped missing her, you know, even now when I’m happier than I’ve ever been since she died. I still have this daydream where she walks in out of the blue, and I have to explain to her all the changes in the modern world, the internet, satellite navigation, all that stuff her daughter takes for granted. That’s something I miss too, not being able to share my worries about Alex with her.’
‘You’re worried about her?’ Andy asked quietly, not yet sure of what might be coming.
‘No, no, not really. No more than usual; it comes with the territory of being a dad, I suppose. She was a bit strange yesterday, and I found myself telling her that maybe she was getting too career focused, needed to broaden her interests.’ He chuckled. ‘Imagine me telling her that! I even suggested she should think about going into politics. The Aileen effect, I suppose.’ He rose. ‘Time I was back off to Edinburgh. The rest of today and tomorrow will be taken up by a handover with Jimmy.’
‘Heard anything about rival candidates for the job?’
‘I had a whisper from human resources that there might not be any. I’m not sure I want that. Coronations are for monarchs and, these days, prime ministers, not for cops.’
He headed for the door. Martin walked him downstairs, and out to his car.
‘Remember what I told you, Andy,’ Bob said as they parted. ‘This Coben’s a bully-boy, no more. If you change your mind about wanting him sorted, let me know.’