‘Odd name, even for America.’
‘Yes, but it explains her email, Marythreecool. She’s a historian, on the staff at Harvard University, and she says that she’s an expert on the wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia. She told me that she didn’t know Glover but that she had an email from him, in April, asking if she knew anything about the four names on the list in DCC Martin’s safe. She replied, saying she couldn’t help him. A couple of days later, he phoned her. He asked if she was sure about this, and gave her the names again. She repeated that she didn’t recognise any of them, and she asked him what it was about. He got quite excited, she said, and told her that he was afraid that two of them, Danica Anelić and Aca Nicolić, were dead, and that he was trying to find the other two, if they were still alive. He knew that she had contacts in Serbia and Bosnia and visited there, and wondered if she had heard anything at all that might help him. She said no, yet again, then she asked what was behind it all, but he said he couldn’t tell her that and hung up.’
‘Did she ever hear from him again?’
‘No.’›
Pye frowned, and scratched his head, pondering. He looked across the room, to find that Wilding was watching him. ‘April,’ the sergeant murmured. ‘Wasn’t it April when Glover had lunch with Andy Martin up in St Andrews, and gave him that list to put in his safe?’
‘Yes, it was. But why did he do that? Because he had twigged that his anti-Trident views had brought him to the attention of the intelligence services, and that he was being watched.’
‘And he was right. We know that from the new chief constable himself, don’t we? Didn’t he tell Neil McIlhenney that he had checked, and that it was true?’
‘Yes, he did,’ the DI agreed. ‘But when he had his sit-down with DCC Martin and told him his story, did Glover ever mention the word Trident? I was there on Sunday when Andy let us in on it, and I don’t remember him saying that he did.’
‘You’re suggesting what exactly?’
‘That Andy assumed, correctly as it turned out, that it was the Trident connection that had attracted the spooks to Glover but that the man himself might have believed he was being watched because of something else, something unrelated. This list he left with him clearly has fuck all to do with Trident, not unless Serbia has a fleet of nuclear submarines that we know sod all about.’
‘So what are we going to do?’
‘First we’re going to see Fred Noble, make sure he’s still intact, and work out a plan to keep him that way. That’s top priority. After that, I’m taking this up the line, all the way to the top if I have to.’
Sixty-one
The pictures on the wall have been changed already, Neil McIlhenney noted as he took his seat alongside ACC Brian Mackie around another innovation, the new chief constable’s meeting table. Opposite was Chief Inspector David Mackenzie, with Skinner, in uniform, between them.
‘I’m about to face the media,’ he explained, ‘hence the silver braid, but I wanted to speak to you guys first. I won’t be taking too many questions down there, but one or two things might be said that you should hear first.’ He glanced around. ‘What I don’t need to tell you is how sad part of me is feeling; there’s going to be a ghost in this room for a long time to come. Jimmy has decided that he wants to leave quietly, and so as soon as Alan Royston has all the press gathered in the gym,’ he checked his watch, ‘in about ten minutes, he’ll make his exit. Brian’s told everyone else, and we’ll all be there too, lined up to say farewell. Gerry will give us the word when he’s ready.’
‘The press might be miffed when they realise they’ve missed it,’ Mackie suggested.
‘They’ll get over it. Until he leaves it, this is Jimmy’s building, and things will happen as he wants them to happen.’ He smiled. ‘After that. . what’s going to be different?’ He looked at each of his companions in turn. ‘It may be that a new deputy will come in and affect my thinking on this, but my intention is that change will be minimised. You all know that in his later years as chief, Sir James effectively delegated control of criminal investigation to me.’ He paused, as if inviting comment, but there was none. ‘Well, guys, I’m keeping it. My intention is that the head of CID,’ he nodded towards McIlhenney, ‘and in his absence, you, Neil, will continue to report directly to me. I will also take personal command of special operations as they arise, state visits, EU ministers’ meetings, and the like. Special Branch, though, will continue to report to the deputy, whoever he or she may be.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I know there’s been a lot of speculation, assumptions, even, that Andy will come back to fill that post, but that is a decision for the Police Board to make. I know the regs say they consult me, but I won’t try to influence them in any way, unless I really do not fancy a particular candidate. However, whether the job goes to him, or to you, Brian. . I can’t order you to apply for it, but I hope you will. . or to someone else, the new person will find himself. . or herself. . handling some of the things that were previously in Sir James’s court. There are politics attached to my post, and I want to keep as far away from them as I can, at least for long as my other half remains First Minister. The new deputy will be responsible for day-to-day relations with the Police Board, with Scottish Government, and with cross-border matters involving the Home Office.’ He turned to Mackenzie, immaculate in his chief inspector’s uniform.
‘That person’s going to take time to settle into the job, David, even if it’s Brian, or someone else from within. While he, or she, does, and beyond that, they will need support, and you will be the guy who provides it. Your job at the moment is command corridor adjutant; and you might still be called that, but you will have more clout. If the new deputy is on leave, or for any other reason can’t handle, let’s say, a meeting with government civil servants, he won’t pass it up the line to me, he’ll delegate it to you. And just in case the mini-mandarins feel slighted at being palmed off on to a chief inspector, you will be promoted to superintendent, with immediate effect, so get your epaulettes changed.’
Mackenzie’s face flushed with pleasure, but before he could speak, there was a knock at the door. Gerry Crossley’s head appeared. ‘That’s the press checked in, sir.’
‘OK,’ Skinner replied. ‘Spread the word, and get everyone in position at the front door. Sir James is in my old room. I’ll collect him and escort him downstairs. We’ll be a couple of minutes, that’s all.’ He turned back to his colleagues. ‘Anything else, before we wind up?’
‘Two things. . Chief,’ said Neil McIlhenney. ‘One’s for information, on the other I need a decision. First, Mario’s established, for sure as far as he and I are concerned, that Henry Mount’s death is linked to Glover’s.’
‘Fred Noble?’ The question was instantaneous.
‘He’s being taken care of. The second thing is this. The only potential suspect we have for the Mustafic murder is Playfair, the guy you met. He’s disappeared, but in trying to trace him, the only thing we’ve established for sure is that he’s been using a false name. DS McDermid has been to see Derek Baillie at the official site where his group’s stopping, and she’s come back with a photo that has Playfair in it. It’s good enough for us to extract an image for issue to the media. George Regan has asked if he can do that. What do you reckon?’
‘Do it. Issue the image, but have an artist play with it to come up with an impression of what he would look like without a beard and with his head shaved. He’d stand out like a pillar box the way he looked when I met him, so if he’s on the run, there’s every chance he’s tried to change his appearance. But first,’ he cautioned, ‘you have to get Crown Office permission. Get hold of the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General; tell them I’ve authorised the request as I believe it’s in the public interest. Get on to it as soon as we’ve seen Proud Jimmy off into retirement.’ He stood, and the others followed his lead automatically. As if I was a head of state, he thought.