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‘So Mr Skinner felt he owed him. Is that what you’re saying?’ the DCS asked.

‘It could be,’ Steele said. ‘It could also be that Bob isn’t great at acknowledging his own mistakes.’ She winced slightly. ‘Forget I said that, both of you. Not because it isn’t true, but because it implies that Mackenzie was one, and that isn’t proven, not yet. Tell me, Mary,’ she went on, ‘have you tried to make contact with his wife?’

‘Not directly; I rang his home number, obviously, but there was no reply.’

‘That’s not too surprising,’ McGuire said. ‘Cheryl Mackenzie works; she’s a pharmacist at the Western General Hospital.’ He looked at his watch; it showed five twenty. ‘She ought to be home now, though.’

‘In that case,’ Chambers declared, ‘I’ll give her another call.’

She was about to pick up her phone when it rang. She snatched it from the cradle, impatiently. ‘Yes!’

‘Sorry to bother you,’ a gruff, and almost certainly insincere, voice barked into her ear. ‘This is the reception desk. I’ve got a lady here lookin’ for Detective Superintendent Mackenzie. She’s got two kids with her as well. I’ve tried his number, but he’s no’ in. I’ve told her that but she’ll no’ go. She says it’s urgent. She’s a bit frantic. Can you send somebody down to talk to her?’

‘Yes I can,’ the DCS replied, ‘but first, ask her who she is, what’s her relationship with Mr Mackenzie and why she’s so keen to see him.’

‘All right, give me a minute.’ She waited, listening to a mumbled conversation, until the civilian receptionist came back on line. ‘She says her name’s Mrs Austin, and that she’s Superintendent Mackenzie’s mother-in-law. She wants to see him because her daughter hasn’t been to pick up their children.’

‘Does she normally look after them during the day?’

‘No, no, it’s not today she’s talkin’ about. She was supposed to pick them up last night, but she never turned up. Mrs Austin tried callin’ them last night, she says, until it was too late for her to take the wee ones home. So she put them to bed, took them to the school this morning, then called Mrs Mackenzie at her work to find out where they’d been. But it seems that she hasn’t been there all day, and hasn’t called in sick either. Do you want me to keep her here, till somebody comes down?’

‘No,’ Chambers said. ‘I want you to have somebody bring her up to my office, right away.’ She replaced the phone and looked up at the chief and the ACC, both of whom were staring at her.

‘What’s up?’ McGuire asked.

‘I don’t know, but either the Mackenzies have gone off on a second honeymoon without telling anyone, or there is something very seriously wrong.’

Nineteen

‘You know, Ray, sometimes I feel as if my life’s been stood on its head,’ Becky Stallings declared. ‘Not that long ago, I was a DI in the Met, with a good record and high up the promotion list; then you turned up in bloody London and look at me now. Still a detective inspector, in bloody Scotland, and up the duff into the bargain.’

Her partner beamed at her. ‘Aye, isn’t it great? And you look fantastic on it.’ He reached out and ruffled her short, dark, grey-flecked hair. ‘Quite astonishing.’

‘I’m enormous,’ she grumbled. ‘I never thought I’d get this big this quick. I’ve got half a dozen dark business suits up in the wardrobe, and they’re all about seven sizes too small.’

‘You could always go back into uniform,’ he ventured, ‘then it wouldn’t be a problem.’

‘You what?’ she retorted, loudly. ‘I only came up here ’cos I got to stay in CID, remember.’

Ray Wilding nodded. The deal they had made when they realised that they were serious about each other was that if Becky could only transfer to uniform in Edinburgh, he would move south into whatever sergeant job was offered to him.

‘I remember,’ he conceded. ‘But I knew that I was on a winner,’ he added, lightly. ‘Our CID would never have turned down someone like you, just as there was no chance of the Met putting Neil McIlhenney in a chief super’s uniform when he moved down there, not with his record.’

‘I will be able to go back, won’t I?’ Becky asked. ‘The new all-Scottish force will be shedding some jobs. Otherwise, why do it?’

‘It’ll lose civilian jobs, I’m sure. But not even our fucking Justice Secretary would be daft enough to start laying off experienced detective officers. As for why do it, the majority of cops outside the Strathclyde high command couldn’t give you a single valid reason.’

‘Are you saying that Skinner’s for it?’

‘The grapevine says he isn’t, but he’s a pragmatist. He can’t stop it, he can’t pretend it doesn’t exist, so he has no choice but to accept it and carry on.’

Becky eased herself laboriously to her feet. ‘Quite a few Germans took the same position back in the thirties,’ she muttered, as she wandered off in the general direction of the downstairs toilet.

His eyes were following her, and he was smiling, ever grateful for his good fortune, when the phone rang. He reached across the table by his side and picked it up. ‘Stallings Wilding residence,’ he announced. ‘Ray speaking, I know my place.’

‘That’s good,’ Detective Chief Superintendent Mary Chambers said. ‘I won’t have to remind you of it.’

He shifted on the couch. ‘Gaffer,’ he exclaimed. ‘This is a surprise. What have I done?’

‘Nothing, Raymond, but there’s something I want you to do, and it’s delicate.’

‘When you say “do”, d’ you mean right now? I’ve only just got in.’

‘I know,’ the head of CID conceded, ‘and I wouldn’t ask, but you’re best suited for the job in question.’

Wilding scratched his head, wondering what special skills she imagined that he possessed.

‘There’s a situation,’ she continued. ‘One of our people, our senior people, has gone off the radar. That happens, I know, but the complication is that his wife appears to be missing as well.’

He straightened in his seat. ‘Who are we talking about?’

‘Detective Superintendent Mackenzie.’

If she had been able to see him she might have been irked by the depth of his sceptical frown. ‘Are you sure, ma’am? With respect to Mr Mackenzie, he used to be a bit on the. . let’s say the flamboyant side. A wee bit impulsive.’

‘I’m aware of that, but we’ve no reason to believe that Mrs Mackenzie is.’

‘And they’ve both disappeared?’

‘Yes.’

‘Since when?’

‘Neither of them showed up for work today. Mrs Mackenzie was supposed to collect her kids from her mother’s last night but she didn’t. She was supposed to pick them up this evening, but she didn’t turn up for that either. Her mother, Mrs Austin. . she’s with the chief constable as I speak. . she’s going quietly off her head with worry.’

‘Has anyone checked the National Lottery? Maybe their numbers came up and they’ve buggered off. An impromptu second honeymoon up in Gleneagles, something like that.’

‘Don’t be flippant, Ray. This is serious.’

‘Sorry, boss,’ Wilding said, reproved.

‘It’s also very delicate. Tact might not be your strong suit, but of all the people who report to David, you’re the one who knows him best, because the two of you worked together before.’

‘Exactly, and that’s why I know he’s an unpredictable bastard.’

‘But Cheryl isn’t. Her mother’s quite adamant that she wouldn’t abandon her children. Have you ever met her?’

‘Yes I have; twice, at social dos. I must admit she was a bit of a contrast to him; a sensible woman, very nice, not flash at all.’

‘What was his attitude to her?’ Chambers asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Was he tender towards her, or did he seem to dominate her? Did she seem under his thumb, or did she hold her own?’

‘I cannot say, boss. I’m talking about a couple of squad nights out, with drink taken.’

‘By Cheryl as well?’

‘Now you mention it, no. She was one of the few sober people in the room, both times.’ He felt himself becoming impatient. ‘Look, ma’am,’ he said, ‘will you please get to the point. What do you want me to do?’