‘The farmer’s statement is fairly compelling,’ Crowther interrupted.
‘I doubt Francis Dean will see it that way,’ Sutherland told her.
‘And we’ve dug up nothing from Hazard’s past? None of his old friends, contacts, clients?’
Reid handed the paperwork to Clarke. ‘Look for yourself. Seems he stopped dealing, started applying himself, found his métier in public relations...’
‘All of which happened straight after Bloom’s disappearance,’ Clarke muttered.
‘We’ve gone through his flat, his email accounts. We’ve dug up old girlfriends, people he shared digs with during his years in Glasgow. No police record, not so much as a speeding fine or parking ticket.’
‘A man who couldn’t risk getting into trouble,’ Crowther stated.
Sutherland was checking a message on his phone. ‘And on his way here as we speak. His solicitor’s probably downstairs waiting.’ He turned to Reid. ‘Can you try to rouse our sleeping beauties?’
Just as he finished speaking, Leighton and Yeats appeared in the doorway, Gamble toiling behind them. All three looked breathless as they offered their apologies.
‘Don’t bother getting comfortable,’ Sutherland said. ‘George and Phil, I want you at the forensic lab, make sure they did all the tests known to man, woman and the beasts of the field. The car, the tarpaulin, the handcuffs. The lab have got DNA for Glenn Hazard. If he left a drop of sweat, a strand of hair, or spittle from a cough, I want it. Understood? The rest of you are going to comb through everything we’ve compiled on Hazard thus far. Plenty gaps in his life story; we might have missed something crucial. Malcolm and Tess, one last dig through the original case files — is he lurking somewhere in there?’ He nodded towards Reid. ‘Callum, you’re with me in the interview room.’ Then, to the room at large: ‘I want us lining the corridor when Hazard gets here. A combination of hundred-yard stares and a gleam in the eye that tells him we know we’ve got him.’ He clapped his hands. ‘We need a result, folks, and that means getting busy. Think you’ve put in some tough shifts? Today’s going to be a brand-new definition of hard work. Let’s get started...’
56
Rebus saw the van arrive and emerged from his Saab to watch the circus. The press had been alerted and were ready to pounce. There was no rear entrance to the police station, no alleyway where the van could deposit its cargo. Reporters and cameras surrounded Glenn Hazard as he was led across the pavement to the police station’s door. He looked bemused, the very picture of innocence. His lawyer was waiting at the steps, ready for battle, his freshly shaved face roseate and gleaming. Rebus didn’t know him, but he knew the type — tailored like a shop-window mannequin and spritzed all over by an aerosol called privilege. The escorts eventually got Hazard indoors and the scrum began to thin out, as cameras and phones were checked, updates sent to news desks and social media outlets. Laura Smith approached Rebus with a smile that was trying not to seem overly professional.
‘No comment, Laura,’ Rebus told her.
‘Strictly off the record, John, with you being a civilian and all...’
‘Go on then.’
‘Is there enough in the tank?’
‘To charge him?’ Rebus waited for her to nod. ‘Like you say, I’m a civilian.’
‘Yet you’re sticking to this case like glue. I hear you turned up here earlier not long after Fox and Siobhan.’
‘I’m impressed.’ Rebus was seeking out the young reporter who’d been acting as nightwatchman.
‘He’s on a well-earned break,’ Smith said. ‘He might be young, but he prides himself on knowing faces and the names that come with them.’ She paused. ‘If someone were to mention in print your involvement, that might jeopardise any eventual prosecution, no?’
‘What is it you want, Laura?’
‘A heads-up.’
‘Siobhan’s the one you should be asking.’
‘But I don’t seem to have any leverage over Siobhan.’
‘If you interfere and the case goes tits up, you might as well delete her from your contacts.’
‘I just need to be an hour ahead of the competition, John.’
‘Right now, I can’t help you.’ He gestured towards the paving slabs they were standing on. ‘I’m out in the cold, same as you.’
‘But...?’
‘Time’s almost up. If MIT don’t want to have to spring Hazard, they’re going to need a bit of help.’
‘Help from you, you mean?’
‘So maybe stick around another hour or two and see what happens.’
‘I’ve not got my car, though.’ She peered over his shoulder towards the Saab. ‘Any chance I can sit in the warm with you?’
‘No.’
‘Are you afraid my superbly honed skills would get the better of you and you’d end up letting something slip?’
‘Aye, right.’ Rebus’s mouth twitched.
‘Then why not put that confidence to the test? How else are you going to pass the time?’
‘I thought I might take up a foreign language.’
She nodded. ‘Conversation’s always the best way to learn. I can offer you French, German, a smattering of Italian...’
Rebus felt his resistance melt a little. ‘All right then, but tell me something first — and no lying.’
‘Sure.’
‘Are you really here without a car?’
‘Really, yes.’
‘And how many streets over did you leave it?’
She drew in her lips for a moment. ‘Two,’ she eventually confessed.
Rebus nodded and turned back to the Saab, knowing she was following. ‘Then be prepared for a numb posterior and no facilities.’
57
Graham Sutherland emerged from his toilet break to find Clarke in the corridor. She gestured towards the stairs, pausing halfway down and waiting for him.
‘Your face,’ she began, ‘tells me there’s been no breakthrough. Nothing from the lab or anywhere else. It’s still all hearsay, with no corroboration. We both know what the fiscal will say to that.’
‘This isn’t exactly balm to the soul, Siobhan — what’s your point?’
‘I think John knows something, something that could help.’
‘And what exactly does he know?’
‘He’ll only say it to Glenn Hazard’s face.’
‘Not possible.’
‘Why not? You’ll be there and so will Hazard’s lawyer. It’ll all be recorded. I don’t see that it necessarily blunts our case.’
‘You’ve no inkling what Rebus would say in there?’ He watched as she shook her head. ‘Then it’s too risky.’
‘I don’t think so, not when there are other bodies in the room who can call a halt if necessary.’ Clarke was holding out her phone. ‘Talk to him. What harm can it do to just listen? If we have to let Hazard go, who’s to say he won’t do another vanishing act?’
Sutherland hesitated, then snatched the phone from her, only to have to hand it back so she could find Rebus’s number and ring it. He took it from her again, more gently this time.
‘Rebus,’ the voice said.
‘It’s DCI Sutherland, John. Siobhan tells me you might have information that could help us with Glenn Hazard.’
‘I think so.’
‘Could you tell me what it is?’
‘I need to tell him myself.’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea. His lawyer—’
‘I’m not fussed about his lawyer. But there might be things you don’t want to hear.’
‘A police officer needs to be present.’
‘So be it.’ Silence on the line. ‘Do you want me or not?’