‘In what way?’
‘Singer.’ Drizzle’s one-word answer was emphatic.
Haddock stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘He means that when she’s about, it’s always dodgy,’ Jagger explained. ‘She’s a looker, right? So she’s gonnae get looked at. And if Dino disnae fancy the way anybody looks at her . . . Well, it’s “Here we fuckin’ go”, is it no’. Of course, Singer, she kens she’s a looker and she’s maybe no’ beyond givin’ the eye tae some geezer when Dino’s got his back tae her.’
‘I get the picture,’ the DS said. ‘Yet Dino has no convictions for assault.’
Jagger smiled. ‘Naw, ’cos nothin’s gonnae happen when Drizzle’s aboot. In’t that right, Driz?’
‘Are you his bodyguard?’ Wright asked.
‘No,’ Drizzle rumbled. ‘I’m his mate.’
‘Trust me,’ Jagger told her, ‘where we go, naebody’s goin’ tae try it on wi Drizzle. That’s no tae say,’ he added, ‘that Dino cannae handle himsel’, ’cos he can. But Drizzle? Different.’
‘Where were you this morning?’ Haddock asked Harbison, abruptly.
‘He wis here,’ his friend replied. ‘Fryin’ fuckin’ bacon, fae seven thirty till nine thirty. This place dis a good breakfast trade, then we knock aff till lunchtime. Why dae ye want tae know?’
‘No special reason. When do you expect to see Dean Francey again?’
‘The morra. He’s supposed tae be comin’ here at twelve tae collect a couple o’ thae halibut. Ah’ve tae take them oot o’ ma granny’s freezer the night, ken, so they’ll be thawed for the customer and he’ll think they’re fresh.’
‘I’d leave them where they are if I were you.’
‘Why’s that?’
Haddock looked him in the eye. ‘If we haven’t caught up with him by then, we’ll be waiting here for him. Although,’ he added, ‘the chances of him turning up are about the same as Dunfermline winning the Premier League.’
‘Is he in real trouble?’ Jagger asked, his cockiness abating for the first time.
‘Oh yes.’
‘Is it that kid? The one in the car?’
Three heads turned to look at Ian Harbison.
‘Why should it be?’ the DS murmured.
‘I saw the lunchtime news on the kitchen TV,’ he said. ‘There was a report from Fort Kinnaird, and the cop on the scene gave a description that could have been Dino.’
‘You’re supposed to be thick,’ Wright observed.
‘No, miss,’ Drizzle replied. ‘But I don’t mind people believing that. It’s good to be underestimated. You want Dino for the dead kid, don’t you?’
‘Yes, we do,’ Haddock admitted.
‘In that case, I’ll help you find him.’
‘Hold on here, Driz,’ his friend intervened. ‘This is the polis.’
‘Yes, and they’re looking for our pal because he had the body of a child in the boot of his car. Leaving aside the fact that it would be a jail time offence to help him, it’s time you showed just a trace of personal morality. We’re thieves, Jagger, that’s all; so don’t go quoting some stupid Mafia code of silence at me.’
He turned to Haddock. ‘If Dino’s in trouble, Singer’s the only one he’ll go to. I don’t know where she lives, because he never said, but she’s due to be working at Lacey’s tonight. That’s all I can tell you, but you’re welcome.’
He stopped for a few seconds then added, ‘No, one more thing. Dino didn’t kill a child; he’s a fool, he’s a thug and he’s a coward, but he wouldn’t do that.’
Nineteen
‘Thanks, Sauce,’ Pye said. ‘Do you fancy a trip to Lacey’s this evening? You and me,’ he added. ‘Young Jackie would be a wee bit out of place there.’
‘What’s that?’ the DS retorted. ‘Denying her overtime on gender grounds? You’ll have the discrimination police after you, Sammy.’
‘Maybe so, but I wouldn’t take a rabbit to a greyhound track either. As for the overtime bit, that’s an issue these days. We’ve all got budgets, every CID area, and we can’t exceed them. I’ll meet you there at seven. My apologies to Cheeky if she had other plans for you.’
‘She hasn’t, but if I tell her where we’re going she might want to come. There’s a pole-dancing exercise class down in Leith; she’s been talking about signing up. It’s all the rage, apparently; you should tell Ruth about it.’
‘With the cost of child care these days,’ the DCI murmured, ‘that might come in handy. I hear these girls make a lot of money in tips.’
Haddock laughed. ‘It’s as well for you that you do my job appraisal, gaffer, or I might be tempted to tell her that.’
‘Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin. And as you say, it’s bad for your job prospects. What did you make of Jagger and Drizzle?’
‘They’re a contradiction. Levon Rattray told us that Harbison was a thicko, but it’s the other way around. Jagger’s the idiot, not him. The probation officer told us that Drizzle is a very good thief, but I didn’t understand that till I met him. He has the gift of invisibility. He could be standing on his own in a big room and nobody would notice him. The market stall was Jagger’s idea, apparently. Drizzle didn’t know about it; he only got drawn in when the investigating officers looked at the CCTV footage.’
‘Is he worth keeping an eye on,’ Pye asked, ‘given that we don’t see Dino as a mastermind?’
‘Let’s not ignore him, but he gave up his mate in a heartbeat when he realised why we wanted him.’
‘Fair enough. What about Donna Rattray? Have you spoken to her yet?’
‘We’re at the university now,’ Haddock replied. ‘We’re waiting for her to finish. Where are you?’
‘I’m at the Western General. Grete Regal was transferred there from the Royal because that’s where the neurosurgeons are. She’s just out of the theatre and I’m waiting to speak to the woman who operated on her. You speak to Dino’s sister, then go back to the mobile HQ unit at Fort Kinnaird. I’ll meet you there, and we can head for Lacey’s together.’
Pye ended the call, then switched off his phone to comply with a warning in the hallway of the building where the surgical wards were located. He followed a series of signs that led him towards the intensive care unit, to which he had been directed.
The entrance was secure, with a video camera and intercom. ‘DCI Pye,’ he announced to the microphone, ‘here to see Miss Sonia Iqbal.’
‘Come in when you hear the buzzer,’ a voice instructed. ‘Then it’s the first door on the right.’
He obeyed the instructions and found himself in a room with eight others, some smiling, others intense, but all clearly under stress; patients’ relatives, he assumed, wondering if any of them were connected to Grete Regal but not ready to ask.
Five minutes passed, each one observed impatiently on his watch, before the door opened and a soft voice said, ‘Mr Pye, please.’ He followed the summons and stepped out into the corridor.
Sonia Iqbal was a tall woman, with smooth brown skin and eyes to match. She was wrapped in a long colourful robe and her shiny black hair was pulled behind her head in a bun.
‘Can we talk here, Chief Inspector?’ she asked, in a thick accent that he found impossible to place, but a small Egyptian flag badge pinned to her dress gave a large clue to her nationality. ‘This is as private as I can manage.’
‘It’ll do,’ Pye replied. ‘What can you tell me about Ms Regal? How is she?’
‘She is very seriously ill, I am afraid, she was hit very hard, several times, by a large stone.’
‘You’re sure about that?’
‘I found fragments embedded in her cranium. Does that knowledge assist you?’
‘I have a forensic team at the scene of the attack. It’ll help them to have something specific to look for. What’s Ms Regal’s prognosis? Will I be able to speak to her soon?’
‘Mr Pye, you may never be able to speak to her. She has suffered bleeding in her brain, and it has swollen. To relieve the pressure this has caused I have had to remove a large section of her skull, and insert it in her abdomen. We do this to keep the bone nourished so that it can be replaced at a later date.’ She grimaced. ‘However, she will have to recover for that to happen, and I can give you no guarantee that she will. We will keep her chemically comatose for as long as is necessary, but beyond that she will only come round in her own time. She may die, and if she survives she may have a degree of neurological damage.’