‘Yes, sir,’ said the crisp clear voice at the other end of the line. ‘How are you spelling that name?’
‘Good question. Try S-M-I-L-E-Y or S-M-I-L-L-I-E. No, wait a minute. It’s the West of Scotland; first try S-M-E-L-L-I-E.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I’m serious. They pronounce it Smiley. Wouldn’t you?’
The operator laughed. ‘No, sir, I’d change it! I’ll be as quick as I can.’
Skinner was surprised when Olive rang back three minutes later. ‘I’ve got your man, Mr Skinner. You were right; he’s one of the Smellies.’
‘Thanks, Olive. That’s good work. Will you put him through, please.’
There was a faint click on the line. ‘Mr Smellie? Assistant Chief Constable Bob Skinner, from Edinburgh. I’m told by the father of the late Michael Mortimer that you were a friend of his son.’
‘Yes, that’s correct. Since high school.’ The accent was similar to that of Jimmy Mortimer, but the rough corners had been polished smooth, t leave a clear classroom voice. It was deep, and rolled down the telephone line like an advancing fog.
‘I’ll be frank with you, Mr Smellie. We have run our enquiries almos to a standstill. We are looking for any sort of a lead, and so we are talking to friends of all the victims in this series of murders, just asking about them, trying to build up a picture of the sort of people they were.’
‘Where’ll that get you?’
‘I’ll know that when I get there. What can you tell me about Mike?’
‘Hah.’ The single sound was laden with sadness and irony. ‘What’s to tell? Mike was a great bloke. The most gifted guy I ever knew. A warm kind man with a generous spirit.’
‘What was he like at school?’
‘He was a leader, but without being resented in any way for it. Everyone liked him, pupils and staff. He was brilliant academically, but never flaunted it. He was only average at games, but made up for it by trying wice as hard as anyone else. And if anyone had a problem, he’d always help, but never talk about it afterwards.’
‘Did he stay that way? How did university affect him?’
‘As a friend, not at all. But as an individual, he became more passion ate, more involved with issues. He took part in all the Union debates, although he said he was doing it as part of his preparation for the law.’
‘Was he political?’
‘Yes and no. He always refused to join the heavy political groups. Spoke in debates as an independent. But personally, you’d probably have calle him left-wing. He supported every oppressed group under the sun, Sout frican blacks, South American Indians, North American Indians, Palestinians, Soviet Jews; you name it, if a group was under anyone’s thumb, Mike would speak up for it.’
‘Girlfriends?’
‘In the four years that we were at Glasgow together, I remember him having two brief things then one steady relationship. That was with a girl called Liz something. It lasted till we all graduated, then she went off to study French in France, and it just sort of died a natural death.
‘After that there were one or two who were fairly close. Sleeping together, but no long-term commitment either way. Mike was too keen on the law to allow it to have a rival in his life. Until he went to the Bar and met Rachel.’
‘Did you see him much after university?’
‘Yes, a lot when he was in Glasgow. Once he moved to Edinburgh not so much. But we were still best mates. It was the sort of friendshi where you don’t need to see each other all the time.’
‘Did you ever meet Rachel?’
‘Of course. She was at our wedding last summer. Mike was best man Christ, I was going to be best man at his, when they finally got round to setting the date.’ Smellie’s voice faltered at the memory.
Skinner allowed the man a few seconds to compose himself. ‘Did you know much about Mike’s professional life?’
‘A bit. Not the detail. He was meticulous. Never referred to his clients by name, or discussed cases in depth. But he did tell me that he liked criminal work, enjoyed defending a client who he felt had been victimised by the police - sorry, Mr Skinner, but that was the way he put it — an really fighting for him. He had a good record too. He and Rachel defended two Chinese guys who had been charged with rape and murder. Mike thought they were carrying the can for someone else. Between them, they took the prosecution to bits, and got them off.’
‘Yes,’ said Skinner, ‘I’ve heard about that case. Not one of the Crown’ s finest hours.
‘He never mentioned any work, or any private interest even, that was out of the ordinary?’
‘No, nothing that I can think of. No, never.’
‘Mm.’ Skinner paused. He sensed that the man was talked out. ‘Thank you very much, Mr Smellie; I’m sorry to have broken into your Sunday morning.’
Skinner replaced his receiver and swung round in his chair, sliding his long legs under the desk.
So that was it. The life of Michael. Brilliant, kind, and passionate about the law, oppressed minorities, and one woman. No enemies, save for Yobatu, and he was out of the picture.
Another brick wall across the highway of progress.
51
As Skinner teased memories of Mortimer from Johnny Smellie, Martin in his office, made his way gently back into the life of Rachel Jameson
He began by calling Kay Allan, by her mother’s reckoning her bes Edinburgh friend. Mrs Allan came to the telephone drowsily, after being wakened by her husband. He had been annoyed by a Sunday morning; call from anyone, let alone the police.
Martin introduced himself.
‘How long had you known Miss Jameson, Mrs Allan?’
‘About four years. We were in the same squash club, then we went to a keep-fit class together. And we went out for drinks on occasion with other girls in our circle.’
‘What sort of person was she?’
‘On the outside a quiet, gentle sort of person, but nobody’s soft touch I went to see her in court once. She was really forceful. It took me by surprise. It was someone that I didn’t really know.’
‘Did you ever meet her boyfriend?’
‘Mike? Yes, quite a few times. He was a really nice bloke. The sam type as Rachel, but with more showing on the outside. They were really well matched. What happened to him was just terrible. Poor Mike. Poor Rachel. To have everything, and then to have it all wiped out.’
‘Did you see Miss Jameson after Mr Mortimer’s death?’
‘Yes. I went round the evening after it happened. She was, well, funny; very quiet, very controlled, but it was as if a big black blanket had wrapped itself around her. I couldn’t reach her at all. I wasn’t really surprised when she killed herself. She was keeping all the grief inside And that’s dangerous, so they say.’
‘That evening, or at any other time, did she ever talk about her work?
‘Not much. She mentioned one or two criminal cases. She did tell me that she was worried about that last case. What was the man’s name. McGann? McCurin? No, McCann, that was it. She said that he scared the life out of her. She told me that she was sure he was guilty, but he had a defence and although she thought he was lying, she was worried that if the main prosecution witness wasn’t good, he might get off. The advocate’s dilemma, she called it. He didn’t get off, did he, but he escaped. Have they got him yet?’
‘Yes, the French police picked him up last week in Dijon. He’s been charged with murdering an old woman for the sake of the forty-three francs in her purse.’
‘Horrible. Rachel was right about him.’
‘She surely was. Mrs Allan, did Miss Jameson ever mention anything she was working on that was out of the usual run of things; something that she might have been working on with Mike?’