just bouncing the thought off you, that’s all.’
‘Who are you sending to interview him? Luke Skywalker?’
McGuire chuckled, softly. ‘You know his nickname too? Sammy’s the obvious choice, only . . .’ He paused in mid-sentence. ‘He doesn’t know Lennie at all; he was just a plod out in East Lothian when he was put away. The truth is, Bob, I was wondering whether you could find some time to brief him on Plenderleith’s background, how best to approach him and so on. I know that you’ve kept in touch with him since he’s been inside, so I’m sure Sammy would appreciate any guidance you could give him.’
‘I’m sure he would,’ Skinner agreed, ‘given the level of young Pye’s ambition, but even if he walked in there with a necklace made out of my pearls of wisdom, in his mind he’d still be a cop interviewing a lifer looking for info on a victim’s background. He might also be less ready than us to dismiss him as a suspect.
‘Lennie’s a very clever guy. He’s been studying since he was put away and now he’s got degrees and a doctorate in criminal psychology. I’m sure he’d give Pye all the facts he knows, but he might give me more than that.
‘You’re right, Mario. I have visited him on the inside, more often than you’d suppose. I’ve always done it on the quiet, to ensure that no other cons ever knew of our meetings. Last thing I wanted was to get him a reputation as a grass.’
‘Yes,’ McGuire mused. ‘I can see how that might put him at risk.’
His former chief smiled. ‘I was more concerned about the safety of anyone daft enough to have a go at him. He’s been a model prisoner and I’d hate to see a blemish on his record, even if he didn’t go looking for it.’
‘Are you saying that you’ll talk to him yourself if we want?’
‘I’m probably insisting on it. It’s my call anyway. The service isn’t unified yet, Mario. Lennie’s in HMP Kilmarnock, and you’re required to inform me if you want to send a man into my patch. You’ve done that and I’m saying no, that I’ll take care of it.’
‘You’ll go and see him? Have you got time for that, Bob? I know how busy you are now.’
‘It won’t be a problem. I don’t need to go all the way to Kilmarnock. He can come and visit me.’
Seventeen
‘Thanks, mate,’ Sammy Pye said as he took the mug offered to him by his sergeant. ‘I need caffeine at the arse end of the day, especially a day like this one.’
‘Come on, boss,’ Sauce Haddock cajoled him. ‘We’ve made progress.’
‘Tell me how, please.’
‘For a start, we know who owns Bella Watson’s flat, and pays the bills and everything.’
‘Sure, but it turns out that he’s a lifer. Not only that, I’ve just been told by the ACC not even to think about interviewing him.’
‘Mmm,’ the young DS murmured. ‘I wonder why that was, and I wonder why it was him that gave us the message. Detective Superintendent Mackenzie’s our line manager.’
‘Two good questions, but all they do is add to my confusion about this whole fucking business. I’ve been trying to raise Mackenzie all afternoon, to update him, but he isn’t answering either of his phones, landline or mobile.’
‘How did Mr McGuire sound when he spoke to you? Was he in “or else” mode, or just his normal self.’
‘No, he was reasonably relaxed,’ the DI told him. ‘He didn’t bite me once! When I said we should go and see Plenderleith, he said that the guy isn’t detained within our force area, and that he doesn’t want to piss off Strathclyde, so he’s made separate arrangements for a statement to be taken from him.’
‘Would it really piss off Strathclyde if we went into a prison on their patch?’ Haddock wondered.
‘I wouldn’t have thought so, but I wasn’t about to argue the point. Also, when he told me that the guy shouldn’t be regarded as a suspect without direct evidence that he might be, I didn’t get the impression that was open
‘Who are you sending to interview him? Luke Skywalker?’
McGuire chuckled, softly. ‘You know his nickname too? Sammy’s the obvious choice, only . . .’ He paused in mid-sentence. ‘He doesn’t know Lennie at all; he was just a plod out in East Lothian when he was put away. The truth is, Bob, I was wondering whether you could find some time to brief him on Plenderleith’s background, how best to approach him and so on. I know that you’ve kept in touch with him since he’s been inside, so I’m sure Sammy would appreciate any guidance you could give him.’
‘I’m sure he would,’ Skinner agreed, ‘given the level of young Pye’s ambition, but even if he walked in there with a necklace made out of my pearls of wisdom, in his mind he’d still be a cop interviewing a lifer looking for info on a victim’s background. He might also be less ready than us to dismiss him as a suspect.
‘Lennie’s a very clever guy. He’s been studying since he was put away and now he’s got degrees and a doctorate in criminal psychology. I’m sure he’d give Pye all the facts he knows, but he might give me more than that.
‘You’re right, Mario. I have visited him on the inside, more often than you’d suppose. I’ve always done it on the quiet, to ensure that no other cons ever knew of our meetings. Last thing I wanted was to get him a reputation as a grass.’
‘Yes,’ McGuire mused. ‘I can see how that might put him at risk.’
His former chief smiled. ‘I was more concerned about the safety of anyone daft enough to have a go at him. He’s been a model prisoner and I’d hate to see a blemish on his record, even if he didn’t go looking for it.’
‘Are you saying that you’ll talk to him yourself if we want?’
‘I’m probably insisting on it. It’s my call anyway. The service isn’t unified yet, Mario. Lennie’s in HMP Kilmarnock, and you’re required to inform me if you want to send a man into my patch. You’ve done that and I’m saying no, that I’ll take care of it.’
‘You’ll go and see him? Have you got time for that, Bob? I know how busy you are now.’
‘It won’t be a problem. I don’t need to go all the way to Kilmarnock. He can come and visit me.’
Seventeen
‘Thanks, mate,’ Sammy Pye said as he took the mug offered to him by his sergeant. ‘I need caffeine at the arse end of the day, especially a day like this one.’
‘Come on, boss,’ Sauce Haddock cajoled him. ‘We’ve made progress.’
‘Tell me how, please.’
‘For a start, we know who owns Bella Watson’s flat, and pays the bills and everything.’
‘Sure, but it turns out that he’s a lifer. Not only that, I’ve just been told by the ACC not even to think about interviewing him.’
‘Mmm,’ the young DS murmured. ‘I wonder why that was, and I wonder why it was him that gave us the message. Detective Superintendent Mackenzie’s our line manager.’
‘Two good questions, but all they do is add to my confusion about this whole fucking business. I’ve been trying to raise Mackenzie all afternoon, to update him, but he isn’t answering either of his phones, landline or mobile.’
‘How did Mr McGuire sound when he spoke to you? Was he in “or else” mode, or just his normal self.’
‘No, he was reasonably relaxed,’ the DI told him. ‘He didn’t bite me once! When I said we should go and see Plenderleith, he said that the guy isn’t detained within our force area, and that he doesn’t want to piss off Strathclyde, so he’s made separate arrangements for a statement to be taken from him.’
‘Would it really piss off Strathclyde if we went into a prison on their patch?’ Haddock wondered.
‘I wouldn’t have thought so, but I wasn’t about to argue the point. Also, when he told me that the guy shouldn’t be regarded as a suspect without direct evidence that he might be, I didn’t get the impression that was open
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