for debate either.’
‘Who is he anyway, this man? Did he tell you that much?’
‘No, but I Googled him.’ Pye grinned. ‘It works a lot quicker than the national computer database. “Leonard Plenderleith, aged forty-five, former associate of the late Anthony Manson, allegedly a major figure in the Edinburgh criminal underworld …” I’m quoting here, mind. Tony Manson was more than an alleged villain, just never convicted.’ He winked at the DS. ‘Just like your bidey-in’s grandpa.
‘Anyway,’ he continued, heading off a riposte, ‘Plenderleith was Manson’s enforcer. He did time for serious assault and wasn’t out long before he was arrested for two murders. The victims were his wife, and a lawyer called Richard Cocozza. There was a third murder charge originally, but the Crown Office dropped that because of lack of evidence. Plus he was convicted of another, in Spain, in his absence. The Spanish agreed that he’d serve his sentence here, concurrently.’
‘He sounds like a real psycho,’ Haddock said.
‘You could say that.’
‘Then why is he off limits to our inquiry?’
‘His alibi’s pretty good, if a prison governor can vouch for his whereabouts,’ the DI observed.
‘I suppose. But even if he isn’t a suspect, if he knew the dead woman, he might be able to help us identify this so-called sister and her family.’
‘I made that point to the ACC,’ Pye said. ‘All he said was that he’d note it. I didn’t push that any further either. I know I said earlier that he was relaxed, but I sensed an edge to him.’
‘That leaves us sitting on our hands,’ the DS complained. ‘We have no leads to those people, and asking through the media for them to come forward would make us look daft. We don’t have a single line of inquiry.’
‘I know.’ He took a swig from his mug. ‘Now you understand why I need caffeine!’
Eighteen
‘Is there any chance he had leave booked in and you’ve forgotten about it?’ Mario McGuire asked the woman seated behind what had been his desk until a few weeks before.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mary Chambers, the formidable head of CID, frowned at him; it was all the reply she felt to be necessary.
He raised a placatory right hand. ‘No, of course not; sorry. Then where the fu . . .’ he grimaced. ‘I can’t have a bloody superintendent going AWOL. I’m sorry about this, Mary, I really am.’
‘What are you sorry for, boss?’ she said. ‘It’s hardly your fault.’
‘I feel as if it is. I installed him as your Edinburgh coordinator.’
Chief Constable Margaret Steele pushed herself off the wall against which she had been leaning. ‘We installed him, Mario, not just you. In fact it was more me than you. I didn’t want the guy in the Command Corridor any longer, he had a CID background and a hankering to go back there. Yes, there were misgivings but the fact is they were yours and I talked you out of them. But let’s not over-dramatise this; we can’t raise the man, but for all we know he might be stuck in a traffic jam at Hermiston Gait with a dead battery in his mobile.’
‘That’s about a hundred to one against, but he could be,’ McGuire conceded. ‘On the other hand, Mary’s contacted all the divisional CID offices and he hasn’t visited any of them.’ He scratched his chin. ‘Of course there is another scenario.’ He glanced at the chief. ‘I think we all know what that is.’
‘I don’t,’ Chambers said.
‘No? Then Bob Skinner must have done a really good job of covering it up. A few years back, David Mackenzie was involved in an armed situation with him and our former colleague, Neil McIlhenney. It got pretty dicey; indeed, it was too much for Mackenzie, for he froze in the middle of it.
‘Bob being Bob, he never blamed him, or spoke of it. I only know about it because Neil told me in confidence. Afterwards the man had a breakdown of sorts, and a drink problem went with it. He was touch and go for
‘Who is he anyway, this man? Did he tell you that much?’
‘No, but I Googled him.’ Pye grinned. ‘It works a lot quicker than the national computer database. “Leonard Plenderleith, aged forty-five, former associate of the late Anthony Manson, allegedly a major figure in the Edinburgh criminal underworld …” I’m quoting here, mind. Tony Manson was more than an alleged villain, just never convicted.’ He winked at the DS. ‘Just like your bidey-in’s grandpa.
‘Anyway,’ he continued, heading off a riposte, ‘Plenderleith was Manson’s enforcer. He did time for serious assault and wasn’t out long before he was arrested for two murders. The victims were his wife, and a lawyer called Richard Cocozza. There was a third murder charge originally, but the Crown Office dropped that because of lack of evidence. Plus he was convicted of another, in Spain, in his absence. The Spanish agreed that he’d serve his sentence here, concurrently.’
‘He sounds like a real psycho,’ Haddock said.
‘You could say that.’
‘Then why is he off limits to our inquiry?’
‘His alibi’s pretty good, if a prison governor can vouch for his whereabouts,’ the DI observed.
‘I suppose. But even if he isn’t a suspect, if he knew the dead woman, he might be able to help us identify this so-called sister and her family.’
‘I made that point to the ACC,’ Pye said. ‘All he said was that he’d note it. I didn’t push that any further either. I know I said earlier that he was relaxed, but I sensed an edge to him.’
‘That leaves us sitting on our hands,’ the DS complained. ‘We have no leads to those people, and asking through the media for them to come forward would make us look daft. We don’t have a single line of inquiry.’
‘I know.’ He took a swig from his mug. ‘Now you understand why I need caffeine!’
Eighteen
‘Is there any chance he had leave booked in and you’ve forgotten about it?’ Mario McGuire asked the woman seated behind what had been his desk until a few weeks before.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mary Chambers, the formidable head of CID, frowned at him; it was all the reply she felt to be necessary.
He raised a placatory right hand. ‘No, of course not; sorry. Then where the fu . . .’ he grimaced. ‘I can’t have a bloody superintendent going AWOL. I’m sorry about this, Mary, I really am.’
‘What are you sorry for, boss?’ she said. ‘It’s hardly your fault.’
‘I feel as if it is. I installed him as your Edinburgh coordinator.’
Chief Constable Margaret Steele pushed herself off the wall against which she had been leaning. ‘We installed him, Mario, not just you. In fact it was more me than you. I didn’t want the guy in the Command Corridor any longer, he had a CID background and a hankering to go back there. Yes, there were misgivings but the fact is they were yours and I talked you out of them. But let’s not over-dramatise this; we can’t raise the man, but for all we know he might be stuck in a traffic jam at Hermiston Gait with a dead battery in his mobile.’
‘That’s about a hundred to one against, but he could be,’ McGuire conceded. ‘On the other hand, Mary’s contacted all the divisional CID offices and he hasn’t visited any of them.’ He scratched his chin. ‘Of course there is another scenario.’ He glanced at the chief. ‘I think we all know what that is.’
‘I don’t,’ Chambers said.
‘No? Then Bob Skinner must have done a really good job of covering it up. A few years back, David Mackenzie was involved in an armed situation with him and our former colleague, Neil McIlhenney. It got pretty dicey; indeed, it was too much for Mackenzie, for he froze in the middle of it.
‘Bob being Bob, he never blamed him, or spoke of it. I only know about it because Neil told me in confidence. Afterwards the man had a breakdown of sorts, and a drink problem went with it. He was touch and go for
Similar Books
