The Book of Souls (Inspector McLean #2)(87)

‘Sir?’ McLean prepared himself for the bollocking that was the only conceivable result of the fiasco they had just been through.

‘Well that was a bit of a bloody disaster, wasn’t it. Have you actually got any leads to work on?’

‘We’re still collating a list of everyone who had access to the keys to Anderson’s shop, sir. And we’re working on forensic evidence—’

‘So that’s a no, then. Have you any idea what you’re doing at all?’

McLean suppressed his anger as best he could; there was no point in antagonising someone who could make his life even more difficult than it was already.

‘We found out where the killer took his first two victims, sir. I think that’s not a bad result.’

‘Oh come on, McLean.’ Dagwood actually guffawed. There was no other way of describing the noise he made. ‘You found his lair and didn’t even think to set up surveillance on the place, see who turns up?’

Because you had every single available officer running your ridiculous actions.

‘I don’t know about you, sir, but I was hoping to catch this bastard before he abducted someone else. Not after. And anyway, I had no way of knowing he hadn’t seen us going in there. The SOC team were there long enough.’

‘So what you mean is you didn’t have a clue what you were doing.’

‘I don’t think this is really helping.’ McIntyre cut into the conversation before it could descend into a brawl. ‘Charles, you know as well as I do that surveillance wasn’t an option here.’ She turned away from the DCI before he could say anything, addressing her next remarks to McLean. ‘And Tony, you have to admit that you’re flying blind. We’ve got three dead women, I don’t want to hear about a fourth.’

McLean slumped his shoulders in defeat. It looked very much like the investigation was going to be taken away from him before he’d even had a chance to get started. ‘I take it you have something in mind, ma’am,’ he said.

‘Actually it was Terry’s idea.’ McIntyre nodded towards the DCC, and something in her tone suggested that she wasn’t altogether happy with the intrusion. That cheered McLean up, for all of ten seconds.

‘We need to profile this killer,’ DCC Wodehouse said. ‘We need to get a handle on his motivation so that we can predict his next move. What started him off? How does he choose his victims? Why’s he following Anderson’s method so closely, but killing much more frequently?’

‘With respect, sir, Professor Hilton’s already drawn up a profile, for what it’s worth. If you’d read the case-review notes I prepared yesterday, you’d see that DS Ritchie here’s been working with him on just those questions.’

‘DS Ritchie?’ Wodehouse said. ‘I’d have thought you’d have been doing it yourself. You do have the most insight into Anderson’s mind, after all.’

‘We’re not trying to profile Anderson, sir. He’s dead.’

‘I know that, McLean. You’re trying to profile someone who worships Anderson, wants to be like him in every way. I’d have thought your experience of the man himself would have been essential. Isn’t that why you were given the case in the first place?’

McLean glanced at McIntyre for a second before answering. ‘That might have had something to do with it, sir.’

‘Of course it bloody well does, man,’ Wodehouse said. ‘But from the way things are going right now, it looks like you’re not the Anderson expert we thought you were. We need results, and fast.’

‘You think I don’t know that, sir?’ McLean asked. ‘Do you think this is easy for me?’

‘That’s precisely my point, man. You’re too close. And anyway, this is far too important an investigation to be headed by a mere inspector. The CC’s being leant on by the minister. There’ve been questions in Holyrood. You think that press conference was bad, just wait until the politicians get stuck in.’

Wodehouse turned his back on McLean, facing McIntyre. ‘Which is why I need you to take overall charge, Jayne, with Charles directing operations. McLean will head up the team pursuing the Anderson angle, but I want separate teams on each of the individual murders.’

Dagwood’s face cycled from glee, through concern, and into consternation as the ramifications of what the Deputy Chief Constable was saying slid through his mind. ‘But sir, I’ve got—’

‘No buts, Charles.’ Wodehouse cut him off before he could get started. ‘Results.’





56





‘You seem unusually tense today, Tony.’

As if it couldn’t get any worse. Kicked off his own case, having to prepare a detailed report of the entire investigation so far for Dagwood to ignore, and now this. McLean sat in one of McIntyre’s ‘easy’ chairs and stared around the room, trying not to meet eyes with Matt Hilton. The psychologist had his favourite pen in his hand, clicking it open and closed over and over.

‘Could it be that the case isn’t going well? I heard there was a press conference this morning about the third victim.’

Like you don’t know exactly what’s going on. ‘Why am I here, Hilton?’

‘Why do you think you’re here, Tony?’