Capital Offence

Chapter 38

Monday 24th June

2 days left

Later that day…

On the return flight, Jamie and Vaila sat huddled together, mentally spinning around in the dark, grasping at any ray of light which might cast a beam through the dust they had raised. Vaila tried to act as devil’s advocate, attacking the theories Jamie had formed.

“Is it not possible you’ve misunderstood that diagram? What if it’s a surveyor or a bird watcher or something?”

“Inside that gun magazine?”

“All right. But maybe this is some other heidbanger. Why should it be Tam?”

“The stuff was found in a Shetland croft whose address was in the Annie Cassidy house. Tam and Patsy Flanagan set Dave up to go to the Cassidy house. Patsy Flanagan told you that Tam had a thing about me. He didn’t like my politics. He didn’t like me full stop. So there’s a strong possibility that Tam was at that croft, and that he’s the one with the nasty fixations. It makes more sense than trying to dream up another imaginary obsessive.”

“Do you think Tam’ll go back to the croft?”

“No chance. He probably left Shetland on the same plane we arrived. Or went on the Klondyker, or a yacht. No way he’ll be back.”

“What about the bag of stuff?”

“Maybe he forgot to pick it up. Or maybe he doesn’t need it any more.”

Jamie wondered whether Tam didn’t want to have it in his possession in the event of more dramatic developments. What were the next cuttings which Tam planned to build into a collection?  He could imagine how they might read...

PM assassinated at Holyrood.

In an eerie echo of the scenes in Dallas over forty years ago, the Scottish Prime Minister was earlier today assassinated by a bullet from a grassy knoll overlooking the road between his house and the Scottish Parliament.

The thought made Jamie shudder. How long had this been going on? While he and Donald calmly discussed the merits of varying his route. No particular urgency. A minor inconvenience to avoid tiresome demonstrators... In any case, the die was now cast. Unknown to Vaila and Donald, the map with arcs of fire added was folded in the inside pocket of Jamie’s jacket. If Jamie was right about what was coming this would no longer be needed as evidence. But if it fell into police hands it would scupper the plan now taking shape in Jamie’s head.

Vaila tried to find the way forward. “How does all this stuff affect Dave? Is there anything we can do now?”

“In my own mind, I’m certain. But there’s nothing which provides proof. There isn’t even any further evidence. Knowing what we do about Tam, we can see the connection. But for an impartial jury, there’s nothing there. We need Tam, and we need to do a DNA match. Then Dave’s off the hook. But tomorrow’s the last day...”

Vaila refused to go down that line of thinking. It was essential that they kept what they knew, and what they might achieve, separate from their dread of the morning after tomorrow.

“Alright, let’s say that Tam’s got it in for you. How does that explain what happened with Dave?”

“Think about it. Tam’s got a major grudge. He wants to hurt me somehow. He knows the connection with Dave, and knows it would damage me if it became known. So what does he do?”