Tony Black - Murder Mile

The boards beneath the carpet tiles creaked as Brennan entered the Chief Super’s office. Benny stood staring out of the window, in much the same position he was when Brennan had last seen him, only now he seemed preoccupied with a ruckus of seagulls as they caterwauled over fresh deposits in the station’s bins. The DI scratched at his cheekbone as he waited for the Chief Super to turn around; the sky had settled into a dark-purple wash.

‘Ah, Rob, you’re here,’ said Benny.

Brennan lowered his hand, nodded, said, ‘I thought you’d like to know that Detective Inspector Gallagher is…’

He cut in, ‘Yes, I know… I still have some ears and eyes in this station, Rob.’

Brennan let the remark slide, but absorbed its implication. He watched the Chief Super take a seat, motion him towards the chair in front of the desk. As he sat down, the DI felt the atmosphere in the room tighten around him; ‘I spoke to him,’ he said.

Deep lines creased Benny’s brow, two dark declivities sat beneath his eyes as he wet his grey lips, ‘Was there any… justification?’

Brennan felt a corkscrew turn in his gut, he gripped the chair’s arm with his closed hand as he spoke. ‘Murder; you could call that justification… of sorts.’

The Chief Super cleared his throat, made a guttural noise as his facial muscles tightened into the shape of incredulity. ‘ What?’

As Brennan outlined Gallagher’s confession, and his claims of abuse, Benny groaned audibly; his eyes receded and his gaze looked distant, out of focus, as he slumped further into his chair. It started to darken in the room and the silence between the two men added to the unwholesome air. Brennan felt his earlier thoughts coalesce with an entirely new emotion: pity; he felt sorry for the Chief Super. As he watched him, almost writhing before him, Brennan knew the man felt unable to withstand the latest barrage to his authority. He wondered if Benny too entertained thoughts, doubts about whether he had chosen the right career path. The notion seemed fantastic, he was always so sure of himself, ‘a puffed-up wee prick’ Wullie had called him once; but now he appeared all too human and the thought gored Brennan. For a second or two he wondered how many times in the past he had made ill-founded decisions about people and then he checked himself, corrected his thinking. He was a DI, he reminded himself, and he had a triple murder case on his hands. The press were talking about an Edinburgh Ripper.

‘Sir, I need to ask your approval for the next stage of the investigation,’ said Brennan.

The words seemed to fall on Benny like blows, ‘What?… I mean, what do you need, er, want to do?’

Brennan leaned forward in his chair, ‘I believe our suspect may make a move to kill again, sir.’

Benny cut in, ‘Yes, yes… Well, that doesn’t change if Angela Mickle was killed by Henderson.’

Brennan watched the day closing through the window, said, ‘Our suspect doesn’t know about the Mickle killing, but the press pack will soon enough, if not already; we need a blanket ban on reporting on the case for the next twenty-four-hours.’

‘Oh, Christ, Rob…’ The Chief Super shook his head. ‘Have you any idea of the complexity, the hoops I have to jump through to…’

Brennan raised a hand, ‘Sir, in about an hour it’s going to be pitch dark. I think that’s going to be our last chance to catch this bastard… He doesn’t know Mickle is dead, he thinks she’s alive and he thinks she’s holding incriminating evidence…’

‘The diary?’

‘Yes.’ Brennan rose, tapped an index finger heavily on the desk in front of him, ‘I think he’ll try and reclaim it, and I think he’ll try and silence Angela Mickle… if we can convince him she’s alive.’

The Chief Super picked up a fountain pen from his desk, started to roll it between thumb and forefinger. His eyes darted, left to right. ‘You’re talking about a set-up… Something at Angela Mickle’s flat?’

‘I’m talking about that yes, but we’d need to bait the trap.’

‘Oh, Jesus…’ Benny’s face fell like a stone.

‘I think there’s a WPC on the team who would fit the bill, and I’d supervise the operation personally.’

The Chief Super rose from his chair, faced Brennan across the desk. As he spoke, he pointed at the DI with the tip of his fountain pen, ‘You are asking me to sanction putting a member of my force into the clutches of the worst serial killer we’ve seen in a generation…’

Brennan shook his head. ‘I think we can contain the risks, sir… And I don’t think we have any other options. When the press reveal Mickle’s death, and Gallagher’s involvement, we’re not going to see Crawley again… He’s resourceful; if he goes to ground, we miss our chance.’

Benny gnawed on the edge of his lip, his eyes slanted towards the darkening window and then he lunged forward and flicked on the desk lamp. His face became illuminated in a bright white light that seemed too strong for him; he turned towards the window again and started to roll his fountain pen between his palms. His sloped shoulders seemed to deflate as he leaned towards the glass and spoke. ‘OK, Rob, you make this work,’ he turned around, his skin sat in grey-white folds beneath his eyes, ‘because if you don’t, it’s not just your neck on the line.’

Brennan rose from his chair; as he put eyes on the Chief Super he noticed his lips seemed dry, chalky. There was a sensation of relief playing in his chest but he knew the hard work had not even begun. The DI turned for the door and listened as the boards creaked once again. He made a half smile as Dee greeted him; she was putting on her coat, heading for home. Brennan felt the extent of her world wouldn’t fill the four walls around them. She would get in her car, collect some groceries and cook for an ungrateful brood before watching some brain-wash television and then go to bed. He didn’t know whether to feel sympathy or envy for her.

As he entered Incident Room One, Brennan felt he had stepped into a spotlight; the squad stilled all activity and turned towards him. As he looked around the room he wondered what they all wanted as they stared at him, and then his thoughts aligned with theirs.

‘If you’re looking for the latest on Jim Gallagher, you’ll have a long wait,’ said Brennan. He walked towards the coat stand and fished in the pockets of his overcoat for cigarettes, but found none.

Collins walked towards Brennan with an outstretched hand; as the DI looked down he saw the packet of cigarettes and a plastic Bic lighter. ‘Cheers,’ he said.

‘So, what now, boss?’ said Collins.

Brennan removed a cigarette from the packet of B amp;H, looked at the clock on the wall. He knew what he wanted to be able to say, but it relied on one more person offering him the support he needed. ‘Where’s Elaine?’ he said.

‘Erm,’ Collins seemed unsure of his response. ‘Good question.’

As the room turned, started to hum with possibilities, the WPC and DS Stevie McGuire walked through the door; they were smiling together, but the smiles evaporated as they came into contact with the others’ stares.

‘What’s going on?’ said McGuire.

Brennan lit his cigarette, blew smoke into the room. He set his gaze on Elaine, ‘I need a volunteer, I need a WPC to tease out our suspect.’

McGuire turned from Brennan and walked towards his desk; the DI tipped back his head as he awaited a response. ‘Well, do you think you’re up to it?’

Elaine nodded briskly, ‘Yes, sure… What do I have to do?’

As she responded, Brennan felt his pulse settle, he brought the cigarette towards his mouth and inhaled deeply. ‘That’s great, Elaine. I’ll fill you in on the logistics soon,’ he flicked ash from his cigarette tip onto the carpet tiles, ‘but you’ll be impersonating our recent victim, playing possum at her flat.’