The Judge ruled most of the evidence inadmissible. The Fiscals office is spitting blood. And Professional Standards have requested copies of every complaint, reprimand, and comment made about you in the last five months.
The paperwork thumped onto her desk.
He tortured Stephen Bisset. He broke every one of his fingers, he ripped out his teeth, he castrated-
We know what he did. The Inspector opened the folder. Thats why we need to go over this.
Logan stuck his chin out. You always get complaints when youre in uniform. Youre in contact with the public the whole time: people dont like being arrested or searched. And not a single one of those was upheld!
Thats not-
The only way you dont get any complaints against you, is by sitting behind a desk all day.
She stared at him. Meaning?
Ah. Too far.
He cleared his throat. Meaning Professional Standards have no idea what its like to break up a fight outside a Peterhead nightclub at two in the morning. People whinge. Its what they do.
Logan, weve received a formal complaint that youve been taking bribes from drug dealers.
First Ive heard of it.
She checked the top sheet of her pile of paper. Complaint was made this morning, by a Mr Brown.
Buster Brown? Are you kidding me?
Young folded his arms. We take allegations of corruption very seriously.
I arrested him last week for possession with intent. This is his idea of revenge.
Sergeant, Young leaned back in his seat, if youll take a bit of advice: given the allegations made against you yesterday, my former colleagues are going to be all over you like flies on a turd. You need to minimize your exposure to anything that smells of shite. He poked the paperwork. This, smells.
I didnt have any choice! Graham Stirling-
It doesnt matter if you had a choice or not. Its how the thing looks in hindsight that matters to Professional Standards. Now, is there anything to this complaint about you taking money from dealers?
Of course there isnt. Two months ago, Buster Brown claimed Id knocked him off his bicycle and broken both his legs. I did him for shoplifting and possession the week before, so he was getting his own back. Didnt seem to occur to Buster that being in a wheelchair for the last fifteen years kind of undermined his story.
Inspector McGregor peered at the sheet again. That was him? Thought it was Ricky Welsh.
No, Ricky was the fake assault in custody.
Ah. So he was. She spread her hands on the desk. Well, youll have my full support when the rubber heelers get here. I consider you an asset to B Division, Logan this mornings warrant proves that but the Superintendents right, you need to be squeakier than clean.
As if Buster Browns fictional complaints were anywhere near as serious as the Graham Stirling fiasco. As if theyd make any difference. As if Chief Superintendent Napier hadnt already made up his mind to rain down a monsoon of crap on Logans head.
Still, when youre drowning
Logan nodded. Yes, Guv.
In the meantime, Young stood, as the press seems to have decided Neil Wood was responsible for our dead wee girl, I think its about time we posted an officer outside his bed-and-breakfast full time. His father gets out of hospital later today and I dont want him winding up on a mortuary slab for the sins of his son. Can you sort that, Wendy?
Inspector McGregors face didnt move for a moment. As if shed pulled on a mask. Ill put in a request and see what the Big Boss says. Staffing levels are tight across the division as it is. She stuffed the stack of complaints back into their folder. But well do what we can.
Thank you. A nod. Good to see you again, Logan. Remember what I said. Keep your head down and your nose clean. Dont give Napier any more rope than he already has. Young paused on the threshold. And phone him back. If theres one thing Napier hates, its being ignored.
The Inspector waited till the door swung shut behind Detective Superintendent Young before sagging in her seat. How, exactly, am I supposed to magic up an extra body to go stand in front of someones house? Do we not have enough to deal with as it is?
Logan curled forward and thumped his forehead against her desk. Theyre letting him go
A sigh. Had two people hand in their notice this month already. The Mires a plague ship and were dropping like flies.
How can they let Graham Stirling go? Did you see what he did to Stephen Bisset?
Logan, we-
And hes not going to stop at one, is he? Not now he knows he can get away with it! Another thump. Gah Logan sat back, rubbed at the line above his eyebrows. How could they let him go?
She grimaced. Swivelled her chair around and stared out of the window.
Blue sky, blue sea, herring gulls making lazy swirls in the sunlight.
Shouldve been raining.
Logan slouched further into the seat. Stared at the ceiling tiles. Im completely screwed, arent I?
No answer.
Eventually, the Inspector cleared her throat. They got the post-mortem report in, late yesterday. Most of our little girls recent injuries appear to have happened after she died. Probably caused by rocks as she got chucked about by the waves.
Completely and utterly screwed
Logan!
A sigh. Thought it wasnt our case any more.
Humour me. McGregor didnt look around, kept her face to the window where he couldnt see it. A dead six-year-old girl washes up on our doorstep and no one reports her missing. Why?
OK Cause of death?
Someone stove her head in with a length of metal pipe. Then dumped her in the water. Young says theres evidence of abuse too. Probably long term.
Poor little soul.
Logan puffed out his cheeks. Let the breath escape slowly. Which brings us back to Neil Wood.
How do we prove it? The seas not that forgiving with DNA and trace. We dont even know where she went into the water. Official line from the pathologist is a child of our victims size and weight would have neutral buoyancy she could have been dumped where she was found and the tide washed her out and back in again. Or she could have come down the coast on the current. Impossible to tell.
Thats a big bag of no sodding help.
The Inspector stuck one foot up on the windowsill, laced her fingers behind the back of her head. Stared out at the expanse of rolling blue. I know youre hacked off about what happened with Graham Stirling, but grumping about it isnt helping. You want me to give you some time off?
Yeah, because thats going to look good when Professional Standards get here. Suspended without pay, pending investigation. He covered his face with his hands. Groaned. Brilliant. I should have let Stephen Bisset die in the woods. I shouldve been a good little boy, stuck to procedure, and left him to die.
No ones saying that.
No? Logan sat up. Thats exactly what theyre saying. Do what youre told, be a parochial plod, dont think for yourself. Were nothing but robots in peaked caps and itchy bloody trousers. No wonder they wont trust us to run our own drugs investigation.
She didnt turn around. Are you finished?
Sorry, Guv.
OK: its frustrating that we dont get to pursue the drugs bust, but thats the world we live in now. Deal with it.
OK: its frustrating that we dont get to pursue the drugs bust, but thats the world we live in now. Deal with it.
Not just the drugs, though, is it? Theres no point talking about the dead little girl, because they took that off us too. Every time we turn up something big, someone comes in and takes it off us. He knocked on the desk with his knuckles. And at least I got a result! More than Youngs MIT can say.
Outside the gulls drifted and screamed.
Waves made thin white lines against the shore.
A car drove by on the road below, music bellowing its distorted Bmmmmtshhh-bmmmmtshhh-bmmmmtshhh as it passed. Fading into silence.
Inspector McGregor frowned at the ceiling. So why hasnt anyone reported her missing? Who doesnt miss a dead little girl?
Back to that again.
Fine.
Well Logan frowned, dredging stuff up from the black, inky depths. I had a case, years ago, back when I joined CID: unidentified dead wee girl. Turned out her mum was trafficked into prostitution from the Eastern Block. She was dead by the time the kid went missing, so no report.
Not a lot of help.
Our victim could be staying with friends or relatives while her parents are out of the country? Or what if she has been reported missing, but it was a long time ago?
Hmm Inspector McGregor chewed on the inside of her cheek for a bit. If it was you, why would you dress her up as a schoolgirl, then kill her?
You mean, apart from the obvious? These people like little girls to look like little girls.
True.
He stared at the thick file of complaints on the Inspectors desk. But why kill her? Why not keep her and keep doing what youve been doing?
Accident maybe? Or maybe she tried to escape? And maybe shes not dressed up, maybe she is a schoolgirl.
Logan took out his notebook. Its term time. Even if she was staying with relatives, the school would know she wasnt in class. Might be worth chasing up?
Inspector McGregor nodded. Well, the MIT have probably thought of that, but let them know anyway. And when youve finished writing up this mornings raid, lets have a chat about how youre going to achieve your appraisal development actions. All that community liaison stuff.
Wonderful.
Dont suppose Young gave you a time of death?
On the girl? Probably sometime over the weekend. Friday at a push. Waters still pretty cold, even in May.
What was the point of doing a post mortem if they couldnt come up with anything useful?
Youre a little ray of sunshine, Logan. Did anyone ever tell you that? The Inspector took her feet off the windowsill and swivelled back round to her desk. Anything else?
My Chiz the one who gave us Klingon and Gerbil when we picked her up she was in possession of Class A and B drugs, and a heap of stolen property too.
I see. McGregor pulled a notepad out from beneath a pile of forms and opened it. And this Covert Human Intelligence Source of yours, is she on the books?
Not yet. Shes got a wee girl of her own. Doesnt get to see her very often. If we do her for the drugs and stolen goods
Youve promised her something? Inspector McGregor rummaged through the piles on her desk again. Then sat back and scowled at her notepad. I dont believe it. Thats three pens Hectors had off me this week and its only Wednesday.