FIFTY-NINE

Knox prowled briefly around the room before settling in its only armchair, facing Harry, who was sitting on the bed nearest the telephone.

'You were sharing this room with Mr Chipchase, I think you said,' Knox remarked, apropos of nothing as far as Harry was concerned.

'That's right.'

'How is he?'

'No-one seems too sure. He's on his way to Glasgow for specialist treatment. But… he hasn't regained consciousness since he passed out on the launch, so…' Harry shrugged helplessly. 'It's touch and go.'

'I expect you'd like to follow him to Glasgow. Be on hand for, er… any changes in his condition.'

'Of course I would. Are you saying I can?'

'I'd better explain, hadn't I? To be honest, I'd rather have got more of a grip on the case before considering any moves like this, but… the timing leaves us little choice. I've spoken to Chief Inspector Ferguson in Aberdeen and Inspector Geddes in Dundee. They've filled me in on the background and I've brought them up to speed with what's happened here. They agree with what I'm proposing.'

'Which is?'

'I'll come to that in a moment. Let me start by saying I've no doubt of Mrs Redpath's truthfulness or the accuracy of her statement.'

'What about mine?'

'In effect, she's your guarantor, Mr Barnett. She's why we now also regard you as a truthful witness.'

'Thanks very much,' said Harry levelly.

'We had to take account of your status as a suspect in a parallel inquiry. I'm sure you understand that.'

'I… suppose so.'

'Good. Now, I propose to leave the whole matter of the deaths of Hamish and Andrew Munro on Haskurlay fifty years ago and the alleged military exercise there—'

'It's a bit more than alleged, isn't it?'

'I don't know. And neither do you, according to your own statement.' Knox's gaze hardened briefly before he continued. 'At all events, I propose to leave that matter till another day. My priority this day is finding out who hired the two men who killed Murdo Munro and attempted to kill you, Mrs Redpath and Mr Chipchase. As it happens, we've made some progress on that score, which is what brings me here. Frank was obviously the one in charge. Yes?'

'Yes.'

'And obviously intended from the outset to eliminate Mark at some point.'

'Yes.'

'After killing you all aboard the launch, he must have planned to make his escape in the inflatable. He could hardly have crossed to the mainland in such a craft, but it would have done him for a return trip to Barra. We found the Ford Fiesta parked on the verge further along the road from the Munro house. That's presumably where he meant us to find it. So, the question is: how did he plan to leave Barra? The next ferry to Oban's not till tomorrow morning. Nor is the next flight to Glasgow. You came over by ferry yourself, so you may not know the airport here on Barra is simply a beach, albeit a grand wide one, away on the north coast. It's an afternoon high tide just now, so it's a morning service only. That's why we had to come down by helicopter ourselves.'

'So he would have been trapped here?'

'Ah no. We've good reason to think not. Our theory is that he actually planned to take the inflatable a little further, to Eriskay, the next island north of here. That's linked by causeway to South Uist and Benbecula. If he had a car waiting for him on Eriskay, he could have driven to the proper tarmac airport at Benbecula and caught the five-thirty flight to Glasgow from there. There are several single male passengers booked on it. We expect one of them to be a no-show.'

'Frank.'

'It makes sense. The inflatable would have been a safe distance from the scene of the crime. And with Mark identifiable as the man who hired the launch here on Barra this morning, he'd be in the clear. Not to mention Glasgow, where we're certain he planned to be tomorrow morning.'

'What makes you so certain of that?'

'You didn't search the body, did you, Mr Barnett?'

'No.'

'If you had, you'd have come across nothing to put a name or address to him. Maybe he left his credit cards and so forth in the car on Eriskay, if our theory about his method of escape is correct. But it might take us a few days to find the car. And we can't wait till then. Because what he did have in his pocket was a mobile phone, on which he'd recently recorded — but not yet sent — a text message. Did he strike you as a vain man?'

'Vain?' It was not something Harry had considered before. Frank's capacity for murderous violence had been of more immediate interest than whether he habitually admired his reflection in shop windows. But, now the question had been posed… 'Well, he was certainly no shrinking violet.'

'Only there's a hint of vanity to my mind in drafting the message before the event.'

'What was the message?'

'“Contract executed. Confirm Blythswood Square for settlement, 8 a.m. tomorrow.”'

'Where's Blythswood Square?'

'Central Glasgow.'

'I see.'

'A pay-off in Glasgow fits our theory rather neatly.'

'Do you know who he was going to send the message to?'

'No. But we have the mobile number it was destined for. We've traced it, naturally. A phone bought in the West End of London — O2 in Oxford Street, to be precise — twelve days ago. Pay as you go. And a cash sale. So, we've no idea who made the purchase.'

'Twelve days?' That took it to the period between Askew's meeting with Ailsa in South Kensington and his departure for Kilveen with Harry and assorted other Clean Sheeters later in the week. 'It has to be whoever Askew was threatening to expose as the Munros' murderer.'

'But who was that, Mr Barnett? According to your statement, several of those still in the frame live in London. And those who don't could have gone there for the day. Well, there's really only one way to find out which of them it is, don't you think?'

'Send the message.'

'Just so.' Knox paused and gave Harry a long, scrutinizing look. 'As we already have.'

'You've sent it?'

'The media only know about a murder on Vatersay. Nothing about two dead hit men. We'll keep it that way for the next twenty-four hours. So, the recipient of the message has no reason not to present himself in Blythswood Square tomorrow morning at eight o'clock to pay Frank whatever he's due. But Frank won't be there. We will.'

'A trap?'

'One our man may slip through, unfortunately. Given that we don't know who we're looking for. What we need is someone able to recognize the person who turns up.'

'Ah,' said Harry. 'You mean me.'

'I do, Mr Barnett, yes. We'd have you under surveillance throughout. And miked up into the bargain. You'd be running no risks. Anything you drew out of him could be valuable.' A hint of a smile quivered at the edges of Knox's mouth. 'A full confession would be ideal.'

'What if he just legs it as soon as he spots me?'

'We grab him. At least we'll know who to grab. So, will you do it? We have to get you to Glasgow and set everything up. It can be done, but we're sorely pressed for time. I'd like to be able to give you a while to think it over, but…'

'You can't.'

'I'm afraid not. I need your answer… here and now.'