Free Easy Kill by Lin Anderson Page A

stand up. She had to go to work. Minty would be back looking for twice as much money tomorrow.

16
    ‘ DOGGING ?’ Bill said in disbelief.
    ‘We’re not talking about walking the dog, here,’ grinned McNab.
    ‘I know what we’re talking about.’
    ‘The Necropolis is recommended on dogging websites,’ Janice said. ‘Which goes some way towards explaining the quantity of condoms we’ve picked up, sir.’
    Bill was struggling with such a concept. ‘I thought they needed a car for that?’
    ‘It’s been a long, hot, wet summer.’
    Bill shot McNab a look, ending the joke. ‘So someone might have seen him?’
    ‘Dogging involves watching people have sex outdoors,’ Janice explained. ‘Sometimes joining in. They might not want to advertise what they’ve been doing, or watching.’
    ‘We could ask the websites to mention the crime,’ said McNab, more serious now. ‘Encourage any member who has used the Necropolis recently to email Strathclyde Police in strict confidence?’
    ‘Worth a try,’ Bill conceded. ‘Okay, who have we brought in?’
    ‘The old man, George Wilkins,’ said Janice. ‘Charles Beattie, alias Atticus, should arrive shortly. He denied everything until we pointed out we had phone evidence of his contact with Terri. He asked to come in rather than be interviewed at home.’
    ‘What about the Barras man?’
    ‘Haven’t got hold of him yet. Gary Forbes is being interviewed on his home turf. Posh Ray doesn’t answer his phone. We’re checking his home address via the mobile company. The other contact numbers are being dealt with by the rest of the team.’
    ‘Okay, let’s see Mr Wilkins.’
    ‘I should warn you sir, he’s not washed for a while.’
    That was an understatement. Bill felt his throat close in a reflex reaction. Someone had opened the window, but the combination of heat and stale urine in the room was overwhelming. If Terri agreed to have sex with this old man, she was either out of her head, or she deserved a medal for services to the community.
    ‘Mr Wilkins?’
    A pair of rheumy eyes looked vaguely up at Bill. ‘You found Marie?’
    Bill sat down and faced him across the table. Janice switched on the recorder and identified those present.
    ‘Who is Marie, Mr Wilkins?’
    ‘Everybody calls me Geordie. Marie is my wife, Inspector. Forty years we’ve been married.’
    ‘I’m afraid I don’t know where Marie is, Geordie. We wanted to ask you about another woman. Terri Docherty. You used to meet her on a Wednesday night.’
    ‘I don’t know any Terri Docherty.’ He shook his head. ‘Marie and me every Wednesday, regular as clockwork.’
    Bill changed tack. ‘What does your wife look like?’
    Mr Wilkins’s face broke into a smile. ‘A bonnie, bonnie lass. They all wanted her, but she married me,’ he added proudly.
    Bill turned to Janice and said quietly. ‘What do we know about his wife?’
    ‘According to a neighbour, she died three years ago of cancer.’
    ‘Jesus,’ muttered Bill under his breath. The old man was staring at him, trying to make sense of what was going on.
    ‘You met Marie every Wednesday?’
    Geordie nodded. ‘Same place, same time. I wanted her to come home with me, but she wouldn’t.’ He looked distressed. ‘She was always ill at home.’
    Forty years of marriage and it had ended like this.
    ‘We think, ah, Marie’s gone missing.’
    ‘I know she has,’ Geordie said with certainty. ‘She got into that car and never came back. I waited and waited.’
    ‘You saw her get into a car?’
    Geordie nodded again. ‘She shouldn’t have done that.’
    ‘What kind of car?’
    The old man’s eyes filled with tears.
    ‘Geordie,’ Bill said softly.
    Geordie began to cry in earnest, his body slumping forward. ‘She’s never coming back, is she?’ He turned his fearful gaze on Bill.
    ‘We’re going to find her, Geordie, but we need your help. Can you remember what the car looked like?’ Bill watched the old man’s