Free Dark as Night by Katherine Pathak Page A

of pain. ‘Where did that leave me and the boys?’
                  ‘You should have told us this when Nathan first went missing,’ Dani said quietly.
                  She sighed in frustration. ‘Nathan was still the same man. I never thought for a moment that he would go out in the middle of the night to have sex in a public park . There was nothing to tell.’             
                  Dani could appreciate her point. She left the room to fetch the neighbour to take her home. There was nothing to be gained now by haranguing the poor woman.
                 
     

Chapter 13
     
     
    A ndy Calder was in a bad mood. Dani had noted this as soon as he entered her office alongside his colleagues. There was something about the way he plonked himself down on the sofa, keeping his shoulders hunched, which gave it away to his boss.
                  ‘Now the press have got onto it, DCS Nicholson is breathing down my neck for a quick result,’ she began. ‘Where are we with the appeal for witnesses?’
                  Alice Mann flipped open her notebook. ‘We’ve had a slow trickle of phone calls from folk who were in Balgray Park on Saturday evening. But no one appears to have seen anything suspicious.’
                  ‘Is the area known for being a cruising point? Do homosexuals and courting couples use the car parks at night?’ Dani glanced at each officer in turn.
                  ‘Not that I could tell,’ Phil chipped in. ‘I’ve been in contact with some of the gay pressure groups in Glasgow since we discovered why Nathan McLaren was in Balgray Park when he was killed. The guys there said it wasn’t a well-known meeting place, but then, they also said that cottaging is generally less common these days. Homosexuality doesn’t have the stigma it once did.’
                  ‘It still does if you’re a gay bloke married to a woman,’ Dan Clifton added.
                  ‘Aye.’ Bevan nodded. ‘Bloody good point. So, this man we’re looking for – was he Nathan’s boyfriend, or just a casual pick-up? I think that’s the key to this investigation.’
                  ‘There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary on Nathan’s computer,’ Alice responded. ‘No deleted messages from a male lover or evidence of gay porn.’
                  ‘Jenny claimed that Nathan had some porn mags in his briefcase. Perhaps he and his lover kept it old-fashioned and corresponded by letter?’
                  ‘We found nothing in his office, either at home or at work, Ma’am,’ Dan confirmed.
                  ‘My sense is that Nathan was only just beginning to act upon his urges,’ Bevan continued. ‘His wife had only known about his proclivities for a few months. The therapist was encouraging him to explore them further. If there was a boyfriend, I suspect he was fairly new on the scene.’
                  ‘I reckon that would make Nathan vulnerable,’ Phil said carefully. ‘He was almost like a teenager taking their first, tentative steps onto the dating circuit. He might have appeared pretty green to those who’d been out for many years.’
                  ‘And a bit naïve perhaps,’ Alice added, crinkling her forehead. ‘I think we should go back to that rowing club, Ma’am. I’ve got a hunch that McLaren wasn’t simply hanging around there to find out whether his son could join in September. I believe there’s something else.’
                  Bevan narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. ‘Okay. You and Dan make another trip over there. Talk to some more people this time and have a proper conversation with that coach.’
                  Alice nodded, recognising the DCI’s tone as an indication they were dismissed. As the officers filed out of the poky room, Dani