Free Dark as Night by Katherine Pathak Page B

gestured for Calder to remain seated. She pulled the door shut behind Phil.
                  ‘You were very quiet during the briefing,’ Bevan stated, crossing her arms over her chest.
                  ‘I know what you’re thinking.’
                  Dani cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow.
                  ‘You think that Uncle Donny might have been meeting a fella too, on the night he went missing.’ Andy kept his gaze fixed on the floor. ‘Donny was not a homosexual,’ he seethed through gritted teeth. ‘I want to make that absolutely clear, Ma’am.’
                  Dani took a deep breath. ‘If the McLaren case is going to prove difficult for you to work on, then I’ll have to re-assign you. There’s no place for prejudice on my team, or for anyone who can’t keep an open mind. If you are too close to this, I’ll find something else for you to do.’
                  He glanced up in surprise. ‘I want to remain on the investigation. This is really important to me.’
                  ‘Okay, Andy, but I need you to keep focussed on Nathan McLaren. You’ve been distant and distracted these last few days. It’s time to step up now. There’s a killer out there, who we’ve got to catch.’
                  He nodded. ‘Aye, of course. I’m a hundred percent committed to this case, I swear.’
     
    *
     
    Mae slid her hand across Andy’s torso, pulling him closer. ‘I saw on the news that they’d found that man’s body.’
                  Calder’s muscles tightened. ‘I can’t discuss the details.’
                  She shifted up, resting her chin on his chest. ‘I know he was dumped in Balgray Reservoir. The reporter said so.’ Mae widened her green eyes and looked straight at him. ‘I want them to send divers down – to see if Don’s body is in there too.’
                  Shocked by her words, Andy sat bolt upright. ‘I don’t believe the McLaren case has anything to do with Don’s disappearance now. There are too many differences. Balgray is a good five miles from here. What would Uncle Don be doing all the way over in Barrhead that night?’
                  ‘Well, what was Nathan McLaren doing there?’
                  Andy remained silent, certainly not wishing to get into that territory.
                  ‘Exactly, who knows why his killer took him there. Because it was quiet, I suppose, and the reservoir was the perfect place to dump a body,’ Mae continued.
                  Calder could tell she’d spent a while considering this.
                  ‘If the same man murdered Don all those years ago then he could be in that place as well. Surely the police can at least search for him? You must be able to request it?’
                  Calder gazed at her beautiful, anguished face and groaned. He leaned in and kissed her forehead tenderly. ‘He isn’t there. You have to trust me on this, sweetheart. The McLaren murder has nothing to do with Don. I know more of the details than you do. I promise it’s a dead end.’
                  Mae’s lips began to quiver. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Andy kissed them away but they continued to fall. ‘I need to know what happened,’ she sobbed. ‘I thought I was finally going to find out where he was, so we could bury him.’
                  ‘I know,’ Calder whispered, holding her close, smoothing her soft hair. ‘We will find out the truth about what happened to Donny, I swear to you. But just not this time.’   
     
     

Chapter 14
     
     
    D Cs Mann and Clifton arrived at the Clydebank University Campus by mid-morning. Both young detectives were graduates themselves and familiar with the environment. There were very few students in residence on the site at this time of the year but