Chapter Four
"Well, the barman at the Shooting Star confirms that Vicki Patterson was there from five and nine last night. It was her hen night," Robert said after hanging up the receiver and Peter nodded, placing the heart shaped lollipop in his mouth.
"I did call Phillip Charles' bosses and they confirmed that he should have been in Edinburgh," Peter said, removing the lollipop and wagged it at Robert.
"Have you pulled his records?" Robert asked as Peter placed the lollipop back in his mouth and nodded his head.
"His finances are good, his phone records show the usual business calls and calls to his fiancé and friends and he only had four paid traffic tickets," Peter said after taking the lollipop out of his mouth and placed the lollipop in his coffee mug.
"Which means we're no closer tae figuring out why someone would want tae kill him," Robert sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands and Peter nodded.
"What's eating me is the fact that no one heard anything when whoever did this took his body back tae his flat," Peter said when he lifted the lollipop stick up and frowned, seeing that the heart shaped lollipop had melted. "Great."
Robert laughed when Peter got up and headed for the door. Robert followed him as they walked down the hall and Peter reached into the pockets of his trench coat then stopped. He patted down his trench coat then checked the pockets of his jacket and growled.
"That was the last one?" Robert teased and Peter glared at him. He stormed down the hall as Robert softly laughed and half ran after him.
Marcy placed the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher while Ellie walked in the kitchen and sat on the chair of the small table.
"Did you need something?" Marcy asked as she closed the door to the dishwasher and dried her hands with the small towel that was on the counter.
"I just wanted to make Alec something to eat," Ellie said.
"He said he only had some dry toast and water for breakfast."
"Yeah, he said he wasn't hungry at that rest stop," Ellie said as Marcy walked to the table and sat down.
"Take it from me, taking care of someone like him isnae easy. Campbell can be a terror when he's sick," she said and Ellie slightly smiled. "Um, how are you?"
"What?"
"Look, I ken all aboot what happened with…with your husband and all. So, tell me. How are you?"
"Heh, it's funny. You're the first person to ask me. Well, Alec asked, but that's it. I'm coping. I mean it's taking me a bit to wrap my head around what happened, but what really pisses me off is what he did to Danny! He was just a kid!" Ellie said when the tears started falling and she buried her face in her hands. Marcy got up then walked to her chair and knelt down, gently rubbing Ellie's back. She had brought the tissue box with her as she handed Ellie some tissues and allowed her to take her time calming down. A few minutes later Ellie calmed down as she wiped her eyes then blew her nose and Marcy moved the chair closer, sitting down. "Sorry."
'There's nothing tae be sorry for."
"Yes, there is. I got angry at someone for not seeing what was going on in her home and I was blind to what was going on in mine! What an idiot!" Ellie said and pounded her fist on the top of the table. "If things weren't bad enough, I had to work my ass off to keep custody of Tom and Fred."
"They wanted tae take them?"
"Oh, yeah, they said that I was a danger to them. That was bullshit! It was Joe who was the monster not me! It was pure luck that my solicitor got them to let me keep them!" she said and new tears fell from her eyes.
"Nae tae sound insensitive, but why did you want tae add taking care of Campbell's cousin tae everything?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't like him at first. He rolled into my life like a hurricane and started barking orders like we were a bunch of rookies. I wasn't sure, but I felt like there was something more to him and it took him nearly dying on me to find out about…that he was ill. As the case went on, we started to understand each other and I felt, well, obligated after he had his surgery."
"If he's anything like my husband, I bet it took a lot of talking before he agreed tae have it."
"No, it didn't. He was very agreeable. What really bugs me is he doesn't want to eat. I've tried, but he's so picky!"
"I bet I can get him tae eat."
Ellie watched as Marcy got up and walked to the refrigerator. A few minutes later Marcy had a plate with a mushroom, onion and egg white omelet that was lightly sprinkled with black pepper, a glass of orange juice, a glass of soy milk and silverware sitting on a tray and Ellie looked down at the omelet.
"He's not going to eat that. He says that it's not an omelet unless it's yellow," Ellie sighed and Marcy smiled.
"Aye, Campbell said the same thing. It took me weeks before I could get him tae eat healthy meals. Come on," she said then picked up the tray and headed for the kitchen door. Ellie opened the door as they walked in the main room and stopped when the front door opened. Campbell held the door open as Alec slowly walked in with Tom following close behind and Campbell reached out for the pushchair. Fred looked up at him as Campbell smiled down at him then closed the door. "Where did you guys go?"
"We went out for a walk," Campbell said as he lifted Fred out of the pushchair and held him high over his head, making Fred giggle. "To be honest, it's raining out so we just walked up and down the hall."
"Give him here," Ellie said as he nodded then handed Fred to her, but Fred whimpered and reached out for him. "Looks like you made a friend."
"Aye, looks like," Campbell said then saw the tray sitting on the table and his eyes went wide. "Is that for me?!"
"No, it's for him," Marcy said with a laugh to her voice while pointing to Alec and Alec walked to the table then looked down.
"What is that?" he asked when Campbell appeared next to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"THAT is Marcy's Fluffy Cloud Omelet!" Campbell said when he took the fork off the tray and cut into the omelet. "Come on. Give it a try."
"Ah…," Alec said when Campbell placed the fork in Alec' mouth and Alec glared at him. Campbell removed the fork while Alec chewed then swallowed and swatted Campbell's hand away when he tried to take a bite. Campbell handed the fork to him with a flare then they sat down and Marcy grinned at Ellie. Ellie grinned back as she watched Alec eat some more of the omelet then sip on the soy milk and Ellie kissed Fred's cheek.
The door opened as Peter and Robert walked in and a tall man with balding black hair and gray eyes was closer. He was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and slippers and looked like he hadn't shaved yet.
"Are you Lance Whales?" Robert asked as he showed the man his identification and the man looked at it then at Robert and sighed.
"Yeah, what's this aboot?" he asked as Peter showed him his identification and folded his arms across his chest.
"This is aboot the murder in seven C," Peter said and Lance looked at him with a bored look on his face.
"I already talked with the cops."
"Aye, but we're just trying tae clear up why no one heard anything either last night or this morning. I mean the man was nae only stabbed tae death, but had the shite kicked out of him," Robert said.
"Well, I'm only the morning supervisor. If you want tae ken what happened during the night then you'll have tae talk tae Jack."
"Does this Jack have a last name?" Peter asked.
"Aye, it's Buckman," Lance said and Robert took out a pad and pen and wrote the name down.
"Do you have his home address?" Robert asked as Lance nodded and told him the address.
"Let's go," Peter said with a nod toward Lance then they left the building and headed for the blue car. Peter looked up while the rain softly pattered on his face as he frowned and wiped the water from his face. Robert shrugged as he unlocked the passenger side door and opened the door. Getting in, Peter closed the door when his mobile vibrated and he sighed, removing the mobile from his pocket. He looked at the screen then pushed the button, brushing some of his fringe out of his eyes. "Hello, Love."
"Am I interrupting anything?" Natalie asked.
"Well, I am in the middle of a case, but I can talk," he said then glanced at Robert and his eyes widened at him making kissy lips at him. "Correct that. I am aboot tae kill my partner."
"Oh, leave Robby alone. Anyway, I was talking with Trish and she still hasn't gotten your attendance list. How is she going to know how many of us are sitting at the main table if you don't tell her how many groomsmen there are and who your best man is?"
"You know who they are. You tell her."
"Peter!"
"Ok…fine," he sighed then pinched his eyes closed with his fingers and thumb and leaned the back of his head against the back of the seat. "I promise tae email her the list as soon as I get back tae the station."
"Thank you," she said then ended the call and he looked at the screen pushing the button.
"You're welcome," he sighed then placed the mobile in his pocket and Robert gently nudged him then started the car.
The rain had stopped while the sun tried to peek out from behind the clouds and Alec stood in front of the window, looking at the radio station. His doctor was concerned about him being so close to the station's radio tower or satellite dishes, but he felt ok and could barely feel his heart thumping in his chest. He looked up at the satellite dishes on the roof of the station when Campbell slid up next to him and tapped his shoulder.
"Whatcha looking at?" he asked.
"I'm looking at the radio station," Alec said.
"Why?"
"I was just wondering if it's ok for me tae be this close tae the radio tower."
"Ah, well, Marcy did get this email from your doctor asking what frequencies we use and it turns out that they won't interfere with your pacemaker."
"That's good," Alec said then placed his forehead against the glass and half closed his eyes. "Fuck, I should be able tae go anywhere I want without worrying aboot if this bloody thing will go wonky."
"Hey," Campbell said as Alec glanced at him and he grinned. "Your doctor also said you can go over there if you want. So, Cousin, do you want tae come see what I do for a living?"
"Aye," Alec said then carefully turned around and they headed for the door. Campbell helped him with his trench coat then opened the door and they left the flat while the door closed behind them.
The blue car pulled up to the curb when the doors opened and Peter and Robert headed for the stairs. Peter took the stairs two at a time when he stood in front of the door and Robert appeared next to him. Pushing the button, Peter rocked back and forth on his heels when the intercom clicked on and they looked up at the security camera.
"Yeah, who is it?" the voice asked.
"I'm DI Carlisle and this is DI Kincaide," Peter said as they held up their identification up to the security camera and waited. A click alerted them that the door was unlocked as Peter opened the door and they looked at each other.
"My flat's on the fifth floor, Five C," the voice said then they walked inside and headed for the hallway. The stair case was to the left as they walked up the stairs and Peter looked up. A few minutes later they stood in front of the door to Five C when Robert knocked on the door and Peter listened to the sounds of the hallway. A television played behind one of the doors and a baby was crying somewhere. The door opened when a tall man with slicked back brown hair and brown eyes looked at them and he scratched his bottom through his jeans. "Well?"
"Are you Jack Buckman?"
"Aye, I am," Jack said with a nod of his head then they showed him their identification and he sighed. He moved back as they walked in the room and Peter looked at the flat. It was one room with a bedroom to the right and a black and white cat lounged lazily on the windowsill. The furniture looked second hand, but still in good shape and Jack walked to the small refrigerator, opening the door. "You two want a beer?"
"Sorry, we're on duty," Robert said and Jack nodded, closing the refrigerator door after taking out a beer bottle.
"What's this aboot?" he asked and opened the top of the beer bottle on the edge of the counter.
"We want tae ask you aboot the body they found," Peter said while looking around the room and scratched the cat behind its left ear.
"Ah," Jack said and sipped on the beer.
"We need tae understand how it was that no one in the building heard someone being beaten then stabbed tae death last night. Care to enlighten us?" Peter asked as he walked closer and Jack glared at him.
"You have tae excuse my partner. He's a bit cranky today," Robert said as Peter shrugged then went to sit on the couch and Robert looked at Jack. "Now, did anything odd happen after six to eight o'clock last night? You were on duty, aye?"
"Aye, I was and I wouldnae call it odd, but there was this delivery," Jack said as Peter got off the couch and walked to him.
"What sort of delivery?" he asked.
"Some bloke came and had this big box with him. He said it was for the man on the seventh floor," he said and Robert and Peter looked at each other with slightly stunned looks on their faces.
