Page 145 of Better the Devil

Ben hesitated. ‘Well, I mean, we don’t actually know that, but we know who he is. Name’s Curtis Neil.’

The name drew a blank look from the DCI. ‘Who the hell is he when he’s at home?’

‘Member of the neighbourhood watch group. Ex-military. Bit of a headcase, by all accounts,’ Ben said. ‘Dave ran a check on him. Dishonourable discharge from the military. Convictions for assault. Gavin reckons he’s dangerous. Never really fit in with the others. Bit of a loner, except for his girlfriend.’

Logan considered the new information, rubbing at his chin and picking at a plook that had formed there in the stubble.

‘The van. Bosco. It was definitely two guys you saw?’

‘Definitely. No doubt,’ Ben confirmed.

‘Then he’s no’ that much of a loner, then,’ Logan concluded.

He turned to the constable who stood rigidly by the door, pretending he wasn’t listening.

‘Give it ten minutes, then go in and offer tea and coffee,’ he instructed. ‘If they kick up a fuss about leaving, say you’ll need to come talk to someone, then wait out here until they start knocking.’

The constable’s jaw dropped open, but he nodded to say he understood, even if the instructions clearly terrified him.

‘Don’t worry, son. If anyone tries to give you grief about it, just say I bullied you into it,’ Logan told him, then he planted a hand on Ben’s shoulder, turned the older man around, and steered him in the direction of the Incident Room.

‘Talk to me!’

Logan entered the room like a hurricane, throwing the doors wide and bellowing to everyone within earshot. Right now,everyoneincluded only Ben, Dave, and Sergeant Fleck.

Fleck jumped to his feet, hurrying to the printer, which was midway through spitting out a mugshot of a sullen-looking man with a buzz cut and a neck tattoo.

‘Curtis Neil, joined HAWKS about a year and a half ago,’ the sergeant said. ‘Same time he moved to the area. Got an address just outside Nairn, where he lives with his girlfriend, Cassidy… something. I’ll have to check that.’

‘Get Uniform round there,’ Logan instructed.

‘We’re already on it,’ Dave called back over his shoulder. He had a headset on now, plugged into his desk phone, making it easier to make and receive calls at speed. ‘They’re nearly at the address.’

‘This Curtis fella’s behind the blackmail, too,’ Ben said. He nodded to Dave, egging him on. ‘Tell him.’

‘Callum Walker spoke to Hamza down at the scene twenty minutes ago. Told him everything. Curtis roped Callum into making the call to Victor Belov, but Curtis was the one behind it.’

There was a pressure behind Logan’s eyes. Not a headache, exactly. More like something was trying to burst free.

‘Why was he blackmailing him?’

‘For money?’ Ben guessed.

‘He left the money,’ Logan reminded him. ‘If it had been about the money, why leave it behind?’

‘Could’ve panicked,’ Dave suggested.

‘Maybe,’ Logan conceded.

He didn’t think that was it, though. There had to be more.

Thatbag.

Thatcar.

Glass, and footprints, and a single stray fingerprint.

And who the hell was Curtis Neil? Why hadn’t they flagged him before now? Why wasn’t he up there on the Big Board?