Annie.’
‘Anything the matter?’ asked Josie, glancing sideways at his grim face.
‘Nothing at all,’ snapped Hamish.
Jessie Cormack was a tall, thin girl with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were light grey in a pale face. Her mouth, however, was wide and sensual although free
of lipstick.
The town hall was one of those red sandstone mock castles so beloved by the Victorians. Jessie’s little room was small and dark, separated from that of her boss by a plywood partition. It
was very quiet. The thick walls blocked out all sounds from outside. The rain had turned to snow, and feathery flakes floated down outside the window.
‘Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to wish Annie harm?’ asked Hamish.
‘No. Annie was popular with everyone.’
Hamish was sitting opposite her desk. Josie had taken a chair against the wall next to a radiator. Hamish leaned back in his chair and said quietly, ‘The time for lying is past,
Jessie.’
Jessie studied her hands in her lap. Then she said, ‘Her parents will be mad.’
‘It doesn’t matter what her parents think, and they can’t get mad wi’ a dead body,’ said Hamish brutally. ‘Out with it!’
‘Well, it was like how she said the Freemonts who run the wildlife park didn’t have a clue how to go on. She said they were losing money hand over fist. It was all Bill
Freemont’s fault. It was his dream and his wife’s money. Anyway, they tried to get Annie to do some work round the cages, cleaning and that, but Annie said she was employed as a
secretary and that was that.
‘One day recently she heard Mrs Freemont shouting that they didn’t need a secretary because there wasn’t enough work but Bill said they needed someone to answer the phones and
take money from people when they weren’t there.
‘When they went off somewhere, Annie would lock up at lunchtime and go to that disco, Stardust, in Strathbane. They have a lunchtime session. She said she met a dream-boat
there.’
‘Name?’
‘Jake something or other. She was going to take me there one Saturday and introduce me.’
‘Anyone else?’
‘She said Bill Freemont had come on to her but she threatened to tell his wife and he backed off. Och, it was her parents’ fault. They were that strict. You know, church and Bible
classes on the Sunday.’
‘Which church?’
‘The Free Presbyterian Church in Braikie.’
‘So Annie liked to rebel?’
‘She was a bit of a flirt.’
‘Oh, she was, was she?’ said Hamish. ‘You seem to be taking her murder calmly.’
‘She was asking for it,’ said Jessie in a burst of sudden anger. ‘She flirted with my boyfriend and then laughed in his face when he tried to ask her out. He didn’t have
any time for me. He followed her around like a dog.’
‘Name?’
‘Percy Stane.’
‘And where does he work?’
‘Waste disposal. Across the hall.’
‘Right.’ Hamish got to his feet. ‘Did you get all that, McSween?’
Josie blushed. She had been daydreaming.
Hamish sighed and took out his notebook. ‘Right, Jessie, I’ll need you to go over it again.’
Percy Stane – what misguided parent called a child Percy these days? wondered Hamish – turned out to be a spotty youth of nineteen years. He had thick glasses
through which pale blue eyes stared at them like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
‘We just want to ask you a few questions about Annie Fleming,’ said Hamish. ‘Did you send her a valentine?’
Percy’s eyes darted this way and that. ‘We have good forensic evidence,’ said Hamish severely, hoping Percy would think his card had been found.
‘I-I d-did s-send one,’ he stammered.
‘Now, that’s all right,’ said Hamish soothingly. ‘You didn’t send her a parcel?’
Hamish’s mobile phone rang. ‘Excuse me,’ he said. He answered it. It was Jimmy. ‘Thought you’d like to hear the latest. At the autopsy, they found tablets of
Ecstasy sewn into the hem of her jacket. It
‘Anything the matter?’ asked Josie, glancing sideways at his grim face.
‘Nothing at all,’ snapped Hamish.
Jessie Cormack was a tall, thin girl with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were light grey in a pale face. Her mouth, however, was wide and sensual although free
of lipstick.
The town hall was one of those red sandstone mock castles so beloved by the Victorians. Jessie’s little room was small and dark, separated from that of her boss by a plywood partition. It
was very quiet. The thick walls blocked out all sounds from outside. The rain had turned to snow, and feathery flakes floated down outside the window.
‘Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to wish Annie harm?’ asked Hamish.
‘No. Annie was popular with everyone.’
Hamish was sitting opposite her desk. Josie had taken a chair against the wall next to a radiator. Hamish leaned back in his chair and said quietly, ‘The time for lying is past,
Jessie.’
Jessie studied her hands in her lap. Then she said, ‘Her parents will be mad.’
‘It doesn’t matter what her parents think, and they can’t get mad wi’ a dead body,’ said Hamish brutally. ‘Out with it!’
‘Well, it was like how she said the Freemonts who run the wildlife park didn’t have a clue how to go on. She said they were losing money hand over fist. It was all Bill
Freemont’s fault. It was his dream and his wife’s money. Anyway, they tried to get Annie to do some work round the cages, cleaning and that, but Annie said she was employed as a
secretary and that was that.
‘One day recently she heard Mrs Freemont shouting that they didn’t need a secretary because there wasn’t enough work but Bill said they needed someone to answer the phones and
take money from people when they weren’t there.
‘When they went off somewhere, Annie would lock up at lunchtime and go to that disco, Stardust, in Strathbane. They have a lunchtime session. She said she met a dream-boat
there.’
‘Name?’
‘Jake something or other. She was going to take me there one Saturday and introduce me.’
‘Anyone else?’
‘She said Bill Freemont had come on to her but she threatened to tell his wife and he backed off. Och, it was her parents’ fault. They were that strict. You know, church and Bible
classes on the Sunday.’
‘Which church?’
‘The Free Presbyterian Church in Braikie.’
‘So Annie liked to rebel?’
‘She was a bit of a flirt.’
‘Oh, she was, was she?’ said Hamish. ‘You seem to be taking her murder calmly.’
‘She was asking for it,’ said Jessie in a burst of sudden anger. ‘She flirted with my boyfriend and then laughed in his face when he tried to ask her out. He didn’t have
any time for me. He followed her around like a dog.’
‘Name?’
‘Percy Stane.’
‘And where does he work?’
‘Waste disposal. Across the hall.’
‘Right.’ Hamish got to his feet. ‘Did you get all that, McSween?’
Josie blushed. She had been daydreaming.
Hamish sighed and took out his notebook. ‘Right, Jessie, I’ll need you to go over it again.’
Percy Stane – what misguided parent called a child Percy these days? wondered Hamish – turned out to be a spotty youth of nineteen years. He had thick glasses
through which pale blue eyes stared at them like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
‘We just want to ask you a few questions about Annie Fleming,’ said Hamish. ‘Did you send her a valentine?’
Percy’s eyes darted this way and that. ‘We have good forensic evidence,’ said Hamish severely, hoping Percy would think his card had been found.
‘I-I d-did s-send one,’ he stammered.
‘Now, that’s all right,’ said Hamish soothingly. ‘You didn’t send her a parcel?’
Hamish’s mobile phone rang. ‘Excuse me,’ he said. He answered it. It was Jimmy. ‘Thought you’d like to hear the latest. At the autopsy, they found tablets of
Ecstasy sewn into the hem of her jacket. It
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