Offender Of The Faith

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Sanjay was waiting for Alex outside Mrs Gallacher's flat.

“What did you think, Boss?”

“It's going to take a lot more probing, establishing the exact time of death may prove crucial. It doesn't ring true that McGowan was eager to come home for a cosy anniversary meal yet went off on a failed mission to have a drink with one of his buddies. He's hardly helped himself. He's given us nothing to confirm his claimed timeline. What's more, we have the extra hour where his movements can't be unaccounted for. Even if we accept his story, he's come home later than planned and been bevied up.”

“That was my concern, too,” Sanjay replied. “I'd better update you on other developments. Duffie's finished up for now and away. He's arranging for the body to be transferred and will do the P.M. in the morning. Before he left, he told me there were definite signs of recent s****l activity. In his words, 'she's taken quite a pounding'. One possibility is very rough s*x, but it's far more likely to be r**e. Some kinky s*x involving strangulation, going wrong, can't be ruled out either.”

“Damn it! We could have done without that complication.”

“There's more, and you're not going to like it. Scene of crime technicians have still to run tests and give their full report, but Connor has given me some provisional findings. The door hadn't been forced so whoever did this either had a key or was let in. The place is untidy but there are no signs of any scuffle or resistance, other than on the body itself. It's pretty battered, with what appears to be some defensive bruising on the arms. She is clothed, sort of. No underwear and whoever attacked her must have rearranged her dress before they left. Either that or McGowan did it after he found the body. What may be of greater interest is what they found in the trash. The cleansing uplift only took place this morning but nevertheless there was a bag at the bottom of this flat's bin. Possibly, it had been missed but more likely it went out at some point today. In any event, amongst the garbage, it contained two used condoms. Perhaps of even greater significance, inside the kitchen bin, they found a pregnancy test kit and the blue line indicated a positive result. No doubt, Duffie will be able to tell us more when he does the P.M.”

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Alex said with undisguised sarcasm. “I think I'd better have another word with young Mr McGowan before we send him on his way.”

“The door-to-door hasn't yielded much of value. An upstairs neighbour thought he may have heard shouting about six o'clock. They didn't regard it as unusual because it's happened often before and when they'd checked, the source had been old Mrs Gallacher's choice of TV viewing.”

“Not a lot of help.”

“I did go down and speak to Fulton,” Sanjay continued.

“And?”

“The guys a bit of an arse, but I don't believe he had anything to do with it. I asked him about the argument and he tried to explain. His story: He'd had a crappy day. He'd been overlooked for a promotion at work that he'd earned. He had all the training and experience but instead it had been given to an Asian woman who didn't have a clue. She only got it, so the company could meet its quota of recruiting and promoting women and racial minorities, so he says.”

Alex chuckled.

“Yeah, that's what I thought too. The bastard stared at my stripes and it wasn't too difficult to see what he was thinking.”

“Don't take it to heart,” Alex said, and gave Sanjay a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“To add insult to injury, his next comment was, 'I'm not a racist; really I'm not'. He went on to explain that after getting the bad news, he'd gone out and got drunk, Then, on his way home, he'd seen Keiran coming in from the back court and she got the sharp end of his tongue as a result. He hadn't meant what he'd said. Anyhow, he and his wife have been home all afternoon and evening and she's given him a solid alibi.”

* * *

“Kevin, something else has come to light that we need to talk about.”

“I thought I'd told you everything.”

“It appears that Kieran may have been pregnant. Did you know about it?”

“What? Is this some sort of sick joke?” Kevin turned away.

“I want you to look at me. This is serious Kevin. What can you tell me?”

“It's not possible; you're trying to trick me. I've read about weird mind games the police use to try to confuse suspects or witnesses. Surely you don't consider me to be a suspect?”

“Let me assure you Kevin that this is no game. Our people found a pregnancy tester in your flat showing a positive result. If it wasn't Keiran's, then whose could it be?”

“But it's not possible.”

“I'm afraid it's very possible. You've already confirmed you had a s****l relationship and I'm sure you know that condoms are not a foolproof method of birth control.”

“No, you don't understand. She couldn't be pregnant. I couldn't make her pregnant.” There was a long pause before Kevin continued. “I had a tumour some years back. It was successfully treated but the radiation resulted in me having a zero sperm count.”

“If that's the case then why did you use condoms? You've been in an established relationship for two years. If it wasn't for protection against pregnancy, what were you protecting against?”

Kevin's head slumped. “I didn't tell her. When we first got together and had s*x, it was common sense to wear protection. At the start, we were both students with no thoughts of having kids. Once we became a couple, I didn't want to say that I was infertile. As the relationship developed I realised she loved children. I knew she'd want her own at some stage, but we didn't ever discuss having kids and I was afraid if she knew then she may not want me. I wanted to tell her, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it was to say anything.”

“Well Kevin, this creates a new problem. If Keiran was pregnant and you're not the father; that means that somebody else must be.”

Kevin looked as if he might be sick. Mary passed him a glass of water.

“This can't be happening. It has to be some big mistake, or a hoax. Please tell me it's not real.”

A full two minutes passed in silence, with Alex giving Kevin time to digest the information.

“Can you give me any clues? Have you had any suspicions that Keiran may have been playing around?”

“No, absolutely not!” Kevin spat back. “We loved each other. There was no-one else for either of us. We spent all our time together when we weren't working.”

“Maybe there was someone at her work she was close to. Besides, you didn't always take time off together; today, for instance.”

Kevin shook his head. “Never, I don't believe it,”

“We'll have to talk to her colleagues. Where was it she worked? Oh, and just so you know, we also need to speak to your employers. It's standard procedure.”

“She worked at the new Queen Elizabeth hospital. She's a pharmacist and was offered the job straight from university.”

“Right, we'll get onto it, but for now, we'll take you over to your parent's house. I know this has all come as a shock to you, but you need to get some rest and we can talk again in a day or two.”

“You don't seriously expect me to get any rest after what's happened and what you've told me.”