Page 26 of Savage Justice

“Not guilty. He’s claiming he was assaulted and robbed. And that the kid’s lying.”

“Bastard. It’s going to court, then.” Ethan starts the car. “We could do with getting our hands on him. Any chance your friend at the CPS could swing bail?”

“I doubt it, boss. That’d be above his pay grade.”

“Fair enough. I’ll talk to our tame superintendent and see if the police might soften their objections. Let’s get him a good lawyer, too. Find out if Lynne Meadows is available, she’s the best. We need that bastard back on the streets, at least briefly, until we can pick him up.”

Frankie is in the kitchen when we arrive back at the mansion, helping himself to scrambled eggs and toast. I don’t recall ever seeing that lad without food in his mouth. He grins up at us when we troop in. The Samsung phone is on the table.

“Passcode is nine four seven three,” Frankie tells me when I pick it up. “I reset it.”

I’m in immediately and straight to the emails.

“Dude’s names is Jonas Bairstow,” Frankie offers. “Seems to go by Bear.”

“Okay,” I murmur as I scroll through a trail of junk emails proclaiming the merits of various medications guaranteed to improve erectile function. Our man also seems to have more than a passing interest in phone porn and gambling sites, as well as an inclination towards gory and violent YouTube videos. Nothing to suggest an unhealthy obsession with ten-year-old girls, though.

I check his text messages and don’t find much of interest, unless you count a regular rendezvous with a lady by the name of Luscious. Apparently, he was in the habit of spending his Tuesday evenings with her at a hotel near Celtic Park, and she is somewhat puzzled by his sudden silence. Clearly not a lady who reads the newspapers.

I move to WhatsApp and hit the jackpot.

“There’s a whole stream of messages between Bairstow and Borys.” I pass the phone around for the others to see. “It’s all there. Arrangements, negotiating terms for the job, instructions, timing. Borys even provides a picture of Lucy.”

“So, we were right. It was planned, premeditated. Not some random snatch.” Ethan dumps his suit jacket over the back of a chair and loosens his tie. “Do the messages give a hint as to why?”

“Not specifically, but it’s clear that Glodowski was pulling the strings. He’s instructing Bairstow to track Molly and her family down. I suppose he must have been some sort of private investigator. Then he was supposed to take Lucy and keep her locked up somewhere. We have to assume she’d have been a hostage. Leverage to get his hands on the boy.”

Ethan’s jaw firms. “I want eyes on Glodowski, whatever Molly says. He won’t know yet how last night’s little stunt went down, so we can be sure he’ll be trying to make contact with Dunbar for a progress report. Do we have Dunbar’s phone?”

Tony shakes his head. “He didn’t have one on him when we got him to the kill room.”

“It’s probably still at Molly’s. Go back and check the place out, would you? While you’re there, you might as well pick up some of their belongings. Clothes, kids’ toys, that sort of thing.”

“Will do, boss.”

“I’ll go with him?” I offer.

Ethan narrows his eyes. “It won’t take two of you to pick up a few clothes and fling them in a bag. You’re more use to me here.”

Tony grabs his jacket and leaves while I settle back into my chair. “How so, boss?”

“I could use your powers of persuasion.” He levels his gaze on Frankie. “Have you finished inhaling food?” he enquires.

Frankie drags his sleeve across his mouth and emits a less than discreet belch.

Ethan winces. “Right, then.” He reaches into his inside jacket pocket and produces a stack of folded documents which he places on the table. “I want you to have a look through those.”

Frankie reaches for the pile and peers at the top sheet. “What’s this?”

“A UCAS form. You have to fill this out to get a university place. And that’s the guide to completing it. It’s all online, but I downloaded it.”

Frankie appears nonplussed. “What do you need me to do with it?”

“Fill it in.”

“Why? Is someone goin’ to school?”

“You are.”

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