The Reckoning Read Online Free

Did he come looking for Gibson in particular, or was he out to pot anyone? Is he a loony?’
    Vic let the question hang there in the air between them for some moments. Then he shrugged.
    â€˜I think we can safely say Gibson wasn’t expecting trouble or he wouldn’t have gone wandering off on his own. But all that says is that he’d probably be just as surprised as the rest of us. If he wasn’t dead, that is.’
    He shot a glance at Billy.
    â€˜I don’t suppose you can shed any light on all that?’
    â€˜I’m afraid not, Vic.’
    â€˜Then tell me what happened up in Scotland. Who was the lucky bloke there?’
    â€˜A doctor called Wallace Drummond, a GP in Ballater. That’s in Aberdeenshire. It happened a month ago.’
    They had reached the outskirts of the village and Billy paused beside a wooden bench placed conveniently under a chestnut tree at the edge of the lane.
    â€˜Why not?’ Vic guessed his intention. ‘I could do with a breather myself.’ They sat down, but when Billy offered him a cigarette, Vic shook his head. ‘I gave up during the war. They were starting to taste like sawdust.’
    â€˜They still do.’ Billy drew in a lungful of smoke. ‘As I said, this Drummond bloke was murdered in the same way as Gibson. A single bullet in the back of the head: nine-millimetre, same as yours. It happened in his surgery and he was made to kneel down, just like Gibson was.’
    â€˜How did they know that?’
    â€˜The poor chap wet himself before he was killed. He must have known what was coming. The urine ran down his thighs and his trousers were stained as far as his knees, but no further. So although he was found lying face-down, the police there reckoned he’d been kneeling when the bullet struck him.’
    â€˜Any witnesses?’
    Billy shook his head. ‘Drummond’s rooms were above a shop: he lived out of town. It was late afternoon, but the shop was still open and the owner heard the sound of the shot from below. He didn’t know what it was, but he was concerned enough to go up to the floor above and try the door to Drummond’s rooms. It was locked, and after he had knocked on it and called out a couple of times, he concluded there was no one there and went back downstairs. It wasn’t until later that evening that the body was found. After her husband failed to returnhome, Mrs Drummond rang the local police station and they went round to his rooms.’
    â€˜So the killer wasn’t seen at any point?’ Vic had been paying close attention.
    â€˜Apparently not. The shot was heard at about a quarter-past five, and soon after that the shopkeeper closed up for the day and went home. The shooter must have waited for a while until the street below had emptied. That’s what the police thought, anyway.’
    â€˜A cool customer, in other words. Just like our bloke.’ Chivers scowled.
    â€˜So the coppers up there were stumped. There seemed no reason why anyone should have shot the chap. He had no enemies, as far as they could tell. Nothing had been stolen from his surgery. The investigation was handled by the Aberdeen police. They sent their report to Edinburgh, who forwarded it to the Yard. They weren’t asking us to do anything; they just thought they ought to bring it to our attention.’
    â€˜Kind of them.’ Vic sniffed.
    â€˜After we heard about the shooting down here, we asked them to send us their bullet. It’s on its way to London now. I’ll have to take yours back with me when I go. We’ve cleared it with Brighton.’
    â€˜Fine by me.’ Chivers shrugged. ‘But it’s hard to see any connection – other than the two men being used for target practice. A Scottish medico and a deputy bank manager? You’re not going to tell me they were acquainted.’
    â€˜Not as far as we know.’ Billy trod on his cigarette.