The Dark Fear Read Online Free

button on a remote control which activated the screen behind her. Stuart Lamb’s rugged face appeared. ‘Stuart joined the force straight after ‘A’ Levels. He isn’t a university graduate. He worked his way up through the ranks, serving for longest as a Detective Sergeant here in Edinburgh. Stuart plays rugby for his local club in Duns. His wife is a legal secretary. One of the children is at university, here in the city.’
                  ‘Has his lifestyle changed any in the last few years?’ This question was posed by a DI seconded from the Central Division. ‘How long had he been receiving money from Alex Galloway?’
                  Dani was a little annoyed at being rushed in this way with her biography. She felt it was important to draw a full picture of the man, without preconceptions.
                  The DCI tried not to show her irritation. ‘The bank records indicate that deposits were being made as far back as 2005, but they were sporadic and often involved relatively small sums, as little as fifty or a hundred pounds.’
                  ‘It could be payment for information. A tip-off that the police were getting too close to one of Galloway’s operations maybe,’ the DI persisted. 
                  She looked at the man’s face closely. He was clean shaven and wore an expensive suit. A careerist, she immediately decided. ‘Yes, that’s certainly possible, although we have no proof yet. I’d like us to keep an open mind whilst we review the evidence.’ Dani noticed Dennis Robbins nodding in agreement with this. It seemed that Lamb had at least one ally on the panel.
                  Dani proceeded to outline Stuart Lamb’s major cases to date. The DCI had led the team who caught a nasty serial rapist a couple of years before. They’d used the CCTV footage from the Lothian train system to identify the culprit, spending hundreds of man hours in surveillance before collaring their suspect. The forensic evidence had then tied him to the majority of the crimes. The perpetrator was now serving a twenty five year sentence at Sawton Jail.
                  ‘I worked on that operation,’ DI Robbins added, once Dani had finished her presentation. ‘Lamb played it absolutely by the book. As you’re all aware, you get to know the victims and their families pretty well during these types of investigation. None of us wanted to let them down by botching the procedure and not being able to secure a conviction.’
                  ‘Can we take into account Lamb’s previous conduct – when we make our final judgement?’ Sharon Moffett asked this question.
                  Bevan thought about it. ‘Our job is to decide on the charges listed here.’ She tapped the sheet in front of her. ‘Background is always useful to have, but that’s all it is. If we find that Stuart Lamb is guilty of dereliction of duty and corruption in the Alex Galloway case, regardless of his record on the force, we throw the book at him.’
     
    *
     
    A couple of lever arch files were balanced precariously on the small dining table. There wasn’t much room on the cramped surface for anything else. Dani sighed and got up, walking towards the bay window which faced the quiet Marchmont street.
                  James padded out of the kitchenette, slipping his arms around her waist. ‘I’m sorry. It’s a bit of a squeeze in here.’ He pulled her closer to him, as if to illustrate the point.
                  ‘I suppose if we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, we will need a larger place.’
                  James planted a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck. ‘I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking.’
                  Dani twisted her head. ‘There’s a sensible middle ground between a miniscule city centre flat like this one and a huge,