Contents ( 57)
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Sharon Gosling
‘You of all people should know that I can’t tell you that,’ said the supercilious little punk. ‘You should know better than to ask.’
‘That’s okay,’ Toby said. ‘I don’t need you to tell me because I already know. It was a woman called Dora McCreedy.’ At the flicker that passed over Linley’s face, he offered a thin smile. ‘I would ask you how you came upon this story, since you’ve never visited Newton Dunbar. But I already know that, too, because I’ve done some digging of my own. Little tip for you there, Linley. When you go into an interview, you should already know 99 per cent of the answers to the questions you’re going to ask.’
‘Wait, what?’ Linley suddenly looked less composed. ‘What do you mean, an interview?’
‘I told you I wanted to ask some questions about a piece you’d written. You agreed, and here we are, talking about it. What did you think this was, a date?’
Linley looked flabbergasted. ‘But I thought – I thought you wanted to take a piece of mine to a wider audience. We’re colleagues, I’m—’
‘I absolutely do want to take a piece of yours to a wider audience, Linley, as part of an investigation I’m currently conducting into corrupt land development practices in the area. Would you like to know what I’ve learned so far? Perhaps you can confirm a few details on which I’m still a bit sketchy.’ Toby reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook, which he flicked open as he went on speaking. ‘I think it started five years ago, which is when you received an extremely good deal on a flat in central Aberdeen—’
‘Wait—’
‘—for which you paid well below the market value. Looks like a nice penthouse with a lovely sea view – well done you. Anyway, that coincided with a front-page article you wrote “investigating” financial wrongdoing among the members of a board managing a charity who hoped to purchase land on the outskirts of the city that would provide a shelter for vulnerable women and children. I’ve got a scan of the article here, if you’d like to refresh your memory?’
‘What does that have to—’
‘It’s okay, I can give you the gist. It’s full of innuendo and veiled statements from an unidentified “source”. No names, no specific allegations – well, you know the drill, don’t you? Would you like to know the upshot of that article? Because as far as I can tell, you never followed up – there was never anything else mentioned in the paper, not about the subsequent investigation into the charity, or the fact that they were found to be completely above board, or that as a result of the investigation they lost the chance to buy that land. No, there’s nothing about that. What there is though, six months later, is an article – front page, again – about a fabulous new shopping centre that is going to be built on that same site. There’s even a quote from the developer, Dora McCreedy. Shall I read it to you?’