The Devil's Due: A Cooper and McCall Scottish Crime Thriller by Ramsay Sinclair (nonfiction book recommendations TXT) 📕

disagreement already, and we’d barely said two words. I crossed my arms, contemplating how to address Nathan without him building defences.

Nathan sighed. “Obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”

“It’s not wise to respond defensively here, Nathan. We’re all that lies between you and prison,” I advised, much to the dislike of his lawyer.

“Are you threatening my client, DI Cooper?”

“No, it’s a suggestion,” I said flatly. “If Nathan wants to be treated with respect, he should’ve joined the army instead of dealing drugs again. Prison didn’t teach you much of a lesson last time, did it, Nathan?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nathan didn’t show surprise. I slid our printouts across the table and arranged them so that all his ‘deleted’ messages were in order. “I don’t know what these are. You’re setting me up.”

The lawyer read them with a frown.

“Text messages to Adam Crystal,” I informed her. “Deleted, may I add. Throughout these messages, you mention Gavin Ellis and the exchange of drugs between the two of you.”

“Both you and Adam Crystal were jailed for the same offences previously, and both swore, and I quote, ‘I will never sell drugs again. They have ruined my life,’” DCI Campbell read from a report he secured for backup.

“That’s not relevant to this case at all, DCI Campbell. My client wishes to stay silent,” the lawyer cut in, taking over. She knew we’d got him. Sweat stains covered Nathan’s through Nathan’s hoodie, starting to run down his forehead.

DCI Campbell and I shared a knowing glance, adrenaline pulsing through our veins.

“You typed your own grave, so to speak.” DCI Campbell did well not to rise to their arrogance, but my own easy temper started to boil. I squeezed my hands together to contain myself. “Your final text message to Adam Crystal, three days before Gavin Ellis was found dead, read, ‘But he’d better be on his best behaviour because if I see him, I’ll kill him. GE has had his last warning.’ What did you do to Gavin?”

“It’s illegal to search through my stuff,” Nathan barked, scratching his wispy lick of moustache in contempt.

“It is not illegal for law enforcement and CID to search through your phone without permission, if it offers substantial evidence to help our case. You’re already under arrest,” DCI Campbell explained, specifically for our tape. Even the lawyer couldn’t disagree with that part.

“You were caught carrying an offensive weapon, near Gavin’s time of death. You have text messages threatening to kill him. It’s all very peculiar, Nathan and doesn’t bode well for you in the slightest.” I leaned forward, staring directly at the teenager, praying he’d crack soon.

“Other officers asked you for an alibi of where you were on two separate occasions. You had no alibi,” DCI Campbell reported from a paper file.

“Actually, I said no comment,” Nathan burst out, his acne-ridden face etched in a fury.

“Innocent people don’t hide.” Nathan’s face dropped at my plain truth. “Are you a murderer or a stupid teenager caught red-handed selling a few drugs to make yourself look cool? If you tell us, we can make these questions fade with a click of our fingers.”

“I’m not stupid,” he snorted.

“DI Cooper, I don’t think that language is necessary when speaking to my client.” The lawyer shook her skinny head in my direction.

Dramatic. I only said ‘stupid’. It’s not like I cursed the ignorant shit out of the room.

“Your association with Gavin Ellis is clear to all of us,” I pressed. “A guppy could work that out. Did he owe you money for drugs?”

“He owed me a lot of money. I’m not saying what for,” Nathan refused, trying to make Gavin seem like the one in the wrong. And in some ways, he was. Nathan’s entire facade slowly crumbled down, and it was my job to break down his wall completely.

“So you murdered Gavin Ellis? For revenge? Did someone make you kill him?” I bluntly worded my questions. Blunt words frightened people, pressured them.

He inhaled deeply. Both DCI Campbell and I were on tenterhooks. This could be the confession we’d been searching for. There was no way he could wriggle out of this one. We’d provided them with concrete evidence, and his previous convictions worked in our favour.

Nathan leaned closer, closer to us and the tape machine. Recording our every line. Two chapped lips opened, starting to talk.

“No comment.”

21

Lucy

“Lucy?” someone grabbed my attention. I’d been in a daydream of sorts, too busy staring into my coffee mug. Black, one sugar. The way I liked it.

“Hiya Jen. Fancy a coffee? Kettle’s still hot.” I offered politely.

Jen was a lovely lady, a natural maths teacher and amazing with the kids. A metallic noise bounced from my teaspoon as I watched the instant granules dissolve in properly.

“Oh, you know what? Aye, I will,” Jen rubbed her cold hands together, desiring to warm up.

The two of us completely contrasted each other in every. Jen dressed smart, whereas my chosen attire flowed, especially in the summer. I taught English, where our pupils were allowed to discover escapism and enrich their creativity, while Jen taught mathematics, rigid structures with only one possible outcome.

“There.” I finished her second cup and handed it over accordingly. We found our usual seats by the window.

“Urgh, god. I had Daniel for the first period and let me tell you something. I deserve a medal,” she joked, sipping quickly, ignoring the scorching hot water. She’d become immune to it, always sipping hot drinks.

“Aw bless. It’s not his fault. Usually, when children misbehave, it’s a direct result of their upbringing. He can’t help it,” I reminded her quietly.

“I know, I’m enrolled in the same yoga group as his mother. She’s worse, believe it or not.” Jen had mothered three kids, so she knew the struggles of parenting. I was a lot younger than Jen, so I couldn’t relate to the whole mother’s meeting situations.

“That wasn’t… nevermind.”

“Mark won’t stop on at me to invite his parents over for Christmas. I said no because his