More joined in the applause this time. Once it had died down there was a cough, and a voice with rolled ‘r’s said, ‘This is all very well, Macbeth, but where is the evidence—’ the questioner pronounced ‘evidence ’ slowly with ultra-clear diction as though it were a difficult foreign word ‘—against the people you have mown down?’
‘As far as the Norse Riders are concerned, we have witnesses who saw them shooting at Banquo’s car, and we have fingerprints on and inside the car, also blood on Banquo’s seat identical to the types of some of those found dead in the club house this evening. Forensics can also confirm that fingerprints found on the inside of the windscreen, on the driver’s side, match those of—’ Macbeth paused ‘—Inspector Duff.’
A ripple went through the hall.
‘At this juncture I’d like to praise the SOC officers. Duff went to the crime scene just after the murder. This was odd as no one at Homicide had been able to get hold of Duff to inform him of the murder. Obviously he turned up with the intention of erasing his fingerprints and other clues he must have known he’d left behind. But the Forensics Unit didn’t let anyone, no one at all, go near the body and contaminate the evidence. Personally, I can add that my suspicion that Duff was working with the Norse Riders grew during the raid on the container harbour. Both the Narcotics Unit and we at SWAT had received such a clear tip-off that Duff couldn’t have ignored it without arousing suspicion that he was protecting them. Duff cleverly set up a raid that was doomed to fail, with inexperienced officers from his own unit in insufficient numbers, without seeking the assistance of SWAT, which is the normal procedure in such cases. Luckily the raid came to our attention, so SWAT reacted independently, and I think I can say without blowing our own trumpet that this was the start of the Norse Riders’ and Duff’s downfall. The Norse Riders and Inspector Duff dug their own graves when they avenged the loss of the drugs consignment and five of their members by killing first Duncan and then Banquo and his son. And this is, incidentally, the last time I will mention Duff by rank, which in our police force is considered an honour regardless of whether it is the highest or the lowest.’ Macbeth noticed to his dismay that the slightly tremulous indignation in his voice was genuine, completely genuine.
‘Do you really mean to say, Macbeth—’
‘Hand up before you...’ Lennox started to say, but Macbeth raised his palms and nodded for Kite to continue. He was ready to take on this insubordinate querulous bastard now.
‘Do you really mean to say, Macbeth, that you, the police, cannot be criticised for anything during these operations? In the course of one afternoon you killed seven people you’d released from prison an hour earlier, nine other gang members, most of whom had no record, plus six women who, as far as we know, had nothing to do with any crimes committed by the Norse Riders. Then you tell us there’s also a family in Fife who are by definition innocent victims. And you consider that you didn’t make a single error?’
Macbeth observed Kite. The radio reporter had dark hair surrounding a bald head and a moustache that formed a sad mouth around his own. Always bad news. Macbeth wondered what fate awaited such a man. He shuffled his papers. Found the page he had drafted and to which Lady, later Lennox, had added detail. Breathed in. Knew he was in perfect equilibrium. Knew his medication was perfect. Knew he had received the perfect serve.
‘He’s right,’ Macbeth said, looking across the assembled journalists. ‘We’ve made mistakes.’ Waited, waited until it was even quieter than quiet, until the silence was unbearable, you couldn’t breathe, until the silence demanded sound. He looked down at his speech. He had to bring it alive, make it seem as if he wasn’t just quoting the text he had in front of him.
‘In a democracy,’ he began, ‘there are rules which determine when suspects must be released from custody. We obeyed them.’ He nodded as an amen to his declaration. ‘In a democracy there are rules which state that the police can and must arrest suspects when there is new evidence in a case. We obeyed them.’ More nodding. ‘In a democracy there are rules which set out how the police should react if suspects resist arrest and, as in this case, shoot at the police. And we obeyed them.’ He could of course have continued like this, but three instances of ‘We obeyed them’ were enough. He raised a forefinger. ‘And that’s all we’ve done. Some have already called what we did heroic. Some have already called it the most effective and eagerly awaited police operation in the history of this town’s suffering. And some have called it a turning point in the fight against crime on our streets.’ He saw how his nodding had rubbed off on the listeners, he even heard a couple of mumbled yeses. ‘But the way I see it as chief commissioner is that we were only doing the job we’d been given. Nothing more than you can ask of us as police officers.’
In the empty gallery he saw Lennox standing ready by the projector while following the speech in his copy of the manuscript.
‘But I have to admit it makes me feel good this evening,’ Macbeth said, ‘to be able to say police officers and do so with pride. And now, goodness me, folks, let’s put the formalities to one side for a moment. The fact is we had a big clean-up today. We paid Sweno and his murderers back in their own coin. We showed them what they can expect if they take our best men from us...’
The light shone brighter around him, and he knew the slide of Duncan had come up on the screen behind him; soon it would shift to Banquo and Fleance in uniform under the apple tree in the garden behind their house.
‘But, yes, we made errors. We made an error by not starting this clean-up before ! Before it was too late for Chief Commissioner Duncan. Before it was too late for Inspector Banquo, who served this town all his life. And his son, Police Cadet Fleance, who was looking forward to doing the same.’ Macbeth had to take deep breaths to control the tremor in his voice. ‘But this afternoon we showed that this is a new day. A new day when criminals are no longer in charge. A new day when the citizens of this town have stood up and said no. No, we won’t allow this. And now this is the evening of the first of these new days. And in the days to come we will continue to clean up the streets of this town because this big clean-up isn’t over.’
When Macbeth had finished and said, ‘Thank you,’ he stayed on his feet. Stood there in the storm of applause that broke out as chairs scraped and people rose and the ovation continued with undiminished vigour. And he could feel his eyes going misty at the cynical journalists’ genuine response to his falsehoods. And when Kite also stood up and clapped, albeit in a rather more sedate tempo, he wondered if that was because the guy knew what was good for him. Because he saw that Macbeth had won their love now. Won power. And he could see and hear that the new chief commissioner was a man who was unafraid to use it.
Macbeth strode down the corridor behind Scone Hall.
Power. He could feel it in his veins; the harmony was still there. Not as perfect as a while ago — the unease and restlessness were already on the verge of returning — but he had more than enough medicine for the moment. And he would just enjoy tonight. Enjoy the food and drink, enjoy Lady, enjoy the view of the town, enjoy everything that was his.