Ava answered anyway. “Jack used to drink, but he never touched drugs. He refused to take anything stronger than ibuprofen when they operated on his shoulder. I couldn’t believe his pain tolerance.”
“Quinn has already vouched for Jack’s character, so I believe you.” Elizabeth moved on. “Quinn says you told the police that Jack seemed tense lately. Can you tell me more about that?”
“Jack was always very closed about his work, and I understand that. As a physiotherapist, I had to maintain patient confidentiality. When you’re in the military or working for the government, you can’t share everything about your job. If you have a bad day, you can’t come home and unload.”
Elizabeth knew all about that. “You think he had a bad day?”
“A few weeks ago, he came home late—that is to say very early in the morning. I woke when he got into bed. I asked if he was all right. He didn’t answer. He just held me—held me as if…” Ava’s words trailed off, fresh tears in her eyes. “… as if his life depended on it. I asked again if he was all right. He said, ‘The world is an ugly place.’ Then he kissed me and told me to go back to sleep.”
“Was that the end of it?”
Ava shook her head. “He seemed troubled at breakfast and left for work early.”
“When you say ‘troubled,’ what does that mean?”
“He was quiet, lost in his own thoughts, tense. For days afterward, he seemed worried, pensive.”
Elizabeth wrote that down. “Do you remember what night that was—the night he came home late? I know this is difficult. I’m sorry to ask so many questions.”
“Don’t apologize. I know you’re trying to help.” Ava drew out her cell phone, and looked at her calendar app. “It was a Friday night. He often worked late on Fridays. That was the same week Hannah’s oldest broke his wrist skateboarding. It must have been October eighteenth.”
Elizabeth wrote that down, too. “About three weeks ago, then?”
Ava nodded. “Yes.”
“Why did he work late on Friday nights?”
“Alastair Whitehall—that’s the Member of Scottish Parliament, or MSP, who employed Jack—is quite wealthy. He gets invited to a lot of political and social events. Jack said it came with the job.”
“That makes sense.” Elizabeth had yet to meet a politician who didn’t love the limelight. “How long had Jack worked for Mr. Whitehall?”
“It’s been a few months. Andrew Lewis, another SAS veteran, helped him land a job as a security guard at Holyrood when he left the service, but Alastair took a liking to him and hired him to be part of his personal security team a few months ago. Jack was chuffed because it came with a big pay rise.”
“I’m not familiar with the laws in Scotland, but in the United States, you might have access to some of the information about this investigation—a case file. It would be really helpful for me to have that file.”
“Hannah’s husband, David, is a solicitor. I’ll ask him to look into it.”
“I appreciate that.” Elizabeth took a moment to glance through her notes. She wasn’t Sherlock Holmes, and she was probably overlooking something. “Do you have the serial number for the stolen laptop?”
“Not that I know. I’m sorry.”
“Did he have any conflicts with people at work?”
“Jack was the kind of man who got on well with most people, but I did think of a couple of things. This past August, a man confronted Alastair outside Holyrood. Jack said he was drunk or off his nut on drugs. It was Jack who fought him to the ground and held him until police arrived. The man kept shouting about abortion and threatening to kill Alastair and Jack, too, if Jack didn’t release him. Police arrested him, but I don’t know what became of him after that. Jack laughed about it.”
“I’ll look into it.” Oh, how Elizabeth wished she could ask Ava for the SIM and IMEI numbers for Jack’s phones, but she’d made a promise. “How about acquaintances, friends—people outside of work?”
“He was in a gang for a time as a teenager—the Young Boys—but that was such a long time ago. He lost touch with most of them, though he and Leo Grant stayed in contact. They had a falling out about a month ago.”
“Tell me about Leo.”
“Leo was Jack’s best pal growing up. Leo thought Jack should stop working for Alastair and come to work as a security guard for him. He offered Jack double what he was making. When Jack declined, Leo flew into a rage and accused him of turning his back on his roots and Scotland. Leo supports Scottish independence, and Alastair favors the union.”
That was interesting. “What kind of business does Leo operate?”
“I think he runs a shipping firm. He owns warehouses and ships that dock in Troon. Jack thought his business dealings were suspicious and wanted no part of it.”
“Do the police know this?”