Nicola whirled on them, her gaze shifting to the villa. “Leave me be! I cannae be seen talkin’ wi’ you, or they’ll kill me!”
“Who, Nicola? Who will kill you?”
Nicola turned and walked as quickly as she could. “Please go!”
Elizabeth followed. “What were you doing there?”
“It’s a party. I’m fourteen now, so my da says I can come to the parties here, but he willnae let me stay late, not anymore. I have to go.”
Quinn could see the girl was afraid. He also saw the white residue on her nose. “I’ll no’ let anyone hurt you. Who wants to kill you for talkin’ to us? Is it your da?”
“Och, you’re an eejit. My da wouldnae touch me.” Nicola turned to face them again, her gaze once more on the villa, fear on her face. “Fuck off wi’ you!”
This time when the girl ran, Elizabeth didn’t follow.
“She’s terrified. Someone has her scared to death.” They turned and walked back toward the villa.
“Aye, I saw that—and the powder on her nose.” Quinn looked up and down the street, watching for trouble. “That old bastard who was pawin’ at her—he was old enough to be her da.”
“Or her grandfather.” Elizabeth looked up at the villa. “What the hell is going on in there?”
Quinn thought that was obvious but before he could say so, he spotted the young guard blatantly taking a photo of their license plate number with his phone. “What the fuck are you doin’?”
The man backed off. “You’re disturbin’ the peace. I’m goin’ to call the police.”
“The police?” Quinn laughed. “You do that, ya rocket.”
He opened the door for Elizabeth then climbed in on the driver’s side, watching his rearview mirror in case anyone tried to follow them. “Somethin’ about this isnae right. Lewis and I fought side by side. He would never send me away or tell me to make an appointment. I cannae believe he wouldnae see me.”
But Elizabeth was lost in her own thoughts. “What’s the age of consent in Scotland?”
“I think it’s sixteen.” Quinn had never had to worry about that.
He was attracted to women, not children.
Elizabeth did a search on her phone. “You’re right. It’s sixteen. Nicola is fourteen. The other girl I saw couldn’t be much older. The men looked like they were in their fifties and sixties. Sexual contact with those girls would be a criminal offense.”
“Aye, so would plyin’ them wi’ drugs.” Quinn checked his rearview mirror again, half expecting to see police lights flashing or someone following them.
“Yes, drugs, too.” Elizabeth looked at her calendar app. “Ava said Jack was hired to be part of MSP Whitehall’s personal security team a few months ago. He was here every Friday night. Four weeks ago, he came home upset and told Ava that the world was an ugly place.”
“Maybe that’s when he discovered what was really goin’ on there. Maybe he threatened to report them, and they killed him for it.”
“That’s the first plausible theory we’ve had so far. Then again, why would he waitthree monthsto report them? Maybe he played some role in it—like being their drug courier.”
Quinn still couldn’t believe Jack would do anything like that, but he’d said that so many times already that he didn’t bother to say it again.
“Nicola said ‘they’ would kill her. Both times she said it, she looked back toward the villa. Someone there doesn’t want her talking to us, and she was afraid they were watching.”
“Or maybe that was the cocaine talkin’. Drugs can make a person paranoid.”
“She also said her father lets her come to the parties but no longer lets her stay late. Wouldn’t he care that she’s there with those men?”
“No’ necessarily. He might be for it if she brought home money—or drugs. I dinnae know much about women’s clothes, but I doubt she bought that sparkly dress herself.”
“Good point.” Elizabeth rubbed her temple.
“Another headache?”