Deception aka Sanctum

4. His father is now deceased. Mr. Gow no longer has con- tact with either his mother or three sisters. He is married and states that his wife will remain with him whatever the outcome of his trial.

5. Mr. Gow’s early criminal career centered on shoplifting minor items such as cigarettes, a newspaper, and a pair of lady’s tights. As regards to car theft: Mr. Gow took a neighbor’s car and drove into the country until he ran out of gas. He was picked up walking along the M8, making his way back to Bridgeton from Lanark.

6. With regard to the theft charges, he states he was “angry with himself” but wavered when questioned as to whether he regretted getting caught or stealing in the first place. He claims that he did not get caught but confessed to the police of his own volition, showing them the items and the shops he stole them from. He had intended to give the stolen items to girls to “try to get them to like him,” a statement which belies his claim to universal popularity. The charges of drunk and disorderly and breach of the peace were brought in relation to a single series of events. Having gone for a drink after work Mr. Gow became drunk and tried to catch the bus home. He argued with the driver and resisted being ejected by holding on to a seat-back. He was not violent during this or any other incident prior to the present charges.

7. With regard to the present charges, he will not talk. When questioned, he smiles and will not be pressed further. He claims he does not “fancy” talking about the incidents.

8. Throughout the whole interview, Gow was systematic and clear in his report. The veracity of what he told has of course to be taken on trust by the writer, who has only known him very briefly. What Gow has told me has to be taken as the image of himself he wishes to portray to a relative stranger at the moment. He showed no disturbance of thought or emotion at interview, although he tends to be guarded and given to inconsistent posturing, as in his claims to be easygoing/uncrossable, very popular/a loner. No intelligence test was administered on this occasion but he is probably of at least good average intelligence.

9. Gow was slightly wary of subjecting himself to the MMPI. The latter is a well-researched inventory-type test used on both sides of the Atlantic in clinical and forensic populations. Its purpose is to scan for significant personality malfunctions or psychopathy and to measure certain factors which may have predictive value for the person concerned. It also has reliability indices which measure attitudes to test-taking, e.g., tendencies to lie, to alter responses to fit in with anticipated expectations, to exaggerate, or to deny adverse features, all of which are helpful in determining how much weight to give the overall test.

10. These indices were well above normal limits, suggesting that Mr. Gow has either a tendency to lie all the time or a desire to disguise his true profile in this test. However, the attempts to lie were done in a surprisingly intelligent and consistent ma

11. I will be pleased to clarify or expand on anything in this report if necessary.

I hope that it will serve some useful purpose.

Yours faithfully

Valerie Elliott

chapter sixteen

I’VE GOT A HANGOVER.

Morris and Bangor came over last night and took me out for a pint. When I saw them coming through the gate, I threw the kitchen door open and ran across the lawn to them. I found myself getting a bit carried away. Luckily Morris punched me on the arm and I could pretend that it brought tears to my eyes. It’s essential never to show fear or pain in front of Mum or she’ll sit you down and try to make you talk about it. It’s inconceivable to her that anyone would rather not talk, or would like to talk to anyone but her. Of course, I wouldn’t be saying this if there weren’t a lock on this door.

Mum was delighted to see Bangor. She’s always liked him and is pleased that I’ve stayed friends with what she refers to as “degreed folk” (like the little folk but with better prospects). I think it comes from not having been to university herself. She thinks you have to be clever to get in. When Bangor flirts with her and calls her Mrs. H., she clasps her hands in front of her and looks contented.

We went for a pint and talked about football. Neither of them mentioned Susie or the papers or the trial, apart from asking me if I was all right. It was great. We sat in the snug, next to the fruit machine, and sipped Gui

The business of the evening: Morris is still having an affair with the receptionist in his practice, and Bangor says he thinks his new girlfriend, Nurse Julie, has heard about it from the district nurse.

“Well, she either knows or she doesn’t,” says Morris.

“Well, she does,” says Bangor.

“How do you know for sure?” asks Morris.

“Because she told me.”

“What did she tell you?”

“She told me she knows that you and the tart with the fat arse from Kingspark are at it.”

“Is she going to tell Mrs. Morris?”

“Nurse Julie thinks Evelyn already knows.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Julie’s going to tell her.”

“She can’t. The bitch just can’t trample all over people’s fucking lives like that. Has she no feelings? No sense of propriety?”

During this exchange I think of Gow and Susie, and I know they weren’t shagging. They couldn’t possibly have been shagging. We’re sitting there getting more and more pissed, and I feel great. I’m not the one with the problems, and there’s nothing strange here. We’ve all known each other forever, and Morris is up to mischief again and Bangor is trying to trick him into doing the right thing. I sip and nod along and laugh because I’m not the focus and all we have to talk about is frivolous shit. It feels roomy and comfortable.

But when I went to the bar to get a round in, the guy serving kept looking at me and frowning. Finally, as he was giving me my change, he asked where he knew me from.

I was feeling cocky because of the drink, so I said, “Du

I got back here at ten-thirty. I was standing in the dark kitchen, making a big buttery sandwich with the leftover roast lamb, when Mum came down and switched on the light. She put the kettle on and made us both a cup of tea. We sat at the table together. Full of drink and goodwill, I said thanks for coming. We had quite a nice chat. She said what nice friends I have, how good of them to come over and cheer me up. I didn’t tell her that I phoned and told them to come. The Gui

I put the lights out again and opened the French doors to the garden. I sat on the step as if it were summer, as if there were nothing wrong. The dead leaves evaporated, the sky lightened, and the cup of tea in my hand turned into a can of beer. I looked out at the paper plates thrown in hedges and the bits of burger bun strewn across the lawn and decided to leave it all until the morning, what the hell, give the foxes a treat.