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the Procurator Fiscal’s office. Mr Hutchison is survived by a wife and two grown-up children .
    The Daily Record . Saturday, 9 May 2009. Page 7.
By Collin Docherty.
A photograph of Billy taken when some footballer
put on a charity bet in his shop.
Bookie burned

    The body of well-known Glasgow bookie Billy Hutchison was found in his Maryhill shop yesterday. Horrified staff came across the electrocuted and badly charred body of Mr Hutchison when they opened up the bookies at 10 a.m. One distraught cleaner had to be treated by ambulance staff after finding her boss .
    Mr Hutchison was a well-known figure in Maryhill and had owned the bookmakers there for 22 years. He was well respected in the local community and held regular charity events that attracted the support of players from Celtic, Rangers and Partick Thistle in aid of Multiple Sclerosis. In 1998 he was named Maryhill Citizen of the Year for his fundraising efforts .
    Police would not speculate on the cause of death but it is believed that faulty wiring in the premises contributed to a horrendous accident. A post mortem will be carried out. Yesterday, Mrs Agnes Hutchison was too distraught to speak about her husband’s death. A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said, ‘This is terrible. Agnes will be devastated. Billy was such a nice guy and they were devoted to each other. It’s a tragedy.’
    Around five o’clock, I bought the final edition of the Evening Times . It was slightly more promising.
    The Evening Times . Saturday, 9 May 2009. Page 3.
By Martine Blake.

    Police have refused to confirm or deny suggestions that the death yesterday morning of Maryhill bookmaker Billy Hutchison is being treated as suspicious. The body of Mr Hutchison was found in his Maryhill Road premises by staff and it was believed that he had been electrocuted. Staff who discovered Mr Hutchison confirmed that his body showed signs of extreme electric shock. It was thought that faulty wiring was to blame and staff confirmed that the shop’s wiring system was in dire need of an overhaul .
    However, it has since emerged that the officer originally in charge of the incident, Sergeant Alex McElhone, has been replaced by Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Robertson. DCI Robertson is a senior detective based at Stewart Street. Strathclyde Police today refused to comment on the involvement of a murder squad detective in what was seemingly a tragic accident, saying it was merely procedural and that they would not comment further on an ongoing investigation .
    This has inevitably led to speculation that police now doubt whether Mr Hutchison’s death was the accident it initially appeared to be. No one at Hutchison’s bookmakers or at Mr Hutchison’s Whiteinch home was prepared to comment on a possible change of direction in the investigation into his death .

 
CHAPTER 8

    I’d decided to make DS Rachel Narey my new best friend. Whether she liked it or not.
    That was why Billy Hutchison’s finger did not go in an envelope addressed to the CID at Stewart Street as the first one had been. It was sent directly to her.
    DS RACHEL NAREY
CID
50 STEWART STREET
GLASGOW
G4 0HY

    Same kind of plain brown padded envelope, same printed label amended to suit, same process, same level of caution and self-protection. Different postbox. Different recipient. I just wished I could have seen her face as she opened the envelope and Hutchison’s pinkie slid onto her desk. A picture I’m sure.
    She would have worn gloves of course. Assiduously careful not to contaminate the evidence. She would have known what was inside, they would all have known. There would have been a crowd of them around her desk. Waiting, wondering. As soon as they saw the envelope, the place would have been buzzing. They’d have come running, shouting people in from fag breaks, excusing them from interview rooms, all bursting to know for sure.
    As soon as they saw the finger it would confirm what they had all thought from the