Close to the Bone. Stuart MacBride

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СКАЧАТЬ and under guard as we speak.’ The grin got bigger. ‘Well, you know us: CID always gets its man.’

      ‘Seriously, we need to—’

      ‘I’ll put him on.’ Steel held the phone out to Logan. Nodded at him. ‘Go on then.’

      Sod.

      He took the phone. ‘Sir? ’

      ‘McRae, well done.’ The Assistant Chief Constable’s put-on posh telephone voice wasn’t enough to cover up the Teuchter underneath – all elongated vowels, dipping for no reason in the middle of random words. ‘Excellent to get a result so quickly.’

      ‘Sir, it’s—’

      ‘No, no: credit where it’s due. Why haven’t you applied for that permanent DI’s position in Peterhead yet? You’re obviously qualified, and a shoo-in after this!’

      A frown. ‘There’s a permanent DI’s job? ’

      Steel cleared her throat, stared up at the ceiling tiles. ‘I. . . Must’ve slipped my mind.’ Scheming old bag.

      ‘Didn’t Roberta tell you? I could have sworn I asked her to disseminate it to the troops. Anyway, you should definitely get your name down.’ He lowered his voice a notch, as if there was a secret on the way. ‘Listen, we’re having a press conference here at half three, and you know me: I like to ensure my team gets the kudos it deserves. Make sure you’ve got a decent suit on, don’t want them thinking we all fell off the back of a tractor, do we? ’

      Deep breath. ‘Actually, sir, it’s a bit more complicated. . .’

      ‘You don’t have a clean suit? ’

      ‘No. I mean yes, I’ve got a clean suit, I mean it’s Guy Ferguson. He claims someone necklaced the victim before he got there. He tried to get the tyre off. And when that didn’t work Ferguson stabbed him so he wouldn’t just . . . burn to death.’

      Steel’s eyes went wide. ‘You . . . what? ’

      Logan turned his back on her. ‘Ferguson got molten rubber all over his hands trying to save the victim. They’re going to amputate most of his fingers this afternoon.’

      Silence on the other end of the phone.

      ‘Sir? ’

      The posh telephone voice was slipping. ‘Are you telling me you arrested a good Samaritan? ’

      ‘He confessed. And he was in on the jewellery heist too. We’ve got two of his associates in custody and—’

      ‘How the hell am I supposed to spin that? For God’s sake, McRae, could you not have arrested someone who wasn’t a hero? ’

      ‘But the jewellery heist—’

      ‘Please tell me he’s not photogenic.’

      Acne scars, thick eyebrows, junior moustache. ‘No, he’s not photogenic.’

      A sigh. ‘Well that’s something at least. . .’ The ACC hung up.

      Logan returned Steel’s phone. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about the DI’s job? ’

      ‘Don’t change the subject: you made me look like a right fanny!’

      ‘Tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen, would you? ’ He turned and headed back into the hospital.

      ‘Hoy!’ Steel’s voice boomed down the corridor behind him. ‘Where do you think you’re going – we’re no’ finished!’

      ‘Visiting hours. Got someone to see.’

      Interview room three was baking hot, the usual pervading odour of cheesy feet and stale digestive biscuits was joined by a thick layer of oniony BO. Its owner shuffled his bum in his seat – the one on the wrong side of the scarred Formica table. The one bolted to the floor.

      Sammy McCloist, seventeen and a half, squint nose, sideburns like a pedestal mat, hair down to his hunched shoulders. The fibreglass cast on his right wrist reached all the way from the palm of his hand to just before the elbow. Brand new, and it was already filthy.

      He opened his mouth, but the git in the suit sitting next to him put a hand on his arm.

      ‘My client has nothing to say on that matter.’ McCloist’s lawyer smiled. He was huge, broad and tall enough to tower over everyone, even sitting down. Big hands, big chin, big ears, hair cut short trying to disguise the big bald spot.

      ‘Really.’ Logan checked his watch: quarter to three. ‘Well, you know what, Sammy? That’s fine with me. Right now we’re getting a warrant to search you and your mates’ houses. Think we’ll find anything interesting? ’

      A sniff. ‘You broke my bloody wrist.’

      ‘You were resisting arrest. Remember? ’

      ‘My client strenuously denies your interpretation of events. He was visiting a friend when you attacked him.’

      ‘Do you know we’ve recovered DNA from the jewellery heist? Nice clear sample. Right now they’re seeing which one of you it matches.’ Which was a lie. The way things were going, they’d be lucky to get any DNA results back before Christmas.

      ‘It cannot possibly match my client, because my client wasn’t there. My client—’

      ‘Was visiting his sick granny. You said.’

      ‘Then there’s really no reason for us to continue this interview, is there? ’ The massive lawyer stood. ‘We have co-operated fully with your investigation, now it’s time for you to release my client.’

      Sammy grinned. ‘Going to sue your arse off for breaking my wrist. Police brutality, that is. I’m going to own your house, man.’

      Logan shook his head. ‘Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. One: you don’t want my house. Even I don’t want my house. Two. . .’ He sat forward, lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘We’ve got a witness. When you broke into the jewellers, someone outside recognized you.’ Another lie, but worth a try anyway.

      Sammy curled his top lip. ‘That’s bollocks!’ He thumped his cast on the tabletop. ‘No one could’ve recognized us, ’cos we was wearing masks the whole time.’ He sat back, folded his arms, nodded. Smiled. Look how clever I am.

      The lawyer sank into the chair and buried his face in his hands.

      The Procurator Fiscal wandered over to the window and stared out at the view. A hint of grey was creeping in at the temples of her dark-brown hair. Blue tweed Jackie Onassis suit, cherry-blossom nail varnish. Distinguished, in a cougary kind of way. ‘Could you not have found a less . . . complicated solution? ’

      Sitting at the boardroom table, Logan shrugged. ‘It wasn’t really up to me, ma’am.’

      From here, most of central Aberdeen was laid out in a patchwork of slate and flat roofs, СКАЧАТЬ