Kiss Her Goodbye (26 page)

"Because of me?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow. I don't want to have this conversation on the phone."

"It
is
because of me."

"Can't we just leave it?"

"What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"I must have. Otherwise you'd be staying."

"You're a lovely man."

"Then what's responsible for making you want to leave? Tell me and I'll fix it so it isn't a problem any more."

"It's nothing you can fix."

"If it's not me, what is it?"

"Please don't get upset. Can't we speak about this tomorrow? Please?"

"Tell me now." He waited a minute. "Tell me, Dotty. Whatever it is, I'd rather know."

Her voice was faint. "Okay," she said. She said something else.

He couldn't make it out. He was waiting to cross the road that curved round the Meadows. Vehicles surged past, nose to tail. "I can't hear you, Dotty. Hang on a second."

He ran across the road at the first slight break in the traffic. "What were you saying?"

"Oh, God. Adam, I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. But you're getting me worried. Telling me would be much less cruel."

"Okay, I know." She paused. Then she said, "I don't fancy you, Adam. Okay? I don't find you physically attractive. I'll never fall in love with you and all I'll achieve by staying here is to cause you pain."

The silence pressed down on him. He felt like he was under water, a noise in his head like a train hurtling through his brain. He swallowed, trying to make his ears pop. "I can lose weight."

She sounded like she was about to cry. "There's nothing wrong with your weight."

"What is it, then?"

"It's not something tangible. I just don't think of you the way you think of me."

Another silence.

"It doesn't matter," he said.

"Of course it matters."

"No, it's okay. It doesn't matter, really. I'll see you tomorrow."

He hung up. Slid the phone in his pocket. He was standing outside Ronald Brewer's flat with little recollection of how he'd got there. He pressed the buzzer. The bastards inside didn't answer. He pressed it again. Why weren't they answering? This was important. They were inside, he was certain. At least, Joe was. He wasn't going to be running around Edinburgh with the police looking for him everywhere. Answer, damnit! Didn't they know this was a bloody emergency? He'd just been interrogated, for Christ's sake.

He stabbed out an SOS on the buzzer. That ought to register with them. Why didn't Brewer answer the door? What the hell was his problem?

Adam dug his phone out of his pocket, found the lawyer's home number and dialed it. It rung out.

He rummaged around in the garden. Found a small stone and threw it at the lawyer's sitting room window. It smashed. That would teach him.

Joe's face appeared at the window. Then he vanished and a short time later the door buzzed open. Adam burst through the door and climbed the stairs.

Tina stood in the lawyer's doorway, holding the door open. "You broke the window," she said.

"Had to get your attention." He was slightly out of breath.

"What do you want?" Joe stood behind her.

"You going to let me in?"

"What do you want?"

"I arrived at my hotel," Adam said. "A policeman was waiting there. He interrogated me, asked me where you were and stuff, but I didn't tell him anything."

"So what are you doing here?" Joe said.

"I want to help."

"That's very kind of you," Joe said. "Given what you thought me capable of until recently."

"I want to make amends for that," Adam said. "But that's not the only reason. What that fucker did to Gemma. What he did to Ruth." He paused. "I need to be there, Joe. I want to see the look in his eyes when he finds out that you know."

"You're not used to violence, are you Adam?"

"I've not experienced much, thankfully."

Joe grabbed Adam by the hair and twisted his head back. "How do I know you won't step in at the last minute," Joe said in his ear. "Like you did in Orkney when Monkman and his mates were giving me a kicking?"

"Would you pay any attention if I did?" Adam panted. He deserved this. He deserved what Joe was about to do. He screwed his eyes shut. Waited. But nothing happened.

THIRTY-EIGHT

"You didn't tell Grove I was here?" Joe sat down next to Tina on the settee. He caught a faint disinfectant-masked whiff wafting up from the carpet and tried to breathe through his mouth.

Adam remained standing, rubbing his head with the heel of his hand. "If I had, you'd be under arrest by now." With the toe of his shoe, he tapped the stone he'd thrown through the window.

"Maybe not." Joe wanted to believe him, but recent experience had strengthened Joe's belief that everybody was guilty until proven otherwise. He crossed his legs. "Perhaps you told Grove I was here, and he asked you to find out what we were planning."

"Why would he be interested in that?" Adam kicked the stone again. It rolled a couple of inches across the carpet. He gave his head another rub.

"Maybe he knows Cooper."

"You're the one who's wanted for murder."

"Maybe he knows Cooper's reputation," Joe continued. "Knows that if he dragged Cooper in for questioning, he'd get nowhere." Joe stroked his thumb over the point of his chin and stared at Adam. The man couldn't hold his gaze. Adam looked down at his feet, at the stone he'd used to break Ronald's window. He idly tapped the stone with his toe.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Joe didn't think Adam was lying. Nonetheless, Joe carried on speculating. "Cooper's renowned for his unhelpfulness. Maybe Grove decided that he'd have more chance of nailing Cooper if he lets events play out my way."

"What makes you think Grove wants to nail Cooper? Grove thinks you're guilty. He doesn't suspect Cooper."

"Maybe Grove wants me running around. I'm what they call a loose cannon. With me after him maybe Cooper will get nervous and break down."

Tina sounded surprised. "You think so?"

"I'm trying to think like a policeman, not like a normal person."

"So you don't think so?"

"Cooper isn't the type to get nervous."

Adam said, "Pure fantasy, Joe." He prodded the stone again. "And I think you know it."

"Perhaps. Why should I trust you?"

Adam finally left the stone alone and focussed his attention on Joe. "I came all the way from Orkney to deliver Gemma's diary into your hands."

"You did and I'm grateful for it. But that doesn't answer my question."

"I could have gone to the police back home. I didn't."

"I repeat, why should I trust you?"

Adam's face reddened. For a moment it looked like he was about to choke. He pressed his fingers to his temples and muttered to himself. After a while, he lifted his head and said, "It's what she would have wanted."

Joe looked at the slightly podgy little man, hating to admit to himself that Adam was right. Gemma would have wanted Joe to trust him. Still, Gemma wasn't here and even if she were, it would have made no difference.

Adam seemed to know it. His face looked like an empty bag. "Surely I can be of some use," he said. "You must need help with something."

Tina said, "You weren't so keen before."

"I had some bad news from home," Adam said. "It made me reconsider certain things." He stared at Joe, unblinking. "For God's sake, let me help you."

Joe nodded. "I suppose you might come in useful."

Adam started to smile.

"But I'm not going to tell you what's going on. That way you won't be able to pass on any information to Grove."

"I have no intention of doing any such thing. But if it makes you feel more secure to keep me in the dark" — Adam swung his leg back and kicked the stone hard enough to send it bouncing off the skirting board — "be my guest."

"You can start now," Joe said. "There's something I'd like you to do."

THIRTY-NINE

Adam kept telling himself he was in no danger. No danger at all. Cooper had left for his meeting with Tina. In theory, at least. The meeting was scheduled for eight o'clock. That much Joe had revealed. It was now eight ten, so Cooper should have left his flat ages ago. Still, Adam wished he'd arranged some kind of signal. Tina could have sent a surreptitious text message, a quick OK to say Cooper had arrived at the pub. Oh, well. It was too late now.

He rang the bell.

The lawyer had wound him up. Brewer hadn't been too pleased when he arrived home. Took one look at him and said, "I thought you'd gone. And what happened to my window?"

Adam explained. Well, he told a bit of a fib. Said he broke the window accidentally, when, in fact, it was deliberate. He'd felt an unbearable urge to destroy something. He'd rarely been so angry. He couldn't believe Dotty was going to leave Wrighters' Retreat. Getting threatened by Joe had calmed him down for a while, but the anger had returned as the fear subsided.

Brewer said, "You intend paying for it?"

Adam watched his eyes to see if he was joking. Didn't look like it. "I don't have any cash on me."

"I'll take a check."

"I don't have my checkbook handy."

"Post it, idiot."

Adam took a step towards the boy and may have taken another if he hadn't caught Joe's eye. Mid-stride, Adam knew that he couldn't carry out this fantasy of throttling the little wanker. He had started to shake. He stuck his hands in his trouser pockets. Didn't help much.

He was okay now. Just a bit scared in case Cooper, for some reason, was still at home.

If a man's voice answered, Adam was all set to sprint back down the path.

The voice belonged to a girl. "Yeah?"

What should he say? No point saying his name because that wouldn't mean anything to her.

"Yeah?" she said again.

"I'm a friend of Joe Hope's."

"Cooper's out."

Adam clenched his fist and tensed the muscles in his arm. "Is that Sally?"

"Yeah."

"What it is. Well. Joe wants something."

"Yeah? What's that got to do with me?"

"Something of Cooper's Joe wants to borrow. Can I come in?"

"What does Joe want to borrow?"

Adam lowered his voice. "Cooper's baseball bat."

"Oh." She hesitated. "Is Joe okay?"

"He's fine. He'd just feel a lot safer with a baseball bat."

"I can understand that. Come on up."

"There's something else."

"What?"

FORTY

"Testing, testing. Monkman's a dickhead." Calling Monkman names wasn't big and it wasn't clever but it was better than thinking about Cooper.

Four stubs lay in the ashtray. It had been empty when Tina sat down at the table ten minutes ago. Waiting for Cooper to arrive was as much fun as waiting for a client with a thing for rough sex. Meanwhile, she had to keep herself amused. She flipped open the lid of her cigarette pack and tapped out another fag. They were bad for you, but not as bad for you as getting in the same room as that bastard. She wrinkled her nose to see if it still hurt. It did.

She muttered, "Still no sign of him." She nearly said Cooper's name, which would have totally screwed things up. Monkman, of course, was expecting Joe to turn up.

The seats were all taken when she arrived at the pub half an hour ago. Before ordering a drink she'd checked that Cooper hadn't arrived, then gone to the bathroom and turned on the wire. Monkman had told her to leave it until the last minute, but what did she care? The batteries would run out in under three hours, she'd been told. That was okay. She returned to the bar and ordered a drink. She kept an eye out for a free table and managed to grab a cozy two-seater in the corner the minute an arguing couple got up and left. Tina's seat faced the door. Each time she heard it swing open she looked up, hoping it would be Cooper.

Wearing this damn wire wasn't going to benefit anybody. Monkman had taken great pleasure in attaching the little black box. He'd shown it to her first. She'd had a quick look, but she wasn't terribly interested. She commented on the fact that it was made by Sony and that was good, wasn't it, and told him to get on with it. First thing he did was get her to strip down to her bra and panties. On reflection, that wasn't necessary.

"It's a known fact that policemen have very small penises. You listening, Monkman?" He'd offered to drive her here. It made sense, since he had to be in the vicinity anyway. Restrictions had prevented him from parking directly outside and he'd been forced to park in one of the narrow side streets further along. She imagined him huddled in the front seat of his car, raging at her insults, but she was too nervous to enjoy his discomfort. "I wouldn't let it bother you," she said.