Quintin Jardine - As Easy as Murder

‘Both of those are true, I suppose,’ Ellie conceded. ‘But you have to admit that when my brother did set his sights on something, nothing stopped him. It was when he got hitched to that wee Glaswegian bitch that everything started to change.’

‘No,’ I countered. ‘It was when Jan died, surely.’

‘No, love.’ The term of endearment took me aback, but pleased me. ‘You kept him on the rails after that. I’ve never said this to anyone before, but the fact is I never liked him and Jan together. I don’t know why; I just didn’t. Mind you I never liked her mother either, from when she taught me at primary school. To this day, I’m only civil to Mary because it would hurt my dad if I was otherwise.’

I was astonished, not only by her intuition. . I knew, because he told me, a lot more about Jan’s relationship with, and to, Oz than she or her father did, and the background to her instincts. . but also because I’d known Ellie for all those years, yet she’d never been so frank. ‘I’m standing here gobsmacked,’ I told her. ‘Is there any woman who’s come into contact with your family that you do like?’

‘Yes, you silly cow! You! Why do you think I’m so chuffed that you’re taking my boy in hand? I’m laughing at the very thought. . or I would be if my wound would let me. Imagine, you, the wild Primavera, mothering Tom, Jonny and that simpleton dog that my dad likes so much. It’ll be like the fucking Jungle Book in your house.’

I heard the gate bell ring, and Tom yell, ‘I’ll get it.’

‘I’d better go,’ I told her. ‘I think that could be Baloo the Bear arriving, and I haven’t told Mowgli about him.’

My son beat me to the door, comfortably, although he’d been beaten himself by Charlie, who’d stopped barking as soon as it was opened, confining himself to his usual jumping up and down in the presence of a stranger.

‘You’ll be Tom, then,’ Jonny was saying, just as I arrived.

‘That’s right,’ I told him, unnecessarily. ‘Tom, this is Jonathan Sinclair, the cousin you’ve never met. He’s coming to stay with us for a while.’

‘Jonny,’ Tom exclaimed. ‘The golfer? Grandpa’s told me a lot about you.’

Our new boy grinned. ‘He’s told me a fair bit about you too, chum.’ He held out his hand and they shook. I knew there and then that they’d be blood brothers; Jonny had treated him like an equal and that’s all my lad ever requires of any adult.

I showed him to what was to be his base, above the living room, with a view over the square and a bathroom that he’d share with Tom. The case he’d brought with him was vast; I took that as a sign that it was more than a trial visit. He noticed me looking at it as he dumped it beside the bed. ‘That’s only half of it,’ he told me. ‘My clothing company sponsor bombards me with stuff. Give me your size, and Tom’s, and I’ll get you some. Golf shoes too; and trainers.’ He smiled and I felt that shiver again, the one that had sent me spinning earlier, the first time I saw him.

It must have showed on my face. ‘Auntie P, is this going to be difficult for you?’ he asked. ‘I mean. . Hell, I don’t know how to say it. If I’m a reminder of. . anybody: I’d understand if you changed your mind about this.’

‘Jonny, suppose you were, you wouldn’t be nearly as big a reminder as the guy who opened the door for you. And why should I be bothered? Don’t you like to be reminded of your uncle? I know that you and he were very close.’

‘There isn’t a day goes by when I don’t think about him. I carry his picture in my bag for luck; he’s done pretty well for me so far. He’s always looked out for me, and he’s still doing it, in my head at least.’

I smiled at him. ‘Just don’t let him read your putts,’ I said. ‘That was always the weakest part of his game. Come on; I’ll show you the rest of the house, and the pool.’

‘You’ve got a pool?’

‘Yes, it’s out the back. It’s big; stretches all the way to Italy and beyond.’

His eyes shone when he saw the Mediterranean from my terrace. ‘Windsurfers!’ he exclaimed. ‘That’s my other sport. If I buy a board can you store it for me?’

‘Sure, right beside Tom’s, in the garage. It’s vast; there’s room for your car too.’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t think there’d be much opportunity for windsurfing in Arizona. I lived in Las Vegas for a while and there wasn’t a hell of a lot there.’

‘There is in Fife. I have a feeling it’ll be a lot warmer here, though.’

‘You can use mine for now, if you want,’ Tom volunteered, from his bedroom doorway. ‘It’s big enough for you.’ I’d taken some persuasion to allow him to graduate to a larger board, but Ben Simmers, his unofficial coach, had assured me that he was good enough and strong enough to handle it. In fact, his real passion, and Ben reckoned his real talent, was free surfing, but the big waves in the Bay of Roses come too infrequently for him to concentrate on that alone.

‘Maybe tomorrow,’ I said, ‘if Jonny has time. Tonight we have a date, all of us. Patterson and Shirley. .’ I told my nephew who they were, reminding him that he’d met Shirl when he was a kid, ‘. . have invited us to supper in La Terrassa d’Empúries. It’s their thank you to me for driving them down today, plus Patterson’s a golfer and he’s dead keen to meet you, Jonny. . if that’s okay with you.’

He nodded. ‘Sure, that’s very kind of them. Do you know the place?’ he asked, not quite casually enough.

‘We live right on top of it. Why? Don’t tell me you’re a fussy eater?’

He shook his head. ‘Not me. I’m a Fifer, remember. But,’ he added, ‘I’m also a professional sportsman, and these days even golfers have drug testing.’

‘Is it so strict that you’re worried about going to a local pizza place?’

‘No, I don’t suppose it is. We’re given a list of banned substances, but you hear these horror stories about athletes being banned for buying a brand of cough mixture where the formula’s different in different countries, so. .’

‘. . you can’t be too careful,’ Tom concluded.

‘Exactly, cuz. The testing’s supposed to be random, but I’m the new boy this week, so I’m more than half expecting to be asked to pee in a bottle at some point.’

‘That’s bloody ludicrous,’ I protested. ‘This is golf we’re talking about, for Christ’s sake.’

‘Quite a few players agree with you, but everyone has to accept that it’s part of the age we live in. We play every week around the world for millions of dollars, euro or whatever, and most of that money comes from or is underwritten by sponsors. We have to show them that we have nothing to hide.’

‘Is garlic banned?’ I asked him.

He stared at me. ‘Garlic? No, of course not.’

‘Then you’re fine here,’ I promised him, checking my watch. ‘Come on; they’re probably waiting for us.’

They were. Two tables had been drawn together to accommodate the five of us. Charlie wasn’t eating, but there was a bowl of water on the ground, ready for him. There was also a bottle of cava in an ice bucket. Shirley and Patterson hadn’t been closer to Jonny than the viewing stand, so I did the honours, and we took our seats. Patterson arranged things so that my nephew and my son were on either side of him, with Shirl and me left to our own conversation and devices, but since neither of us had brought any. . we exchanged a glance that said, ‘Ah, what the hell, he’s paying,’ and let him get away with it.

While our host began a gentle interrogation, with Tom listening in, we took the ‘little woman’ route, and talked between ourselves.

‘Seems like a nice lad, your Jonny,’ Shirley declared. ‘He scrubs up well, too.’ She had a point. He had arrived on my doorstep freshly shaved and immaculately dressed, but not with the air of someone out to make an impression, rather that of one who knows no other way. ‘What age did you say he was?’