Quintin Jardine - Fallen Gods

"Punishable by?"

"In theory, death, but we won't go for that."

"If you did, Bierhoff should be on a table alongside him."

"I agree, but there's nothing she can be charged with. I've already made sure that she'll live from now on with the knowledge that her tongue got a man killed. If this does go to trial the whole of America will know it."

He heard Dekker draw a breath. "Bob, I want to thank you again for this."

"Don't, please. In a way, I'm to blame for it all; if I hadn't gone charging back to Scotland it would never have happened. Neidholm and

Sarah, I mean; sure, Brew might have gone off the rails eventually, but probably not."

"Can you say that for certain?"

Skinner blinked at Dekker's quiet question, then thought about it. "Can I say that my wife wouldn't have had a fling with the guy even if I had been here?" he murmured into the phone. "Maybe I don't want to know the answer to that, Brad."

"No. Maybe you don't." He paused. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to shuffle out of fucking Buffalo, that's what I'm going to do. If I can I'll get us on a plane to New York tonight, then back home tomorrow. I'll call Clyde Oakdale and ask his office to put everything in place."

"Good luck to you then, sir. Should Sarah be required to testify, I'll contact you directly."

"You may not have to. See you, Brad. Gook luck in the elections … not that you'll need it now."

He hung up, then called Oakdale at his law firm, and gave him brief, terse instructions. When he was finished, he walked upstairs. Sarah was in the nursery, playing with Seonaid. She looked at him over her shoulder as he came into the room. She tried to read his expression, but failed. "Well?" she asked. "Who was that?"

"The county sheriff," he told her. "You're in the clear."

She turned and handed their daughter to him, then gave a huge sigh of unfettered relief. "Thank you," she whispered, her eyes moistening.

"Thank you so much."

"Maybe you should thank her," he said, kissing Seonaid on the forehead, 'and the boys."

"No. I'll thank you; no one else could have done it."

"Eddie Brady should have done it," he replied.

Sarah rubbed a tear from her cheek. "So that little man actually killed Ron."

"Stone fucking dead, honey. You know what they say; the harder they come, the bigger they fall, or something like that." He looked her in the eye. "But it's not over. Now you have something else to face. I'm taking the kids back to Scotland; we're leaving as soon as Clyde can get us on a flight. I won't have them here to be filmed and photographed when this thing breaks in the media."

"And what about me?" she asked, quietly.

"That's your choice, love. I've told Oakdale to book a seat for you too; it's up to you whether you're in it when the plane takes off."

"What do you want?"

He laid the wriggling Seonaid on the floor and let her crawl towards a toy. "If I was going to kick you out I'd hardly have got you that seat, would I? Listen, Sarah; when I went back home to defend my job, I rejected you, and not for the first time, either. When you coupled with Neidholm, you were rejecting me. All I have to say to you is that

I regret what I did now. I didn't consider what effect it might have had on you, and I apologise for that. As for what you did, I'm not going to ask whether you regret that, and I'm not going to make it a precondition of coming home. It's your life, and your decision, but when you make it, be in no doubt that I want you to come." He reached out a hand and touched her face, for the first time since his return.

"I've taken you for granted; I'm sorry for it." He smiled, faintly. "I can't promise that it won't happen again, but if it does, I'll be sorry then too."

Sarah took hold of his fingers, and held them to her cheek for a second or two, then twined her own with them. "Whether you believe this is up to you, but when I went to see Ron at his place, when I found him, I went there to tell him that I was turning him down and going back to you. I'd made my choice then, and it's the same one I make now. I'm coming home."

"Good," he murmured. He looked at her solemnly. "There's something I know I'll ask you sooner or later, so it might as well be now. If the Bierhoff creature hadn't seen you with your tits out, if Candy Brew had never existed, and Neidholm was still alive, would you have told me about what happened?"

Sarah looked back at him, unblinking. "I don't know, and that's the truth. As for regret, I don't know about that yet either. I'll always feel guilt that what happened between us led to his death, but not too much, because if it hadn't been me, it could just as well have been someone else. But regret? Ron was here, you had rejected me, like you said. He was kind, he was good, he was gentle, he was old familiar ground, and I found myself wanting him. So I can't work out whether there's anything there to regret. As for things not happening again, if you can't promise, I won't either, not if the same circumstances arose, but I certainly don't plan on it."

He nodded. "Fair enough. Let's pack, and get the kids ready. With luck we can pick up Mark from school and head straight for the airport."

He turned to leave, but she caught his arm. "Hey, I almost forgot something. When you were out, Alex called, to see how things were. We talked for a while, and during our conversation she said something really weird, about your brother." A puzzled look crossed her face.

"What brother?"

"It's a long story; I'll tell you all about it over the Atlantic. How was Alex with you, incidentally?" he asked her.

"She's been friendlier, I have to say, but at least she didn't call me a two-timing tart, or any other choice descriptions."

"She wouldn't. She told me some truths about me, though."

For a moment all his hurt showed in his face, and she felt his pain within her. "Bob," she said, breaking the silence. "So we're not the golden couple the world thinks we are… and when this comes out in court the world's going to know it too… but we're still pretty formidable, and we've still got more going for us than at least eight out of another ten. Remember that, and remember this too. There's one thing more than anything other… more than the kids, even… that's taking me back to Scotland, and that's the fact that I love you."

He looked at her, and gave a long slow smile, one that she had not seen, she realised, since the day that Seonaid had been born. "And for the avoidance of doubt, honey," he told her, "I love you too."

"I never had any doubt," Sarah whispered. "Come on, let's get ready."

"Yes." He bent to scoop up the baby in his arms. "By the way, do you want to phone friend Babs before we leave?"

Sarah looked at him and snorted. "Like hell I do!"

"This must be an unusual experience for you," said Andrea.

"What do you mean?"

"Saying goodnight to your date on her doorstep, and not being invited in."

Stevie gave her a wounded look. "Having a date's an unusual experience for me these days."

"That'll be right; I'm not so innocent I'll believe that. Are you disappointed that the evening ends here?"

"No. Honestly. You set the pace; I told you that and I meant it."

"In that case, let me tell you something. The pace might hot up, quite significantly, when I stop feeling that the policeman in you is still interviewing me about that damn fire. All night, charming as you've been, I've had the feeling that there are still questions you want to ask me, but don't like to, since this evening's meant to be just about us and nothing else. You've also, if I may say so, looked remarkably smug, as if you've just done something very clever, and can't wait to tell me."

Steele leaned against the wall beside her front door and smiled at her.