Ian Rankin - Saints of the Shadow Bible

Rebus opened the driver’s door and reached across to open the glove box. Nothing inside but a spare set of bulbs. The floor was clean and the door pockets were empty. Bairstow had returned with some small clear bags, the kind bank staff used when counting coins. Fox placed his hand into one of them and used it to pick something up from the floor, folding the bag back over the item, trapping it. Then he held it up for Rebus to examine. An unused shotgun cartridge.

‘Boom,’ Rebus said, patting his colleague on the back. He took the second key from Bairstow and unlocked the Renault. Again, there was nothing obvious in the boot, other than the remains of some fine white powder.

‘Looks like a bag maybe burst,’ Rebus commented.

‘Or someone needed a taste,’ Fox added.

Rebus dabbed at a little and rubbed it against his gum. ‘Bit of a burn,’ he said.

Bairstow’s eyes widened further. ‘I didn’t. . If I’d known. . They’ll kill me, won’t they?’ He was beginning to twitch.

‘Your name won’t even feature, Reese — don’t worry.’ Rebus took out his phone. The signal was weak, but he got through to Torphichen and asked to speak to Nick Ralph. ‘And I know you probably hear it all the time, but this really is urgent.’

When Ralph was eventually found, Rebus laid everything out for him. ‘Bell is in a black BMW X5 with tinted windows. We need to grab that car. There’s a good chance it’ll have some goodies in the boot. Plus a few baddies in the front.’

Rebus watched Fox roll his eyes at the pun. He mouthed the words Get used to it and added a wink. Then, to Ralph: ‘We also need a search warrant for the multi-storey in Livingston. Has to be right away, because there’s some CCTV footage there we can use, if we get it before it self-erases. It’ll probably show the stuff being transferred from the two cars to the BMW.’

‘I’ll see to it, John,’ Ralph said. ‘And a forensic team to the scrapyard, yes?’

‘Absolutely. Checking for prints and trace evidence.’

‘And you’re sure you’ve cleared this with DCI Page?’

‘He agrees with me, sir — it’s all the one case.’

‘Then I’ll get on to it. Thank you, John.’

‘Yes, sir. Oh, by the way — have you pulled the three students in for interview.’

‘They were supposed to be here at nine. Tried their phones and sent an officer to Ms Traynor’s flat — no joy.’

‘Keeping their heads down.’

‘Pretty much as you predicted. Any more tasks for me before I get started with this lot?’

‘No, sir.’ Rebus ended the call and tapped his phone against his chin.

‘Job done?’ Fox asked him.

‘Not quite,’ Rebus decided. ‘But it’s up to you whether you want to see it through. Could get messy.’

‘I can always clean up after,’ Fox told him with a shrug.

‘Getting to like CID, Detective Inspector?’

‘It has its attractions,’ Malcolm Fox conceded.

Every parking space on Great King Street was taken, so Rebus ended up on the single yellow again. He had explained to Fox that they were going to have a word with Owen Traynor. If he wasn’t there, hopefully Jessica or Alice Bell could provide his whereabouts.

‘Alice knew about the body in the boot?’ Fox asked.

Rebus nodded. ‘Her uncle’s way of letting her know he was taking care of her.’

‘Not quite a birthday card with a tenner in it.’

‘Not quite,’ Rebus agreed.

Rebus pressed the bell but there was no answer. He was trying a second time when Fox tugged on his sleeve. ‘Isn’t that. .?’

He was pointing along the street, towards a black 4x4. Rebus led the way, walking around the car. Tinted windows. BMW X5. No parking fee had been paid and the wardens had already stuck a ticket on the windscreen.

‘Shall I phone it in?’ Fox asked.

Rebus nodded, then tried the boot, though he knew it would be locked. Pressing his nose to the glass, he couldn’t see anything on the back seat. No boxes or bags.

‘Someone should stand guard till the cavalry gets here,’ he said, once Fox had ended the call.

‘And let you go upstairs on your own?’ Fox was shaking his head. ‘If Rory Bell is in there, his sidekicks might be too. What do you think they’re doing?’

‘Best-case scenario, having a pow-wow with Traynor.’

‘And worst-case?’

‘I don’t really want to think about it.’

‘Nobody’s answering anyway,’ Fox commented.

But as they approached the building, a neighbour emerged, manoeuvring a bicycle ahead of her. Fox sprinted forward, holding the door open. The woman thanked him with a smile as she strapped on her helmet.

‘Thank you ,’ he replied, ushering Rebus inside.

They climbed the three storeys in silence. When they got to the door of Jessica Traynor’s flat, Fox indicated that it wasn’t quite closed. Rebus pushed it open an inch and listened.

Silence.

Another inch and he had a view of the hallway.

No sign of life.

He let it swing wide and walked in, calling out ‘Hello?’

The varnished wooden floor creaked beneath him as he made his way along it, passing the bicycles belonging to Jessica and Alice. Again, the door to the living room wasn’t quite closed, so he opened it. Owen Traynor was seated in one of the chairs, head leaning back, hands draped over the sides. He was in shirtsleeves and looked pale and almost drugged.

‘Mr Traynor?’ Rebus said, eyes taking in everything around him. No students, no Rory Bell.

‘How did I know I’d be seeing you again?’ Traynor’s mouth seemed parched, his voice brittle.

‘Any bother here?’

Traynor looked at Rebus and shook his head. His eyes were hollow from lack of sleep.

‘Been here all night?’ Rebus asked.

‘Maybe.’

‘Jessica and Alice?’

‘I sent them elsewhere. Forbes too.’

‘So you could talk to Rory Bell in private?’

Traynor’s gaze grew more focused, but he decided not to answer. His fingers were beating out a silent rhythm against the sides of the chair. Rebus turned his head towards Fox and indicated that he should take a look around. Then he moved towards the chair and crouched down in front of it.

‘It didn’t do any good, you know — moving those cars out of the car park. We got them anyway.’

‘I don’t blame Alice, even though she told me I should — after all, she’s the one who got Jessica and Forbes interested.’

Rebus heard the sound of a vehicle squealing to a stop in the street outside. He straightened up and walked to the window, peering down on to the roofs of two patrol cars, their lights flashing.

‘We had a good long talk, all four of us,’ Traynor was saying, almost for his own benefit rather than Rebus’s. ‘Cleared the air. Alice really liked Forbes, but he belonged to Jessica. That was why she started seeing his father — it was the next closest thing. They’re just kids, yeah? They don’t always know what they’re doing. Forbes said he was sorry for leaving Jessica in the lurch the night of the crash. He was planning to run to his folks’ place and fetch help. There was nobody home, and by the time he got back to the Golf, Jessica was already on her way to A and E. .’

‘John?’ It was Fox’s voice. He was standing in the doorway. ‘Bathroom,’ he said.

Rebus walked back along the hall until he found it. Rory Bell lay in the empty white porcelain tub. Fully dressed, his neck twisted at an unusual angle, eyes open and glassy. Rebus felt in the man’s pockets and pulled out a set of car keys. One trouser leg had ridden up, showing a pale, hairless calf. He tugged the material back down again, as if to add the smallest touch of dignity to the scene.