Stuart MacBride - Birthdays for the dead

Upstairs the sounds of Katie screaming abuse came through the ceiling, each one followed by Dr McDonald saying something too quiet to make out down here. And slowly the shouting got quieter, and quieter, until they were barely murmuring.

Looked as if Dr McDonald was right about twelve-year-old girls and serial killers.

I pulled the house phone from its cradle and scrolled through the list till I got to, MUM: WORK.

No reply. Of course there wasn t: Michelle was in a meeting.

I pulled out my mobile and sent her a text instead:

Katie got expelled Been bullying little girls Attacked a teacher At home now (rowan drive)

Sounded like crying coming from upstairs.

I emptied the cold dregs of my tea into the sink. Put the kettle on again.

Maybe Dr McDonald would manage to fix Katie? Nice thought.

Spare me your parental delusions.

There was a packet of Jaffa Cakes hidden at the back of the tea-towel drawer guaranteed safe from Katie. The one drawer she avoided like the plague, in case someone asked her to dry the dishes. At least some things never changed.

The house phone rang an off-kilter rendition of a waltz. I grabbed it out of its cradle before Katie got there.

Michelle: Katie Jessica Nicol: how could you get yourself expelled? What the bloody hell were you thinking?

It s Ash.

Oh I didn t

So she s Katie Nicol now, is she? I thought we agreed.

A pause. How could you let them expel her?

The headmistress stopped her beating up one of the first years, so Katie went for her tried to rip her throat out. How exactly was I supposed to gloss over that?

Out in the garden a magpie settled on the jungle gym, clacking and cawing.

You tell that young lady: when I get home there s going to be hell to pay.

You re coming home now, right?

For God s sake, Ash, how many times: I m supposed to be in a meeting.

I can t stay, Michelle, you know that. And she s too young to leave unsupervised. Christ knows what she d get up to.

Well Silence. Probably chewing on her fingers. I ll be home at half seven, you ll just have to sort something out till then.

Michelle, I can t

Half seven. I ll call Mother. She can come up from Edinburgh Monday.

Katie ll love that.

Katie s twelve: she ll do what she s bloody well told. And if she thinks she s getting a birthday party next week she s got another think coming.

Don t worry, it ll all be fine. The plump tweedy woman with the long grey hair patted me on the arm.

You run along.

Thanks, Betty. I left her standing in the doorway, marched down the garden path, got back in the rusty Renault and cranked it into life.

Dr McDonald was slumped in the passenger seat, arms hanging limp.

Urgh Thought I was done with teenage angst.

As I pulled away from the kerb, Betty waved, then stepped back inside the house and closed the door.

Dr McDonald closed her eyes. She seemed nice.

Lost her husband twenty years ago, more or less adopted Michelle and me when we moved in. And as long as she stayed away from the gin in the fridge, everything would be fine till Michelle got home. You sure you want to go back to the door-to-doors?

As opposed to?

We should be concentrating on Steven Wallace.

Well we could do that, but there s still a chance he s not the Birthday Boy. Fitting the profile doesn t make him guilty.

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. Get too obsessed with Steve Wallace and the real Birthday Boy might get away. And look what happened to Philip Skinner. Yeah, maybe you re right.

I headed back through Blackwall Hill, across the Calderwell Bridge, and took a right into Castle Hill. Still nothing from the passenger seat.

Going to tell me what you and Katie talked about?

Dr McDonald shrugged. Need time to process it.

God, that was positively monosyllabic for her.

Mr Billy Wood Flat 4, 25 McDermid Avenue

And you re sure you didn t see anyone or anything suspicious yesterday?

Mr Wood scratched at his beard. Dandruff drifted down onto his baggy Dundas University sweatshirt. Nah, was doon at ma sister s till midnight. Look, have youse got a card in case anythin else happens? Them wee shites from over the road keep settin fire to ma wheelie-bin.

Mr Christopher Kennedy Ground Floor Right, 32 Jordan Place

Can I see the photo again? Mr Kennedy took off his little round glasses, polished them on his shirt then popped them back on again. Peered at the photo of Hannah Kelly. Aye, I recognize her. She s that girl who turned up dead: it was in all the papers. He passed the picture back to me. Hold on, I ve got a copy of the Post kicking around in the living room you can keep it if you like?

Mrs Kaitlin Fleming 49 Hill Terrace

Oh, no we ve lived here for donkeys: long before they threw up those bloody flats. It s a disgrace, isn t it? I mean, why the council doesn t evict the lot of them is beyond me.

Just I held the list up again. Just take another look and tell me if you saw anything unusual on any of these dates

How many more? I leaned back against a tree, looking up through its bare branches at the dirty-orange sky.

Dr McDonald checked her list. Nineteen. Breath hanging around her head in a cloud of pale mist, glowing in the streetlight. She tucked her hands into her armpits and stomped her feet.

This was your idea, remember?

My phone rang: RHONA. I jabbed the button.

Sorry, Guv, been interviewing sex offenders all day. Got a missed call from you on my mobile what s up?

Don t worry about it. Wanted you to run a PNC check on Steven Wallace, but someone s doing it.

Oh. OK. A pause. Isn t Steven Wallace that wanker on the radio? Saw him on the telly being interviewed by STV kidding on he s some sort of Birthday Boy expert.

I stared up at the branches again. Frowned. PNC checks

Guv?

You did three PNC checks on Birthday Boy victims families.

I did?

According to the computer.

Oh Some rustling. Any idea when?

Sabir s spreadsheet was sitting on Dr McDonald s laptop somewhere, but could I remember the details? Do me a favour: tell Weber I won t be in tomorrow morning, we re still following up on those door-to-doors.

Got some sausages and bacon and black pudding in for breakfast. Anything else you fancy?

No, I m

There was someone watching us a hairy man in a dark anorak, pointy nose, digital camera hanging around his neck, standing next to a people-carrier parked on the other side of the street. Little bastard wouldn t take a telling.

I stepped into the road, and he flinched. Backed up a step. Then dug a set of keys out of his pocket, fumbling with the driver s door lock.

Guv? Everything OK?

I hung up, stuck the phone back in my pocket, balled my fists.

Right, you little shite.

He squealed, wrenched the door open, threw himself inside, jammed the key in the ignition.

Too slow.

Should have locked the door first.

I dragged him out onto the road.

He tried to scramble away, shoes scuffing against the tarmac, going nowhere. Please! It wasn t me: I m just doing my job!

I grabbed his camera and pulled. The strap tightened around his neck.

What did I tell you about taking photos of me?

I didn t! I didn t! Ulk Hands flapping for the camera. I can show you! Please Let go Please

I let go, and the thing thumped into his chest. A couple of deep breaths, then he turned the camera over and pressed some buttons until the display screen on the back lit up with a shot of Steven Wallace s grinning face. The next one was the same, and the next, and the one after that. Then there were pictures of a TV crew interviewing local residents, then a bunch of head-and-shoulder photos of what looked like local residents. The standard pish the Castle News and Post liked to print alongside idiotic quotes, like: