Stuart MacBride - Dark Blood

‘All you did was turn up with that awful PowerPoint presentation and make an idiot of yourself!’

Beattie went pink, trembled, then turned to Finnie. ‘You see what I have to put up with?’

‘Oh, grow up.’

The DI jumped to his feet. ‘Don’t you tell me to grow up! I am your superior officer, and it’s about time you bloody learned that!’

Finnie steepled his fingers and tapped them against his chin. ‘Well, Sergeant?’

‘No. You know what? I’m sick and tired of being a chewtoy in this sodding department. You want to know why I didn’t tell you about Gallagher and Yates? Ask Steel, she was down as SIO last night — go bust her hump for a change!’

There was silence.

Beattie: ‘I demand that Sergeant McRae-’

Finnie: ‘That’s hardly-’

Logan: ‘Blow it out your-’

‘Hoy!’ Steel stood in the doorway, mobile phone clamped to her chest. ‘Keep it down, some of us are trying to work here.’ She nodded at Finnie. ‘Morning, Guv, nice tie: didn’t know the circus was in town. You’ll no’ mind if I borrow McRae here, will you? Need him for the Knox media briefing.’

‘But…With…’ Spittle fell into Beattie’s beard. ‘This is exactly what I’m talking-’

‘I’ll leave you to it.’ She grabbed Logan by the sleeve and hauled him out of the office, closing the door behind them.

‘…always have to be such a pain in the arse?’ Logan feathered the brakes, turning the CID pool car into the entrance to Cairnview Terrace. The road was like glass — all that water the Fire Brigade pumped into the place had frozen overnight, covering the tarmac in a thick layer of ice.

‘Give it a rest, eh? Doing my head in.’ Sitting in the passenger seat, Steel stared out of the window. ‘Are detective sergeants this bad down in Newcastle?’

‘Always.’ Danby’s deep, bass rumble filled the car from the back. ‘What about the CCTV cameras?’

‘Don’t ask. Bloody things were meant to be installed before Knox moved in. “Technical difficulties” my fruit-flavoured arsehole. Idiots in the surveillance van weren’t much better — thing was parked the wrong way round. Knox probably walked right past them, and they never even blinked. Should’ve heard the bollocking they got; thought one of them was going to cry.’

The song on the radio ended, and the DJ announced that the news was coming right up, after these messages.

Danby drummed his fingers on the back of Logan’s seat. ‘Search teams?’

‘Somewhere between sod and bugger all. Got lookout requests on the go with every force in the UK, emailed posters to every port, airport and bus terminal…’ Steel shrugged. ‘I’m no’ holding my breath, though. If our wee raping tossbag’s sitting on X-million quid’s worth of gangster’s money he’ll be away on a fake passport to the Costa del Pervert by now.’

Logan sniffed. ‘That or he’s holed up somewhere torturing someone’s grandfather…’

‘God, you’re a wee ray of sunshine today, aren’t you?’

Logan just grunted, trying to keep the car from mounting the pavement as it slithered to a halt outside the burnt shell of Knox’s house.

‘Ooh, here we go.’ Steel reached out and turned up the radio.

‘… angry scenes. Grampian Police issued this statement.’

DCI Finnie’s voice crackled out. ‘Richard Knox is considered extremely dangerous. If anyone sees him, they should call nine-nine-nine immediately, do not, under any circumstances approach him, or try to apprehend him yourself.’

There was an explosion of questions, all shouted at once:

‘Chief Inspector! Why did Grampian Police allow him to escape?’

‘What are you doing to recapture Knox?’

‘Are the public at risk?’

‘Is it true he raped one of the team supervising him?’

A cut, then Finnie was back, ‘… want to assure you that we’re doing everything we can to bring Richard Knox back into custody as quickly as possible.’

Then the radio moved on to a piece about all the traffic accidents caused by the snow.

‘Bloody media.’ Steel stabbed the off button. ‘How come they use everything Finnie said? Where the hell was my bit?’

At least she’d had a bit — all Logan had done was stand at the back, like a spare fart.

The car rocked as Danby popped the back door and clambered out, then picked his way carefully towards what was left of Knox’s house.

Logan killed the engine. ‘You’ve got to speak to Finnie about Beattie.’

‘Screw the pair of them.’ She dug out a packet of cigarettes and offered Logan one.

‘It’s all right for you, I’m the one getting hauled up for doing what you sodding told me!’

‘OK, OK, I’ll talk to him. Honestly: moan, bitch, whinge.’ She opened her door, put one foot on the road, gave a little squeak, and ended up flat on her back. ‘Buggering turd-burglars…’

Logan clambered out, inched around to the other side of the car, and hauled her to her feet. ‘Serves you right.’

‘Don’t push it.’ Her cigarette was bent like a dog’s leg. She spat it out onto the ice. ‘Should be off tanning my white bits on some sun-drenched beach, not looking after ungrateful bastard detective sergeants.’

‘You want me to let go again?’

‘Do it and I’ll kill you…’

They crab walked to the kerb, then shuffled their way across the slippery pavement and in through the front gate. Knox’s house was barely recognizable. The roof had gone, the walls were blackened and stained, windows missing, chunks of charred timber sticking up from the rubble, everything topped with a layer of snow.

Danby was standing in the hallway, hands in his pockets, breath steaming out around his big pink head.

Steel lit another cigarette, hissing the smoke out between her teeth. ‘Still don’t see what this is supposed to accomplish.’

‘Walking the ground.’ Danby held out a hand, as if blessing the fire scene. ‘No point going back to the flat he disappeared from: wasn’t even there twenty-four hours. This is where his roots are, know what I’m saying?’

Logan stepped across the threshold into what used to be the lounge. Blackened chunks and lumps, a scattering of slates from the roof. Humped shapes that could have been the remains of the sofa, or bits of collapsed ceiling — it was impossible to tell. The place stank of melted plastic and bitter charcoal. ‘Don’t think his roots exist any more. They’ve all burned.’

There was a deep sigh. ‘That’s what I’m worried about. The only place he’s got left now is his mother’s old house in Newcastle. Don’t think we really want him back. At least when we knew where the filthy little bastard was we could keep an eye on him, but now…’

Logan nudged a twisted metal shape with the toe of his shoe. Took a moment to realize it was the three-bar electric fire Knox prayed to every day.

‘Pffffff…Sod this: it’s too cold to be buggering about outside.’ Steel jammed her hands in her armpits. ‘You two can commune with the spirit of Pocahontas all you like — I’m going back to the car.’

Logan looked up and watched Danby haul a section of metal pipe from the rubble and start poking.

On his own in a strange city, surrounded by ruins.

The car door clunked shut, leaving them alone.

‘Why are you really here?’

Danby didn’t turn around. ‘Told you — Knox has info on Mental Mikey’s operation.’

‘You hate him, and he hates you. Why would he tell you anything?’

‘He’ll be heading south.’ The metal pole poked into a mound of something that disintegrated. ‘We need to start pulling in the local perverts, see if he contacted any of them for help, know what I’m saying? I’ll get my team to do the same in Newcastle.’