Stuart MacBride - Close to the Bone

Steel screwed up her eyes, leaned forward in her chair and peered at it. ‘No’ a sodding clue. You? ’

Logan shrugged. ‘Just a random old lady.’

‘Nah: one thing I know about nutjobs, Laz, is they don’t do things for no reason. She’s no’ random, she’s somebody special. We just don’t know why yet.’

Dr Graham shuffled her feet. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve turned up another body needing facial reconstruction, have you? Maybe more skeletonized remains? ’

Steel leaned back in her chair and puffed on her fake cigarette. ‘Laz, get the auld wifie’s head up to Media: I want her on the telly news by lunchtime, all the papers, blah, blah, blah.’ She stared at him. ‘Sometime before we all die of old age would be good. And try to crack a smile, eh? Won’t kill you.’

‘Thanks. Very funny. I nearly died, OK? ’

‘Serves you right for being a tightwad and buying crappy old rustbuckets then, doesn’t it? ’

‘Just. .’ The muscles in his jaw clenched. ‘Fine.’ Logan grabbed the head — surprisingly heavy, almost as bad as the real thing — and stomped out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Steel’s voice oozed through the wood. ‘Touchy. . Now, Doc, about your invoice. .’

The Wee Hoose echoed with laughter that died as soon as Logan walked in. Biohazard Bob and three PCs cleared their throats, Biohazard sticking something in his pocket as the uniforms shuffled out of the room, faces flushed, not making eye contact.

Logan pushed the door shut with his heel. ‘Do I want to know? ’

‘Probably not.’ Bob sank into his chair. ‘Nice severed head, by the way: suits you.’

The other desks were covered in piles of forms and file boxes, only one was clean and tidy: DS Chalmers’s. ‘Where’s the new girl? ’

‘Buggered if I know. .’ He frowned. ‘Rennie’s right, you’re playing favourites, aren’t you? ’

Logan stared at him. If Biohazard wanted favourites, he could bloody well have them. ‘You know what: maybe I am putting too much on DS Chalmers’s shoulders. So. .’ He plonked the head down on Biohazard’s desk. ‘“Who is this woman?” TV, papers, posters. You know the drill.’

‘Noooo.’ Bob covered his face with his hands. ‘Can’t someone else-’

‘You’re the one feeling neglected.’ He pointed at the head. ‘Steel wants that done ASAP. If it’s not on the lunchtime news, you know what’ll happen to you.’

Bob groaned. Stood. Then picked up the head. ‘Come on, Sexy.’ He paused at the door. ‘One thing. Chalmers might be the new girl, but there’s something you’ve got to remember. .’ He squeezed one eye shut, leaned to the left, then hurried out, thumping the door shut.

The smell he’d left behind wasn’t far off being weaponized.

Kelly the PCSO pulled her chin in, eyebrows furrowed. ‘What happened to you? ’

‘Biohazard.’

The cell block was quiet, the singing and swearing of last night reduced to a sort of anxious murmur as people got ready for their turn in front of the Sheriff to find out if they’d be released on bail, or banged up in Craiginches.

‘Oh Lord, I got trapped in the lift with him once. Always take the stairs, and never light a match.’ She led the way to cell number eight and rapped on the door. ‘Best to let them know we’re out here, in case he’s pleasuring himself. Happens more often than you’d think.’ She slid open the hatch. ‘He’s had his breakfast, so don’t let the puppy-dog eyes con you into giving him any treats.’

Logan stepped up and peered into the cell. Dr Marks had graduated from the floor to the mattress, curled up in the foetal position, arms wrapped around his head. ‘Go away. .’

‘That was one night, Dr Marks. What do you think a week in prison’s going to be like? ’

‘They wouldn’t even switch off the light.’

‘That’s in case you decide to do yourself harm in the dark. Don’t want to find your cold dead body in the morning, do we? Probably a good idea to keep you on suicide watch up in Craiginches too. Sensitive lad like you- Sod.’ His phone was ringing. ‘Have a think and I’ll be back in a minute.’ He pulled it out. ‘McRae? ’

‘ LoganDaveGoulding, how you doing? ’

He moved down to the end of the corridor and pushed through into the stairwell. ‘I’m kind of in the middle of something, Dave.’

‘ Excellent, excellent. Look, I’ve got you a profile for Agnes Garfield. ’

‘That was quick.’

‘ Had a head start. Do you want the highlights? Agnes’s psychological condition means it’s unlikely she’s operating alone, or in a dominant role. She’s a subservient fantasist, looking for someone to make her dreams come true. That coupled with the obsession with books like Witchfire means she’s trying to live a life that never existed in the first place. She’ll probably resort to self-harm when things don’t live up to her expectations. ’

‘Subservient? Didn’t you see what she did to Anthony Chung? Far as we can tell, he’s the only dominant-’

‘ No. She’d never do anything to hurt or disappoint him. It isn’t- ’

‘She staked him out on the linoleum and tortured him to death, Dave. Doesn’t get more final than that.’

Silence came from the other end of the line.

‘Dave? ’

‘ Then that idiot Marks is even more useless than I thought. His files clearly show she’s elevated Anthony Chung to the position of personal deity. There’s literally nothing he can do that she isn’t going to forgive or see as a test of her faith. Infidelity, violence, abnormal sexual behaviour. . ’

‘Well, he must’ve done something, because he’s lying in the morgue with. .’ Logan frowned at the stained concrete beneath his feet. ‘Wait a minute: Marks’s files? ’

‘ Have you read Witchfire ? In it there are three primary forms of punishment doled out by the Fingermen: trial by fire, trial by blood, and trial by water. We’ve had the first two. She’s going to have a go at chucking someone in a river next, and if they don’t drown she’ll drag them back on shore and burn them. ’

‘How did you get your hands on Dr Marks’s files? ’

‘ Agnes started off pretending to be in Rowan’s world. It was a harmless fantasy, daydreaming she was someone special with a destiny and power, but she did it so often that it became habitual. The fantasy became real. She’s not play-acting any more, she genuinely thinks they’re witches and they’re evil and they need to be purged to save their souls .’ A deep breath. ‘ And that’s where the problem starts: there’s a dichotomy at the heart of Agnes’s psyche and it’s eating her sense of self. In the book, Rowan’s a witch-finder that doesn’t believe in witches, but has to punish them. But Agnes doesn’t just believe in witches, she thinks she is one. She’s trapped between two diametric delusions. ’

‘Dave!’

‘ I broke into his office, it’s not important. What matters is that she’s following a pattern: it’s not malevolent, it’s not because she enjoys it, it’s because this is what she believes she has to do. ’

‘You broke. .? ’ Logan glanced up and down the corridor. No one there. But he lowered his voice to a whisper anyway. ‘Are you insane ? Anything you get from those files is inadmissible. Put them back!’

‘ I don’t see how: you’ve got a warrant, haven’t you? And who’s going to know? ’

‘Put — them — back.’

‘ She won’t be moving about, she’ll have a single base of operations, somewhere she feels safe. Somewhere she can paint protective circles. ’