Ian Rankin - Doors Open

‘Not if you’re outside in the van, no… but we don’t know what the situation’s going to be like in the compound. Just needs one extra guard to be patrolling the perimeter and we’ve got a problem. That’s why you’ll be carrying it.’ He pointed towards Gissing’s gun.

‘Understood,’ the professor said with a nod.

‘That was my idea, by the way,’ Allan added. ‘Compound’s a huge area, which makes it vulnerable.’

‘Good to see you’re pulling your weight,’ Gissing responded. ‘When you cried off last night, I admit I started having doubts…’

‘That reminds me,’ Mike interrupted, ‘how did your dinner go?’

‘Fine,’ Allan replied, just a little too quickly, his eyes everywhere but on his friend.

Gissing and Mike shared a look. The professor was passing his chosen gun from hand to hand. He tried fitting it into the inside pocket of his tweed jacket but it threatened to fall out. ‘Maybe I’ll wear something with bigger pockets tomorrow.’

‘Whatever you wear, it’s got to be disposable,’ Mike reminded him. ‘No favourite shirts or coats. Whole lot’s going to have to be got rid of.’

‘Right,’ Allan said. He’d pushed his own gun into the front of his trousers. ‘Going to do my groin an injury if I try sitting down,’ he complained. He shifted the gun round to the small of his back. ‘That works,’ he decided.

‘Then we’re all set, aren’t we?’ Mike waited for his two friends to nod their agreement. There was a slight niggle at the back of his mind. Seven false names for the tour… booked weeks ago by Gissing. So the old man had known they would need back-up. He said as much to Gissing.

‘That’s not what I was thinking,’ the professor corrected him. ‘My rationale was, the more “ghosts” I could load on to the tour, the fewer actual participants I’d have to deal with on the day. There happened to be seven spaces left, so I gave seven names. End of story.’

Mike turned his attention to Allan – his ‘details guy’. Allan gave a twitch of the mouth, then cleared his throat.

‘The one thing I still don’t like,’ he said, ‘is Westie’s girlfriend.’

‘Agreed,’ Gissing growled. ‘I might have a word with our young friend about that particular little stunt.’

‘Not until he’s finished his work,’ Mike advised. ‘We need him focused.’

‘We all need to be focused,’ Allan added.

‘Which may mean missing the occasional dinner party,’ Gissing chided.

‘You want me to change my routine?’

‘Allan’s got a point,’ Mike interrupted. ‘On the surface, it has to be business as usual.’ At which moment, Allan’s mobile sounded. It was a text message, and he started to check it. Mike felt like swiping the phone from his friend’s grasp, but doubted it would do much for team spirit.

Gissing, noting Mike’s conflict of feelings, gave a lopsided smile and mouthed the words ‘business as usual’, before pointing the revolver at the phone and pretending to shoot it to smithereens.

Mike had suggested they take his Quattroporte, but Allan had pointed out that it was the sort of car that got noticed, so they travelled in his Audi instead, Gissing in the front passenger seat, Mike in the back but leaning forward so that his face was level with the front seats. Gissing had proposed sitting in the back until Allan reminded him that he’d be driving tomorrow. Better if he got used to the view from the front.

‘You really have thought of everything,’ Gissing said.

‘Probably not,’ Mike warned him. ‘Hence this morning’s recce.’

There was no fast route to anywhere. Chunks of the city centre were being turned into tramlines, meaning roadworks, tailbacks, and temporary traffic lights. Classic FM on the radio – ostensibly to calm the nerves. Gissing asked if this was the same route they’d be taking tomorrow.

‘Depends on whether you want to rendezvous at mine,’ Mike said, ‘or make your own way to the pick-up point.’

‘And where’s that?’ Allan asked.

‘Gracemount – we’re headed there now. I don’t know exactly where the van’s going to be – Chib’s going to text that to me first thing in the morning.’

‘So we don’t get to try the van out beforehand?’ Gissing sounded sceptical. ‘Isn’t that risky?’

‘That’s exactly what I said,’ Allan chipped in.

‘Chib assures me it’ll do the job,’ Mike stressed.

‘He’s an expert, is he?’

Mike stared at the professor. ‘So far, I’d have to say yes, he is – certainly compared to us.’

‘Then I’ll have to take your word for it.’

Mike reached into his pocket and brought out a couple of sheets of paper, folded in four. ‘I printed this from the internet – best route from the Gracemount area to Westie’s flat, and from there to Granton.’ He handed them over to the professor. ‘Saturday, so there’ll be no rush hour to speak of, but I’ve factored out Leith Walk.’

‘Because of the tram works.’ Allan was nodding appreciatively.

‘I didn’t even know where Gracemount was,’ Gissing muttered, staring at the map and accompanying instructions.

‘That’s why we’re headed there now,’ Mike explained. He’d already decided that Gracemount Drive, just beyond the school, would be their starting point for today’s adventure. When they arrived, Allan asked Gissing if he wanted to swap places, but received a grizzled shake of the head.

‘Easier for me to learn the route if I’m a passenger.’

‘Which begs the question,’ Allan commented, ‘you need to be in the van while we’re in the warehouse, but do you need to do any of the actual driving?’

‘You think I’m not capable?’ Gissing had turned to fix Allan with a glare. ‘I used to drive an MG sports car in my younger years.’

‘What happened to it?’ Mike asked with a smile.

‘I didn’t think it… seemly for a man in his sixties. One of the other staff members bought himself a Porsche at fifty-five, and that’s when I decided the MG had to go.’

‘Because the Porsche trumped your car?’ Allan guessed.

‘Not at all,’ Gissing barked. ‘But I could see for the first time how bloody ridiculous a man of advancing years looks in a sports car.’

‘My Quattroporte’s a sports car,’ Mike reminded him.

‘And you’re just the right age for it,’ Gissing stated.

‘I think,’ Allan informed Mike, ‘the professor wants to drive the van.’

‘Then he has my blessing,’ Mike conceded.

Gissing just gave a loud sniff and went back to his studying.

From the school, they headed back into town towards Westie’s flat – they’d be picking up him and his paintings tomorrow – sat for a minute outside his tenement block, and then, when a warden started taking an interest, signalled back into traffic and made for The Mound and the New Town.

‘What are you going to do when you retire?’ Allan asked the professor.

‘Sell up and ship out,’ Gissing replied. ‘With the money I get from the house, I can buy a cottage somewhere on the west coast, fill it with books and art, and enjoy the scenery.’

‘Won’t you miss Edinburgh?’

‘I’ll be too busy enjoying walks along the beach.’

‘Got somewhere in mind?’ Mike asked.

‘I’ll put the homestead on the market first, see how much cash it’ll give me to play with.’

‘They’re going to miss you at the college,’ Allan said. Gissing’s silence did not dispute the fact.

Mike cleared his throat. ‘You sure about the west coast? A while back, I thought you said you’d be heading for Spain.’

‘Man’s entitled to change his mind,’ Gissing barked. ‘Anywhere except this bloody city…’