10 Great Rebus Novels (John Rebus)

by Ian Rankin

  ‘We’ll have to take Jamesie down the station, Mr Mac-Murray.’

  ‘I know that.’ Then Gavin MacMurray slapped his son’s face. With a hand callused by years of mechanical work, he loosened teeth and sent blood curdling from Jamesie’s mouth. Jamesie spat on the dirt floor but said nothing. Rebus knew Jamesie was going to tell them everything he knew.

  Outside, one of the Army men smiled in relief. ‘I’m glad we didn’t find anything.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Keeping the stuff in an environment like that, it’s bound to be unstable.’

  ‘Just like the guy who’s got it.’ Unstable . . . Rebus thought of Unstable from Dunstable, confessing to the St Stephen Street killing, raving to DI Flower about curry and cars . . . He walked back into the garage and pointed to the stain on the floor.

  ‘That’s not oil,’ he said, ‘not all of it.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Everybody out, I want this place secured.’

  They all got out. Flower should have listened to Unstable from Dunstable. The tramp had been talking about Currie, not curry. And he’d said cars because of the garages. He must have been sleeping rough nearby and seen or heard something that night.

  ‘What is it, sir?’ one of the officers asked Rebus.

  ‘If I’m right, this is where they killed Calumn Smylie.’

  That evening, Rebus moved out of the hotel and back into Patience’s flat. He felt exhausted, like a tool that had lost its edge. The stain on the garage floor had been a mixture of oil and blood. They were trying to separate the two so they could DNA-test the blood against Calumn Smylie’s. Rebus knew already what they’d find. It all made sense when you thought about it.

  He poured a drink, then thought better of it. Instead he phoned Patience and told her she could come home in the next day or two. But she was determined to return in the morning, so he told her why she shouldn’t. She was very quiet for a moment.

  ‘Be careful, John.’

  ‘I’m still here, aren’t I?’

  ‘Let’s keep it that way.’

  He rang off when he heard the doorbell. The manhunt for Davey Soutar was in full swing, under the control of CI Lauderdale at St Leonard’s. Arms would be issued as and when necessary. Though they didn’t know the extent of Soutar’s cache, no chances would be taken. Rebus had been asked if he’d like a bodyguard.

  ‘I’ll trust to my guardian angel,’ he’d said.

  The doorbell rang again. He felt naked as he walked down the long straight hall towards the door. The door itself was inch-and-a-half thick wood, but most guns could cope with that and still leave enough velocity in the bullet to puncture human flesh. He listened for a second, then put his eye to the spy-hole. He let his breath out and unlocked the door.

  ‘You’ve got things to tell me,’ he said, opening the door wide.

  Abernethy produced a bottle of whisky from behind his back. ‘And I’ve brought some antiseptic for those cuts.’

  ‘Internal use only,’ Rebus suggested.

  ‘The money it cost me, you better believe it. Still, a nice drop of Scotch is worth all the tea in China.’

  ‘We call it whisky up here.’ Rebus closed the door and led Abernethy back down the hall into the living room. Abernethy was impressed.

  ‘Been taking a few back-handers?’

  ‘I live with a doctor. It’s her flat.’

  ‘My mum always wanted me to be a doctor. A respectable job, she called it. Got some glasses?’

  Rebus fetched two large glasses from the kitchen.

  27

  Frankie Bothwell couldn’t afford to close the Crazy Hose.

  The Festival and Fringe had only a couple more days to go. All too soon the tourists would be leaving. But over the past fortnight he’d really been packing them in. Advertising and word of mouth helped, as had a three-night residency by an American country singer. The club was making more money than ever before, but it wouldn’t last. The Crazy Hose was unique, every bit as unique as Frankie himself. It deserved to do well. It had to do well. Frankie Bothwell had commitments, financial commitments. They couldn’t be broken or excused because of low takings. Every week needed to be a good week.

  So he was not best pleased to see Rebus and another cop walk into the bar. You could see it in his eyes and the smile as frozen as a Crazy Hose daiquiri.

  ‘Inspector, how can I help you?’

  ‘Mr Bothwell, this is DI Abernethy. We’d like a word.’

  ‘It’s a bit hectic just now. I haven’t had a chance to replace Kevin Strang.’

  ‘We insist,’ said Abernethy.

  With two conspicuous police officers on the premises, trade at the bars wasn’t exactly brisk, and nobody was dancing. They were all waiting for something to happen. Bothwell took this in.

  ‘Let’s go to my office.’

  Abernethy waved bye-bye to the crowd as he followed Rebus and Bothwell into the foyer. They went behind the admission desk and Bothwell unlocked a door. He sat behind his desk and watched them squeeze their way into the space that was left.

  ‘A big office is a waste of space,’ he said by way of apology. The place was like a cleaning cupboard. There were spare till rolls and boxes of glasses on a shelf above Bothwell’s head, framed cowboy posters stacked against a wall, bric-a-brac and debris like everything had just spilled out of a collision at a car boot sale.

  ‘We might be more comfortable talking in the toilets,’ Rebus said.

  ‘Or down the station,’ offered Abernethy.

  ‘I don’t think we’ve met,’ Bothwell said to him, affably enough.

  ‘I usually only meet shit when I wipe my arse.’

  That took the smile off Bothwell’s face.

  ‘Inspector Abernethy,’ Rebus said, ‘is Special Branch. He’s here investigating The Shield.’

  ‘The Shield?’

  ‘No need to be coy, Mr Bothwell. You’re not being charged, not yet. We just want you to know we’re on to you in a big way.’

  ‘And we’re not about to let go,’ Abernethy said on cue.

  ‘Though it might help your case if you told us about Davey Soutar.’ Rebus placed his hands in his lap and waited. Abernethy lit a cigarette and blew the smoke across the strewn desk. Frankie Bothwell looked from one man to the other and back again.

  ‘Is this a joke? I mean, it’s a bit early for Halloween, that’s when you’re supposed to scare people without any reason.’

  Rebus shook his head. ‘Wrong answer. What you should have said was, “Who’s Davey Soutar?”’

  Bothwell sat back in his chair. ‘All right then, who’s Davey Soutar?’

  ‘I’m glad you asked me that,’ said Rebus. ‘He’s your lieutenant. Maybe he’s also your recruiting officer. And now he’s on the run. Did you know he’s been keeping back some of the explosives and guns for himself? We’ve got a confession.’ It was a blatant lie, and caused Bothwell to smile. That smile sealed Bothwell’s guilt in Rebus’s mind.

  ‘Why have you been funding the Gar-B youth centre?’ he asked. ‘Is it a useful recruiting station? You took the name Cuchullain when you were an anarchist. He’s the great Ulster hero, the original Red Hand. That was no accident. You were dismissed from the Orange Lodge for being a bit over-zealous. In the early ’70s your name was linked to the Tartan Army. They used to break into Army bases and steal weapons. Maybe that’s what gave you the idea.’

  Bothwell was still smiling as he asked, ‘What idea?’

  ‘You know.’

  ‘Inspector, I haven’t understood a word you’ve said.’

  ‘No? Then understand this, we’re a bollock-hair’s breadth away from you. But more importantly, we want to find Davey Soutar, because if he’s gone rogue with rifles and plastic explosives . . .’

  ‘I still don’t know what you’re –’

  Rebus jumped from his seat and grabbed Bothwell’s lapels, pulling him tight against the desk. Bothwell’s smile evaporated.

  ‘I’ve been to B
elfast, Bothwell, I’ve spent time in the North. The last thing that place needs is cowboys like you. So put away your forked tongue and tell us where he is!’

  Bothwell wrenched himself out of Rebus’s grip, his lapel tearing down the middle in the process. His face was purple, eyes blazing. He stood with his knuckles on the edge of the desk, leaning over it, his face close to Rebus’s.

  ‘Nobody meddles wi’ me!’ he spat. ‘That’s my motto.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Rebus, ‘and you know the Latin for it too. Did you get a kick that night in Mary King’s Close?’

  ‘You’re crazy.’

  ‘We’re the police,’ Abernethy said lazily. ‘We’re paid to be crazy, what’s your excuse?’

  Bothwell considered the two of them and sat down slowly. ‘I don’t know anyone called Davey Soutar. I don’t know anything about bombs or Sword and Shield or Mary King’s Close.’

  ‘I didn’t say Sword and Shield,’ said Rebus. ‘I just said The Shield.’

  Bothwell sat in silence.

  ‘But now you mention it, I see your father the minister was in the original Sword and Shield. His name’s on file. It was an offshoot of the Scottish National Party; I don’t suppose you know anything about it?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘No? Funny, you were in the youth league.’

  ‘Was I?’

  ‘Did your dad get you interested in Ulster?’

  Bothwell shook his head slowly. ‘You never stop, do you?’

  ‘Never,’ said Rebus.

  The door opened. The two bouncers from the main door stood there, hands clasped in front of them, legs apart. They’d obviously been to the bouncers’ school of etiquette. And, just as obviously, Bothwell had summoned them with some button beneath the lip of his desk.

  ‘Escort these bastards off the premises,’ he ordered.

  ‘Nobody escorts me anywhere,’ said Abernethy, ‘not unless she’s wearing a tight skirt and I’ve paid for her.’ He got up and faced the bouncers. One of them made to take his arm. Abernethy grabbed the bouncer at the wrist and twisted hard. The man fell to his knees. There wasn’t much room for the other bouncer, and he looked undecided. He was still looking blank as Rebus pulled him into the room and threw him over the desk. Bothwell was smothered beneath him. Abernethy let the other bouncer go and followed Rebus outside with a real spring in his step, breathing deeply of Edinburgh’s warm summer air. ‘I enjoyed that.’

  ‘Aye, me too, but do you think it worked?’

  ‘Let’s hope so. We’re making liabilities of them. I get the feeling they’re going to implode.’

  Well, that was the plan. Every good plan, however, had a fall-back. Theirs was Big Ger Cafferty.

  ‘Is it too late to grab a curry?’ Abernethy added.

  ‘You’re not in the sticks now. The night’s young.’

  But as Rebus led Abernethy towards a good curry house, he was thinking about liabilities and risks . . . and dreading tomorrow’s showdown.

  28

  The day dawned bright, with blue skies and a breeze which would soon warm. It was expected to stay good all day, with a clear night for the fireworks. Princes Street would be bursting at the seams, but it was quiet as DCI Kilpatrick drove along it. He was an early riser, but even he had been caught by Rebus’s wake-up call.

  The industrial estate was quiet too. After being cleared by the guard on the gate, he drove up to the warehouse and parked next to Rebus’s car. The car was empty, but the warehouse door stood open. Kilpatrick went inside.

  ‘Morning, sir.’ Rebus was standing in front of the HGV.

  ‘Morning, John. What’s with all the cloak and dagger?’

  ‘Sorry about that, sir. I hope I can explain.’

  ‘I hope so too, going without breakfast never puts me in the best of moods.’

  ‘It’s just that there’s something I had to tell you, and this seems as quiet a place as any.’

  ‘Well, what is it?’

  Rebus had started walking around the lorry, Kilpatrick following him. When they were at the back of the vehicle, Rebus pulled on the lever and swung the door wide open. On top of the boxes inside sat Abernethy.

  ‘You didn’t warn me it was a party,’ Kilpatrick said.

  ‘Here, let me help you up.’

  Kilpatrick looked at Rebus. ‘I’m not a pensioner.’ And he pulled himself into the back, Rebus clambering after him.

  ‘Hello again, sir,’ Abernethy said, putting his hand out for Kilpatrick to shake. Kilpatrick folded his arms instead.

  ‘What’s this all about, Abernethy?’

  But Abernethy shrugged and nodded towards Rebus.

  ‘Notice anything, sir?’ said Rebus. ‘I mean, about the load.’

  Kilpatrick put on a thoughtful face and looked around. ‘No,’ he said finally, adding: ‘I never was one for party games.’

  ‘No games, sir. Tell me, what happens to all this stuff if we’re not going to use it in a sting operation?’

  ‘It goes to be destroyed.’

  ‘That’s what I thought. And the papers go with it, don’t they?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘But since the stuff has been under our stewardship, those papers will be from the City of Edinburgh Police?’

  ‘I suppose so. I can’t see –’

  ‘You will, sir. When the stuff came here, there was a record with it, detailing what it was and how much of it there was. But we replace that record with one of our own, don’t we? And if the first record goes astray, well, there’s always our record.’ Rebus tapped one of the boxes. ‘There’s less here than there was.’

  ‘What?’

  Rebus lifted the lid from a crate. ‘When you showed me around before with Smylie, there were more AK 47s than this.’

  Kilpatrick looked horrified. ‘Are you sure?’ He looked inside the crate.

  ‘Yet the current inventory shows twelve AK 47s, and that’s how many are here.’

  ‘Twelve,’ Abernethy confirmed, as Rebus got out the sheet of paper and handed it to Kilpatrick.

  ‘Then you must have made a mistake,’ said Kilpatrick.

  ‘No, sir,’ said Rebus, ‘with all due respect. I’ve checked with Special Branch. They hold a record of the original delivery. Two dozen AK 47s. The other dozen are missing. There’s other stuff too: a rocket launcher, some of the ammo . . .’

  ‘You see, sir,’ said Abernethy, ‘normally nobody would bother to backtrack, would they? The stuff is going for disposal, and there’s a chitty says everything checks. No one ever looks back down the line.’

  ‘But it’s impossible.’ Kilpatrick still held the sheet of paper, but he wasn’t looking at it.

  ‘No, sir,’ said Rebus, ‘it’s dead easy. If you can alter the record. You’re in charge of this load, it’s your name on the sheet.’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  Rebus shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. ‘The surveillance on the American, that was your operation too, sir.’

  ‘As requested by you, Inspector.’

  Rebus nodded. ‘And I appreciated it. It’s just, I can’t understand a few things. Such as how your trusted team from Glasgow didn’t spot me and a friend of mine having a drink with Clyde Moncur and his wife.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The details you gave me, sir, there was nothing about that. I didn’t think there would be. That’s partly why I did it. Nor was there any mention of a meeting between Clyde Moncur and Frankie Bothwell. All your men say is that Moncur and his wife go for walks, see the sights, act the perfect tourists. But there is no surveillance, is there? I know because I put a couple of colleagues onto Moncur myself. You see, I knew something was up the minute I met Inspector Abernethy here.’

  ‘You put an unofficial surveillance on Moncur?’

  ‘And I’ve the pictures to prove it.’ On cue, Abernethy rustled a white paper bag, one side of which was clear cellophane. The black and white photos could be seen inside.

  ‘There�
��s even one here,’ Abernethy said, ‘of you meeting Moncur in Gullane. Maybe you were talking about golf?’

  ‘You must have promised The Shield some of these arms before I came along,’ Rebus went on. ‘You brought me into the investigation to keep an eye on me.’

  ‘But why would I bring you here in the first place?’

  ‘Because Ken Smylie asked you to. And you didn’t want to raise his suspicions. There’s not much gets past Ken.’

  Rebus had expected Kilpatrick to deflate, but he didn’t, if anything he grew bigger. He plunged his hands into his jacket pockets and slid his shoulders back. His face showed no emotion, and he wasn’t about to talk.

  ‘We’ve been looking at you for a while,’ Abernethy continued. ‘Those Prod terrorists you let slip through your fingers in Glasgow . . .’ He shook his head slowly. ‘That’s one reason we moved you from Glasgow, to see if you could still operate. When news of the six-pack reached me, I knew you were still lending a hand to your friends in The Shield. They’ve always relied on inside help, and by Christ they’ve been getting it.’

  ‘You thought it was a drugs hit,’ Kilpatrick argued.

  Abernethy shrugged. ‘I’m a good actor. When you seconded Inspector Rebus, I knew it was because you saw him as a threat. You needed to keep an eye on him. Luckily he came to the same conclusion.’ Abernethy peered into the bag of photographs. ‘And here’s the result.’

  ‘Funny, sir,’ said Rebus, ‘when we were talking about Sword and Shield, the old Sword and Shield I mean, you never mentioned that you were a member.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You didn’t think there were any records, but I managed to track some down. Back in the early ’60s you were in their youth league. Same time Frankie Bothwell was. Like I say, funny you never mentioned it.’

  ‘I didn’t think it was relevant.’

  ‘Then I was attacked by someone trying to put me out of the game. The man was a pro, I’d swear to that, a street-slugger with a cutthroat razor. He had a Glasgow accent. You must have met a few hard men during your stint over there.’

  ‘You think I hired him?’

  ‘With all respect,’ Rebus locked eyes with Kilpatrick, ‘you must be off your rocker.’