Shadow of the Castle

by Matthew Macleod

  ‘Right man. Here’s what you need to know.’

  After Luke had slipped out of the station and into a waiting taxi that had been called, Steve and Dave let Deek out of his cell and allowed him to go and wake Mark up at his own insistence. The excited explanation that they were going home – no arrest and no hassle - was too confusing for Mark to wrap his head around and so loud that it brought the officer on the desk running to the holding cells.

  'What's going on here?'

  All four inside the cell turned to look at the man standing in the doorway. It was Steve who addressed him.

  'There's been a mistake pal. Gonna have to take the boys here back to their flat with a little apology. Reckon you might be due them one too.'

  'You know full well what has to happen here. If you don't do as you've been asked I'll get on the phone and find someone who will. There's plenty who'd jump at the chance.'

  'Just because there's a handful of scumbags doesn't mean we're all in the Fat Man's pocket. Our pal's going to be dropping in on the Magistrate anyway, once he picks up a passenger. He'll know soon enough what's going down. I've also given him your name and number to report to the Superintendent once he gets a second. Turns out they're pretty close.'

  There was no reaction from the man in the doorway. He swallowed as he tried to decide if he was being lied to or not. Looking from one man to the next, he settled back on Steve again.

  'Go for it. I'll be phoning the Magistrate the now and you two...' he pointed at Dave and Steve 'are finished.'

  Dave stepped forward from the cot towards the door and landed a right cross on the other man's chin that folded his legs underneath him and sent him crumbling to the concrete floor. The anger in his voice was evident.

  'If doing the right thing means we're finished then I'll hand the Superintendent my resignation in person. I'm sick of everyone on the street thinking all cops are wastes of skin because of idiots like you. All you care about is who's going to line your pockets the most and you police accordingly. That's everything that's wrong with the force now and I am tired of it. Even if it means bending or breaking the rules to make it happen, I'll throw my hat in the ring with Steve and Luke every day of the week when the alternative is you. Go ahead, phone the Magistrate and tell him. Tell all the boys on his payroll that the curtain’s coming down and we're going to be on the other side of it when it does.'

  Looking back over his shoulder at the two stunned “prisoners” and his partner, he nodded in the direction of the door and they all stepped over the prone figure to leave. Whether accidentally or not, Mark and Derek both found their recent waking had made them clumsy and they “may” have accidentally trod on his ribs on the way past. The foursome hurried out of the station to their waiting car and as they all piled in, Dave sat in the passenger seat and it was clear he was shaking.

  'I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that? So stupid.'

  Steve started the car and pulled away from the station as the two in the back tried in vain to console the younger officer. Once they were heading back towards the flat, Steve spoke.

  'Bit overdramatic, sure. “Bringing down the curtain” aye? Wee bit of the Untouchables there. Still. It might not be “protocol” but what we did tonight was the right thing and that's what's important. The only difference between us and that guy who's probably already calling up the Magistrate the now is the motivation and the result.'

  'Is a sense of justice going to pay my bills? Assaulting a fellow officer is no joke. What am I going to do?'

  'What we're going to do is drop these two gentlemen off and arrange a pint with them later to make up for the hassle. Then we're going into town to meet Luke at Geoffrey's office. And the whole way there we're going to feel sorry for the poor man that had the misfortune of turning the cameras off in the holding cells before he got his fillings rattled by the single girliest punch I've ever seen.'

  Laughter erupted from the back of the car and Dave's head rose and his mouth opened but no sound came out. He thought back, double checking that what he was being told was correct and realised that with no video he had nothing to worry about. The word of a policeman who had turned the cameras off and kept arrests quiet for money against a 10-year veteran, an officer with a spotless record and two independent witnesses.... The laughter in the back was no longer infuriating but contagious. He joined in, relief flooding his body.

  'Brilliant. Pints on me the night boys. Pints on me.'

  He punched at Steve's shoulder as the older man smiled and kept his eyes on the road. Sinking back into his seat he felt like the luckiest man in Edinburgh. The relief was palpable. Only one point of contention remained.

  'Hang on Steve, what do you mean “girly punch?”'

  Chapter 23

  On the taxi ride into town, Luke Calvin had made a pair of phone calls to Claire and Grant where he arranged to meet them both at Geoffrey Reid’s offices at 7 a.m. Both accepted this early morning call with very little complaint and agreed to see him there. Once he had reached the town centre, he asked to be dropped off outside one of his favourite coffee shops on Rose Street that would be open this early and paid the driver. Now everything was in motion and he had gone from getting nowhere to going full speed ahead with little warning. His head was throbbing dully from the little sleep and the lager last night as he made his order at the counter “to go” and waited outside for it to be prepared as he smoked.

  The city centre in the daybreak hours was when it was at its best. There wasn’t the claustrophobic feeling of too many people, just the buildings and the streets stripped of almost all traffic, glorious in the rising sun. This morning, all Luke wanted was a pair of sunglasses to keep the light out of his eyes – the splendour of the city that he loved would be there to see some other morning when he wasn’t frantically closing a case with a hangover. The door to the coffee shop opened and the girl from the counter handed him two large cups of coffee with a smile, addressing him by name. He smiled as he took them and turned right where he could get onto Princes Street, awkwardly ashing his cigarette with movements of his lips alone.

  It was quiet enough that he could jog across the road, easily avoiding the buses and cursing the tram lines as he hopped over them. Reaching the black fencing at the Gardens, he passed both cups through the gap in the poles onto the grass on the other side and vaulted clean over the spikes, landing softly. Picking up the cups again, he moved towards the monument with the casual stride of a man who is entirely entitled to be where he is. Despite the fact he could prove his credentials to any overzealous citizen or security guard, the main reason for his lack of worry was that he was too tired to care. He sat down on a bench facing the entrance to the monument stairs and put one of the cups beside him as he drank from the other, burning his mouth in the process. Putting the cup down and both arms over the back of the bench, he sat and waited. He didn’t have long to wait.

  Geoffrey Reid was screaming across town towards his offices in his car, accelerating aggressively and braking hard. The radio was blaring even though it was just a talk show that was on. The phone call he had received from Niddrie police station had not been to his liking one bit and he had every intention of rectifying the situation personally. Even the simplest of things: - seemingly the simplest of people can mess them up.

  The first thing he had done was to phone Luke and find his ranting, raving and colourful language answered only by the cool assertion that he would come to see him at his offices at seven and explain everything there. Slamming the phone down, he had phoned Grant Ferguson next who sounded like he was already awake and took the demand to come to Geoffrey’s office entirely in his stride. He considered calling Claire but thought better of it. Let the girl get some rest – besides, the mood he was in today he was likely to do something he didn’t want a female to have to witness. He was a good guy like that. His man at the station had told him the names of the two policemen who had set him up and let the hash dealers go but that could be dealt with later
. Geoffrey had insisted down the phone that there would be no consequences for his employee’s failure (which was of course a lie) and had insisted that under no circumstances would any information regarding the night’s events be put out on a channel, either official or informal. His efforts had to be focussed on one thing at a time and for the moment, that one thing was why the man he had employed to find his son had not only failed to do so but had actively attempted to hamper his own efforts. The nerve of the man was enough to give the Magistrate a red hot rage that made his knuckles whiten on the steering wheel and his teeth grind in his head. One way or another, this was being finished today.

  The door at the foot of the monument creaked open and a head peeked out, looking up and down the concourse to see if the coast was clear. Seeing the bench across occupied by a tall man with messy hair, it quickly retreated only to reappear a second later. The stranger seemed to be holding up a cup of coffee in offering. When they spoke, their voice was casual to the point of boredom.

  ‘Come here Rab. Have a coffee. You must be freezing.’

  Robert Reid was indeed fairly chilly and decided to accept his fate. Sniffing and wiping with his sleeve, he shut the wooden door and locked it with a key from his pocket. He crossed the pavement and took the offered cup, sitting down on the bench. After taking a sip, he removed his hood with his free hand and took a smoke from the packet that was sitting between them.

  ‘How did you know where I was?’

  ‘Spoke to Deek and Mark. They were in a cell at the time, didn’t exactly volunteer.’

  ‘Did my dad send you?’

  ‘In a way. He employed me to find you. Guess he thought that was kind of my gig.’

  Rab sniffed again and Luke looked at him properly for the first time. His face was drawn and white under his spiked blonde hair which had been crushed by the hood. His ear was pierced on one side and the thin lips and small nose held no resemblance to his father. Only in the eyes, which were watery and grey blue, could any of the Magistrate be seen. “Lucky boy” he thought.

  ‘What happens now then?’

  It was Luke’s turn to sniff. The morning was still brisk despite the fact that the sun was up. He took another deep drink of coffee and relaxed further onto the bench

  ‘We’ve arranged to meet your old man at his offices of the Mound at 7. So we have about half an hour by my reckoning to chat a bit before we walk up.’ He read the fear in Rab’s eyes. ‘I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. But if you try to run from me I will have to stop you. Understand?’

  Rab nodded sadly. It felt like the end of the line. All that had gone on the past few days, all that he had done over the years and all the problems he knew he had caused all came flooding into his head at once. He had been thinking of running but somehow he believed the man beside him that the only way he’d get hurt is if he tried to escape. Luke was reaching into his back pocket and taking out his wallet. He extracted a creased picture from it and offered it to Rab who took it suspiciously.

  ‘Have a look at that. This is what your dad gave me to find you with.’

  There was laughter from both on the bench as Rab looked at his graduation picture from all possible angles before holding it up beside his face and turning towards Luke.

  ‘You must be good if you found me off that.’

  ‘The best.’ was the reply in a tone that showed he thought quite the opposite.

  Robert looked at the picture for a little longer before folding it up and putting it in his own pocket. He rubbed his hands on the legs of his jeans and held one out towards Luke.

  ‘I guess we might as well be properly introduced before you take me in. Robert Reid – professional disappointment.’

  ‘Luke Calvin – Not a cop.’

  They shook hands briefly and returned to their smokes and coffees.

  ‘You know where your dad’s offices are by the way? I’ve never been.’

  ‘Aye. You can see them from up there.’

  He was pointing to the observation platform that stood at the top of the monument. Luke nodded.

  ‘Is that why you went up there every morning.’

  ‘Not sure. Maybe?’

  Draining the dregs of his coffee into his mouth, Luke stuffed it into a bin and stood. Rab followed suit.

  ‘Come on, let’s walk and talk Rab. You’re gonna have to fill me in on a few things so we know where we stand when we get up there.’

  Geoffrey parked up his car outside and locked it as he left, extracting a large key from somewhere deep inside his suit jacket as he went. Placing it in the lock on the front door he was just in the process of trying to remember the code for the alarm that would still be armed when he realised it had already been switched off. Bounding up the stairs two at a time he succeeded only in nearly giving himself a heart attack. When he reached the first floor and opened the door to the reception room of his office he was panting and had broken sweat. To his surprise, he found Grant was already there, in jogging bottoms and a black t-shirt, parked in a seat behind the receptionist desk. Even more surprising was Claire sitting beside him behind her computer, typing away. Her hair was tied up in a black bow and she smiled at him as he entered.

  'Good morning Mr. Reid. I was up early so coming in to catch up on a bit of paperwork. Found this one waiting outside.'

  She dug an elbow into Grants ribs who looked up and spoke himself.

  'Aye, got here quicker than I thought I would. Lucky she showed up or I'd still be waiting.'

  Geoffrey was too preoccupied to ask any questions and walked past into his office through the heavy door at the back of the room. The other two returned to the computer, wasting time watching videos online. Once they were alone his arm returned to its previous position over her shoulder and she snuggled in against his chest. He placed a single kiss on the top of her head.

  'Maybe we'll get to sleep through until morning next time eh Claire?'

  Her voice was muffled against his t-shirt and he could feel her speech resonating inside his ribcage.

  'Think a lot of yourself Mr. Ferguson. Who said there'd be a next time?'

  His laughter made her head bounce against him and they sat together in a sleepy embrace waiting on Luke to come and doubtless wreak his personal brand of havoc on their morning.

  In his office, Geoffrey Reid couldn't stop pacing. He trod the rug endlessly, stalking back and forward in front of his window with his hands clasped behind his back. Sitting down briefly, his hand went to his mouth and he found himself chewing on a nail – a habit from his youth that he hadn't indulged in for decades. Standing again to resume the pacing which was the lesser of the two evils, his mind was going as fast as his feet as he wondered what revelation Luke was bringing him that was so important. Despite all previous evidence to the contrary, he may have turned up something worthwhile despite himself. There was no longer than ten minutes until the appointed time and the only thing that kept the Magistrate from opening his drawer and taking a quick shot was not the time of day but the worry of what dark road drinking spirits in the morning led you down. Outside his window in front of the skyline and the sun, his bird had returned and was standing on the granite sill, eyeing him with curiosity. Geoffrey wanted to let it come in. To feed it and look after it. Make sure it never left. But the window didn't open so they stood separated by the heavy glass, able to see each other but destined to exist in different worlds.

  Luke phoned Grant instead of buzzing the offices once he was outside. Rab had followed meekly the whole way up and talked incessantly. Tapping the seemingly endless supply of cigarettes that appeared in his captor’s hands from every pocket, Rab had smoked and talked and Luke had smoked and listened. Their only stop had been another coffee shop where Luke stumped up the cash for a grand selection of coffees, teas, hot chocolates and enough pastries to feed a small army. He and Rab continued on their way, now encumbered with food and drink, talking between mouthfuls of pastry. Rab was now balancing two trays of cups on top of each other
and it was taking all his concentration to keep it steady. Luke completed his call outside the offices.

  'Someone's coming down to let us in. Here.' He took the double stacked coffee. 'I think I'd better take that.'

  Bemused, Rab surrendered his burden just as the door cracked open and Grant's head peeked out, looking at Luke and motioning for him to come inside. Luke directed the big man's gaze to his left where Rab stood sheepishly on the pavement, rubbing his right forearm and looking at the ground. Grant exploded out of the door, ran straight to him and scooped him off the ground in a bear hug that probably smashed four of his ribs and collapsed a lung. They spun round like that in the street as Luke watched and waited. Once Rab was back on solid ground but still under the meaty arm of Grant that was now ruffling his hair viciously, he began to stammer his way through what could have been an apology or an explanation but he didn't get far enough to say for sure because he was cut off by Grant.

  'Less of that man. We can sort all that later. I'm just glad to see you ya scrawny wee radge. Your old man's been losing his nut even more than usual.'

  They both noticed Luke waiting as if for the first time and apologetically took a tray of drinks off him each. He stretched his shoulders and fingers out in mock agony at being left holding the weight for too long and spoke to the reunited friends.

  'Is Claire here as well Grant? And yous got here before he did? Good. Right, we’ll head up and then we can.... What are you two muppets laughing at?'

  Rab was struggling fit to burst and Grant had already gone. The large shaved head inclined down to his pal and came up again in roaring laughter. Wiping his eyes, Rab held up an apologetic hand towards Luke.

  'Sorry man, sorry. You've had a big flake of pastry on your face for the past ten minutes. We know this is serious but you need to sort that out before we can look at you.'