Grant’s tone when he replied was measured but the fury bubbling below the surface was tangible. Luke eyed him warily, suddenly very aware that if he were to launch himself at the Magistrate there would be little that he and Rab could do in the immediacy, if either of them felt the urge.
‘That’s you all over Geoffrey. Never made a mistake in your life. Always the victim somehow. No matter what happened or who it happened to, you were never to blame. If you’d taken more time with Rab maybe he’d respect you more. Have the slightest inclination to make you proud. Man, the fact that he’s even still here speaking to you after all this shows that he’s a better man than I am – if I had the severe misfortune of having you as a father I would be sitting in jail for your murder ten years ago and I’d be in there with a grin on my face.’
There was no one in the room that disbelieved him for a second. The intensity in him had bubbled over and gone off with both barrels. Rab’s eyes never left his father but he placed his right hand gently on the front of Grant’s shoulder. To Luke, it was bizarre to see this slightly built man defuse the giant with not as much as a word but Grant acquiesced to the unspoken request and leaned back in his chair, his rage now simmering.
‘I’ve no doubt you would Grant.’ Geoffrey was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘I fully believe that you would. My attack dog. Doing whatever I asked as long as the price was right. Funny how you develop morals just when it suits you.’
‘If it wasn’t for him I’d have been in serious bother well before now Dad' said Rab 'and you know that full well.’
‘Be that as it may.’ The Magistrate clapped his hands and rubbed them together. ‘So boys. What’s the plan from now? Since you seem to have it well in hand up to this point. First.’ He raised one finger. ‘My own son turns against me. Second’ He raised another finger to join the first. ‘my loyal enforcer throws his hat in the ring with’ the third finger came up ‘the man I paid a lot of money to find my son in the first place. Well isn’t this just a mess.’
‘What happens next is up to you.’ Luke ashed into the crystal once more. ‘There are going to be consequences of some sort for your behaviour and your disregard for the law. I’m sure we could try and have you arrested but I doubt a man with as many coppers in his pocket as you would take long to get out. And there is no doubt in my mind that as soon as you can, you will make it your mission to exact your own brand of revenge on every single one of us sitting here.’ Geoffrey nodded and smiled. ‘In short, I don’t see any way in which we can all leave here this morning satisfied and happy. So we have once again reached an impasse.’
The Magistrate reached into his pocket and extracted his small key. Moving the veneer cover to expose the keyhole, he opened the disguised drawer and placed the bottle of whiskey on the table. Reaching into it again, he brought out the handgun he had acquired and levelled it across the table at Luke’s chest who continued smoking, unconcerned. Grant also remained motionless but Rab recoiled, leaning his torso as far away from the muzzle as possible.
‘There is a solution to our problem as it happens gentlemen. Mr Calvin here is the only one outside of this room who is aware of any of this confused story. If he were out of the picture, then that would be the end of it and we could all go on pretending like none of this happened.’ His broad grin had returned. ‘How fortunate it seems to have but the one loose end at the end of this convoluted escapade. And how unfortunate for you.’
Rab was doing his best to keep his body well away from the business end of the gun that was being pointed while making a futile attempt to placate his father.
‘There’s no need for that Dad. Geez, have you lost it? How are you going to explain that? You can’t just shoot the guy in your office and expect nothing to happen. Just calm down. Put the gun back down and we’ll talk about it.’
‘I’m afraid not son. I should have expected you to disappoint me again but it still always surprises me somehow. This is the only way that the rest of us can go about our lives. This has to happen.’
Luke glanced over his shoulder to the door where Claire had just appeared and he saw Steve and Dave loitering in the passageway. Impeccable timing for once. He took another indulgent draw from his cigarette and turned back to face the Magistrate who hadn’t noticed his secretary entering and most definitely not the two uniformed men looking in with quiet interest. He kept his eyes on the Magistrate as he shouted to her.
‘Claire. Did you take the bullets out of the gun like I asked you?’ He addressed Geoffrey. ‘See, I phoned her up ahead of time. Made sure she got here before you. Took a few precautions.’
Geoffrey looked horrified and glanced open mouthed at the gun in his hand as if he would be able to see if it were loaded or not from the outside. Claire shouted back from the door with a reply that neither expected.
‘Sorry Luke, I didn’t know how to.'
The blood in his veins turned to ice and the bottom of his stomach dropped out. He had planned it all so well and never even considered this possibility. He should have checked. He should have double checked. The grinning face of Geoffrey Reid had his imminent victory plastered all over it. After all these years in war zones, all the times he had stared death in the face, he was now going to meet his end in a frankly garish office at the hands of an overweight Magistrate because he had assumed a secretary would have a working knowledge of firearms. It was a rookie mistake. A schoolboy error. There was no time to move or react as the podgy finger applied pressure to the trigger. Rab stuffed his fingers in his ears and dove off his chair. Luke sat where he was and closed his eyes tight. Grant didn’t move a muscle. The “click” from the gun ushered in a deep stunned silence. Luke warily opened one eye as Grant leant his head towards him to speak.
‘I did it for her, dude. She didn’t have a clue.’
Chapter 25
In the reception area, just outside of the office, Luke, Rab, Claire and Grant were still sitting around. The mood was light and the unpleasantness that had occurred only next door seemed to be already mostly forgotten. Rab and Grant were somehow involved in a play fight that the former had no chance of winning and after a brief tussle, Grant sat proudly on top of Rab's wheezing body, flexing his arms and striking poses. Luke was still chain smoking, trying to recover from the scare that they had given him. Once the gun had failed to go off, Steve had charged into the room and tackled the Magistrate clean off the back of his chair. Dave wasn't far behind and by the time the other three had stood to assist there was no need for help as he was handcuffed and restrained face flat on his own carpet. The two policemen had radioed for an additional car and once it had arrived, whisked Geoffrey Reid away to a cell. There was going to be no talking his way out of this one and after a brief chat with the back-up that had arrived the four of them found themselves alone. No one had spoken for a while until Grant snatched the bottle of whiskey off the table and brought it to Claire's desk where he poured himself a generous shot in her flower patterned teacup, re-poured and offered it around. Luke rubbed his right eye hard – tiredness had come over him all of a sudden. He addressed the back of Grant's shaved head as he was pulling a laughing Rab back to his feet with a force that would probably wrench the arm out of his socket.
'Lucky you were here Grant. That gave me a bit more of a scare than I'd like to admit.'
'No need to admit it.' said Rab 'you were so pale that Casper would be embarrassed for you.'
Claire had taken at least three teacup shots and her face was flushed. She chirped up from behind her desk where she was reclining with her feet on the desk.
'I'm sorry Luke, I didn't think about how it sounded until after I'd said it.'
Grant sat down beside him and ruffled his curly hair. When he spoke there was whiskey on his breath and excitement in his voice.
'I'm not that sorry man. Sure, you might have had a heart attack, but him pulling that trigger is attempted murder. He had no idea I'd unloaded the gun. Now he has to go down.'
Luke had sto
pped rubbing his eye under this renewed assault and smiled weakly at Grant. That point was entirely fair. The years that the brief moment of terror had put on him were worth it for the end result. Picking up the bottle and refusing the offered cup he took two big mouthfuls and enjoyed the burning as they slid down.
'I guess so. I'm just imagining if you'd showed up after me. Or Claire.'
'Nah man, we shared a taxi up.'
Luke nodded and took another hit from the bottle. It was making his worry slip away and he was beginning to appreciate the happy mood in the room. Grant was nudging his ribs again.
'Dude. I said we shared a taxi up.'
He looked from Grant's smirk to Claire's red face and downturned eyes and he understood. He toasted Claire with the bottle, causing her to look down again with a happy blush, which Grant and Luke used as cover to deliver a furtive fist bump. Taking one final long drag he offered the bottle to Grant who passed it to Rab. Rab had calmed down from the excitement and was looking in danger of becoming depressed again.
'Listen guys, today's been...' he searched for the correct word... 'an adventure but I need to know how much trouble I'm in. I mean with the car and the skeleton and all the stupidity.'
Thinking carefully about his response, Luke's hand went out and Rab supplied the bottle to it once more. Taking a shot for deductive reasons and that alone, he ran his hand through his hair, catching on tugs that had come into being when he hadn't had time to shower properly before being picked up.
‘It just so happens that the Superintendent himself gave me his full co-operation for some reason a few days ago so the outlook might not be as bleak as you expect. The car being burnt out is not going to come back on you unless they decided to waste time, effort and money sending the forensic squad over it – which they won’t. Breaking into the Gardens every night is not only hard to prove but pointless to prosecute since you caused no damage and didn’t hurt anyone. I highly doubt you were the only one in there either so you’re clear on that one. Actually stealing the skeleton is possibly a difficulty but only because the Security Guard on nights is getting heat from the company over it. When I speak to the Superintendent later, I’ll get him to call the company personally, explain that they have found the culprit and that he used a key to enter, but do not wish to prosecute due to mitigating circumstances. He might chuck in a mention of how helpful the security guard was with their enquiries and recommend a commendation for him. There’s not a manager in the world who will object to that when it comes straight from so high up. That’ll get Gavin off the hook and all that leaves is you going up there sooner rather than later and apologising to the man himself in person. He’s a sound enough guy so I reckon he’ll probably not hit you. Probably.’
Rab was looking more hopeful with every word that came out of Luke’s mouth and had returned to his previous state of euphoria by the time he was finished. If an apology was all that was needed to set things straight, then this Gav guy was going to get the sincerest apology of his life. Grant and Claire were sitting beside each other, their fingers lightly intertwined. Luke stood up and handed the bottle off to Rab.
‘Unless anyone has any objections, I’m going to get back to my flat. It’s been a long night and I need to check in with the office, tell them that once again I’ve cracked the case and am the best in the business, then sleep.’
All three agreed that it seemed like the best idea and as Luke was exiting he heard Rab being told that he was coming round to crash at Grant’s for a few days. No objections allowed. Luke trudged down the stairs towards the front door of the offices, feeling as though he could sleep for days. A shout came from the top of the stairwell just as his hand was on the doorknob. It was Claire.
‘Come to The Bull the night Luke. Us three are going and Rab’s gonna get Mark and Deek along. Grant reckons you owe us all a pint at least.’
Luke was wracking his brains furiously for an excuse to stay in and be alone. He felt drained. Exhausted. Worn out. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the pub. Grant’s voice echoed down to him from somewhere in the offices.
‘Jen’s on the bar the night….’
Well it was only a pint. I guess it couldn’t hurt to be sociable. He opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine on the Mile. If he made his phone calls on the ten-minute walk back, then he could just drop into bed as soon as he got in. Finding his phone in his pocket, he dialled the Superintendent first to bring him up to speed and clear any issues on Rab’s behalf. He would also mention the key roles that both Dave and Steve played and ensure they were adequately compensated. After that he could phone the office and fill them in. The Major would be pleased as punch no doubt. Congratulations would be in order.
Only at that moment did Luke think that perhaps the Major and the Superintendent had both been looking for the downfall of Geoffrey Reid the whole time, long before they put him on the case. Dogsbody Calvin. The pawn. The Major could sit with his flying goggles strapped to his face and a handlebar moustache ten-foot-long for all Luke cared this morning, he wanted his own bed and to embrace oblivion for eight to ten hours. He was already looking forward to sleep and as the Superintendent answered, he lit a cigarette and began the uphill walk to his flat as he began to explain all that had happened.
The rain beat a tattoo on the window pane, echoing through the dark. The droplets pooled and raced to the bottom, spiralling this way and that on the glass. The luminous face of his face told him that it was 2:38 but Luke Calvin was propped in his favourite seat by the window watching the taxis drive up and down Victoria Street, cutting through the dark with their headlights. He was smoking another cigarette and watching the smoke rise lazily towards the ceiling.
By the time he had reached his front door that morning he had informed the Superintendent of all the ins and outs from start to finish and received not only praise but his word that Rab would be in the clear and that both Dave and Steve would be rewarded for their role. Laura had been chatty and happy, which had unnerved him, but the Major’s brisk tone had set him back on an even keel. The Major was pleased the job was done and had heaped on the meaningless praise. Once the official debriefing was complete Luke had stayed on the line with Laura until he got home, laughing about nothing and imagining her sitting behind her desk with a sundress and a huge hat. Once they’d said their goodbyes he had hung up the phone and been very aware that the waiting on the next job started again now.
When he woke up there was a message from Grant saying that they were all meeting at The Bull at 6pm and he had showered and dressed in a black jumper and jeans before heading up to meet them. Deek and Mark were there when he arrived and the other three showed up not long after. The drinks disappeared as quickly as they could be bought and the entrance of Dave and Steve at the back of seven was met with a huge drunken roar of approval. They had commandeered the far corner and sat all together; the dealers, the coppers, the secretary, the enforcer, the runaway drug fiend and the investigator; and they had laughed and drank until closing and for a good few hours after. Once the door had been locked after the last customer and the shutters taken down, Jen had come over to join and the merriment had continued. One by one they took their leave until the pub was dark and empty and it was all over.
Outside of the window, the rain was running in torrents down the cobbled streets, sweeping away the rubbish of the day into the gutters. Across the road, the silhouettes of the ancient buildings on the Mound dominated the skyline. As far to the left as he could see was Edinburgh Castle; jutting up into the dark night sky, seeing everything that was being done in the dark. Luke stared closely through the heavy rain at the jagged outline and thought. It may be the middle of the night but until that phone rang again for work he had some time to himself. And at least for a few days, he was more than content to sit here in his window seat in the shadow of the castle.
From the doorway, a sleepy voice called to him.
‘Come back to bed Luke. It’s freezing.’
Jen’s red hair was a curly mess and the shirt that she was wearing was his. It made her look even more tiny than she already was. He put his cigarette out and took one last look at the castle in the rain. It had always had a profound effect on him, even more so now that he realised Rab had probably been looking at it at the same time over the course of his search. These things could all wait until morning though. He walked to the hall and allowed her small hands to grasp his and lead him back to his own bed. A good night’s sleep was long overdue.
THE END
Shadow of the Castle Page 22
