Cutting Edge

by Bill Daly

  Jamie tugged his jersey over his head and Sue took snaps of him in several poses. ‘Pick the ones you want to send,’ she said, handing across her phone. Jamie studied the photos carefully and, when he’d made his selection, Sue transmitted them.

  ‘Okay, now get washed and dressed while I fix breakfast.’

  As she walked down the stairs to the hall, Sue saw four letters had been posted through her letter box. She unsnibbed the Yale lock and closed the front door as quietly as she could before scooping up the letters and flicking through them. She recognised the first three as all-too-familiar bills, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the fourth letter was a white envelope, addressed to “Jamie Paterson”. Both his name and their address had been typed. Puzzled, she ripped open the envelope.

  Charlie’s phone rang and he picked up.

  ‘He knows where I live, Dad?’ Charlie could hear the panic in Sue’s strangulated voice.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘A letter arrived at the house this morning, addressed to Jamie.’

  ‘What was in it?’

  ‘Just a playing card.’ Charlie’s grip tightened on the receiver. ‘It was the eight of diamonds, with a smiley attached, Dad – and it had a hand-written message on it.’

  ‘What did it say?’

  ‘It said: “Be very, very careful – because the next time, it’ll be the nine”.’

  ‘Christ!’

  ‘What should I do?’

  ‘You can’t stay there, Sue. It’s not safe. Where’s Jamie?’

  ‘He’s getting dressed.’

  ‘I want both of you to get out of the house as quickly as possible.’

  ‘Where will we go?’

  ‘How about Sarah’s place? Do you think she’d put you up for a while?’

  ‘I’m sure she would. But what reason can I give her for wanting to stay?’

  ‘Tell her the truth. Phone her and let her know what’s happened. You’d better not drive in case you’re followed. I’ll come across right now and drop you off at Sarah’s. Lock the front and back doors and don’t let anyone in until I get there.’

  ‘What should I tell Jamie?’

  ‘You mustn’t scare him. You’ll have to make up an excuse for going to Sarah’s.’

  ‘I’m frightened, Dad.’ Sue’s voice was trembling.

  ‘I realise that, love. But do your best to stay calm – for Jamie’s sake. Everything’s going to be all right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

  Sue snibbed the Yale lock in the front door and checked to make sure the back door was locked before clicking onto Sarah’s number. As soon as she’d finished her call, Sue filled a bucket with water from the tap and slopped it all over the kitchen floor, then she turned the water supply off at the stop cock in the utility room before going upstairs to Jamie’s bedroom.

  ‘We’ve got a bit of a problem, Jamie.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘It looks like we’ve got a burst pipe. The kitchen floor’s flooded. I had to turn the water off at the main. I called the plumber and he’s going to come round this afternoon to have a look at it. We won’t be able to stay in the house until it’s fixed, so I phoned Sarah and she’s going to put us up for a few days. Grandad’s on his way across and he’ll drop us off there. I’ll leave a set of keys with Nancy next door so she can let the plumber in.’

  Sue packed clothes for both of them before stacking some of Jamie’s favourite toys and games into a cardboard box. Standing by the lounge window, she peered anxiously round the curtain until she saw Charlie’s car turn the corner at the end of the street.

  ‘Okay, Jamie. Grandad’s here. Let’s go.’

  Hurriedly putting her suitcase and the box of toys into the boot of Charlie’s car, Sue got into the passenger seat while Jamie clambered into the back.

  Charlie checked his rear view mirror continually as they were driving away from the house. The traffic was light. A black Audi 4x4, two cars behind, followed him when he made a right-hand turn, and again when he turned left. When he pulled up at a set of traffic lights he saw it was still there, three cars back. Accelerating hard when the lights turned to green, Charlie pulled up sharply at the kerb in front of a row of shops.

  ‘What are you doing, Grandad?’ Jamie asked.

  The 4x4 drove on past, but Charlie couldn’t make out who was driving through the tinted windows. ‘I was going to take the main road, son, but I forgot about the road works. We’ll be quicker going the back way.’ Waiting until the Audi was out of sight Charlie made a tight U-turn and snaked his way through the side streets.

  ‘How long are we going to be staying here?’ Jamie asked as they pulled up outside Sarah’s house.

  ‘It all depends,’ Sue said. ‘As far as I could make out, the leak seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the tiles in the kitchen. We won’t know how long it will take to fix it until the plumber finds out where the problem is.’

  ‘I hope it takes him ages!’ Jamie said.

  Sue smiled. ‘I brought across some of your things for you to play with.’

  ‘Did you bring my new jigsaw?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Sean’s brilliant at jigsaws. He can help me with it,’ Jamie said, as he scrambled out of the car and ran off up the path.

  Charlie got out of the car and opened up the boot. ‘A leak in the kitchen?’ he queried.

  Sue pulled a face. ‘It was the best I could come up with at short notice. Thanks, Dad,’ she added as she lifted out her case and the box of toys.

  ‘Can I give you a hand with those?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘No, I’m fine.’

  ‘I’m going across to your Aunt Grace’s now to see how Mum’s getting on. Give her a call and let her know what happened. And try not to worry too much, love,’ Charlie added, giving Sue a hug. ‘We will get him.’

  ‘I know you will, Dad.’ Sue gave Charlie a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying up the path.

  ‘Tea or coffee?’ Sarah asked, watching through the kitchen window as the boys thumped a football around in the back garden.

  ‘Coffee sounds good.’

  ‘What’s this all about?’

  ‘You heard about the recent spate of murders where the victims’ hands were cut off?’

  ‘Yes. It gave me the shivers.’

  ‘The murderer sent the amputated hands to my Mum and Dad.’

  ‘Christ!’

  ‘And now he’s threatening me and Jamie.’

  Sarah could see the anxiety in Sue’s eyes. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m coping all right. It’s Jamie I’m worried about – and I’m even more concerned about my father. He’s the one who’s in the firing line. I can tell the pressure’s getting to him.’

  ‘Well you know you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want. No one’s planning to use our spare room until Joe’s Mum comes to visit us in the middle of July. Come to think of it, you’d be doing me a big favour if you could stay till the end of July.’

  Sue managed a wan smile. ‘This is really good of you, Sarah. I do appreciate it. Are you sure Joe won’t mind us being here?’

  ‘Depending how long you stay, he might not even know about it. I told you he was off on a work’s jolly in Winchester?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘They call it a management development course. More like an “improve your golf” course, if you ask me. He won’t be back before Thursday at the earliest.’

  Charlie Anderson drove across town as fast as the traffic would permit, constantly checking in his rear view mirror to make sure no one was trying to follow him. He joined the M8 and drove past the exit for Glasgow airport before taking the slip road for Linwood and heading out towards Elderslie.

  Grace came to the front door when Charlie rang the bell. ‘Thank goodness you’re here, Charlie,’ she said, looking furtively up and down the street. ‘Kay’s in the front room. Go on through.’

  ‘Thanks, Grace.’

  ‘Would you
like a cup of tea?’

  ‘That would be great.’

  Charlie walked along the narrow corridor to the lounge as Grace bustled to the kitchen to put on the kettle.

  Kay sprang to her feet when she saw Charlie. ‘Sue phoned me,’ she blurted out. ‘She told me about the letter. What’s going on, Charlie?’

  ‘The bastard is just trying to scare us.’

  ‘Well he’s doing a bloody good job!’

  ‘I know this isn’t easy for you, Kay.’

  ‘It’s Sue and Jamie I’m worried about.’

  ‘They’re safe where they are. There’s no way he can know where Sarah lives.’

  ‘How can you be sure of that? He managed to find me in Sainsbury’s, didn’t he? And he managed to find out Sue’s address.’ Charlie took Kay in his arms. ‘I hate this bastard, Charlie.’ Kay choked back her tears. ‘Who the hell is he? And why is he terrorising our family?’

  Charlie held Kay tightly as she started sobbing.

  *

  Sue was stacking the lunchtime dishes in Sarah’s dishwasher when she heard the familiar ring tone of her mobile phone coming from inside her handbag. She pulled out her phone and looked to see who was calling: Number Withheld. She swept her hair away from her face and put the phone to her ear.

  ‘Is that Sue?’ The voice was unfamiliar.

  ‘Who is this?’

  ‘Does Jamie like card tricks, Sue?’

  ‘Who is this? What are you talking about?’

  ‘Pick a card, any card. But if Jamie knows what’s good for him, he must never pick the nine of diamonds.’ Sue felt her whole body start to tremble. She gripped the back of a kitchen chair for support. ‘How is Jamie this morning?’ he asked.

  ‘Who the hell are you?’

  A chuckle came down the line. ‘Someone who’s watching you, Sue. Watching your every move.’

  ‘Stop this – right now, you bastard!’ she yelled.

  ‘I have to go now, Sue. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. But I’ll be back in touch with you later on to see how you and Jamie – especially Jamie – are getting on. You must never let Jamie out of your sight. You know how easy it is for little boys to get lost.’

  ‘Who the hell are you and why the fuck are you doing this?’

  ‘Why don’t you ask your old man? He’s the great detective, isn’t he? By the way, there’s no point in getting him to trace this call. I’ve got more mobile phones than you’ve had hot dinners and this one will be at the bottom of the Clyde before you even have time to let him know I called. You wouldn’t want to waste valuable police time chasing shadows, would you?’ A raucous chuckle, then the line went dead.

  CHAPTER 11

  When he saw the black Mercedes pulling up at the kerb outside his hardware store, Harry Brady depressed the record button on the cassette player on the shelf underneath the counter

  Alec Hunter followed Terry McKay into the shop and pulled the door shut behind him. Flipping the sign in the door over to “Closed”, he tugged down the blind and slipped the bolt.

  ‘Where’s my money?’ McKay demanded.

  ‘I haven’t got it.’

  McKay’s eyes narrowed. ‘How much would it cost to replace your shop windows if they accidentally got broken?’ He produced a crowbar from his pocket and swept it along the counter, smashing a glass display cabinet to smithereens. ‘Five hundred quid is chicken feed compared with what we’re about to do.’

  ‘Screw the nut, McKay. For fuck’s sake!’

  ‘How about that one, Alec?’ McKay said, pointing to a large vice on the display stand next to the door. ‘Bring it over here.’ Hunter picked up the heavy vice and carried it across. ‘Fix it to the counter,’ McKay instructed.

  Hunter placed the vice on the edge of the wooden counter and fastened the clamps securely.

  Leaning across, McKay grabbed Brady by the wrist and forced the fingers of his left hand into the jaws of the vice. ‘Be careful what you wish for, Brady,’ McKay laughed. ‘We are, indeed, about to ‘screw the nut’. On you go, Alec.’

  Hunter leered as he spun the handle to close the vice on Brady’s fingers. He made eye contact with McKay as it started to grip and, on McKay’s curt nod, he continued forcing the handle round until there was a resounding crack.

  Brady let out an agonised yelp. ‘For Christ’s sake! You’ve broken my fucking fingers!’

  ‘Surely not?’ McKay said. ‘How could that have happened?’ Brady’s breathing was coming in short, laboured gasps. ‘Now listen to me very carefully, Brady. Jim McHugh thought he could stop paying – and lived to regret it.’

  ‘Don’t you mean “died to regret it”?’ Hunter interjected with a wide grin.

  ‘Nice one, Alec!’ McKay sniggered. ‘As Alec so rightly says, McHugh died to regret it. My patience is wearing thin, so if you don’t want to go the same way as McHugh, you’ll pay me tomorrow. I’ll be in lounge bar in The Rock between twelve and one o’clock. Bring the money to me there. And by the way, it’s now a grand to make up for the inconvenience you’ve caused me. And just in case you’ve got any daft notion about going to the police,’ McKay added. ‘Remember I know where your daughter lives.’

  ‘Leave Sheila out of this!’ Brady gasped.

  ‘Oh, I don’t think that’ll be possible, will it, Alec?’ McKay said. ‘You see, Alec fancies shagging the arse off her – and I want to see what she’d look like with a fucking big scar down the side of her face. But when you come to think of it, there’s no reason we both shouldn’t both get what we want.’ McKay turned to Hunter. ‘Let’s have one for the road, Alec,’ he said, pointing to the vice.

  Hunter gripped the handle and jerked it through another quarter turn. All the remaining colour ebbed from Brady’s features as he slumped across the counter. The sobbing in the back of his throat died away and he passed out in a dead faint.

  McKay scribbled a note on a slip of paper and tucked it into Brady’s shirt pocket. Nodding to Hunter, they walked out of the shop and got into their car.

  Charlie Anderson was waiting at a red traffic light, on his way to the office, when his mobile started to ring. He took his phone from his jacket pocket and flipped it open. When he saw the call was from Sue, he snapped the phone to his ear.

  ‘He called me, Dad.’

  ‘Hold on a minute, love. I’m driving,’ Charlie said, dropping his phone onto the passenger seat. As soon as the traffic lights turned to green he accelerated across the junction and pulled over at the side of the road. Snatching up his phone, he slammed it to his ear.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘He called me on my mobile.’

  Charlie felt his mouth go dry. ‘What did he say?’

  ‘That he was watching me and Jamie all the time.’ Charlie could hear Sue choking back her sobs.

  ‘Did you recognise his voice?’

  ‘No. He said he was going to call me back, Dad.’ Sue gulped. ‘What should I do?’ Her tone was imploring.

  ‘He somehow managed to find out your address, Sue – and he’s got hold of your mobile number, but there’s no reason to suppose he knows where you are right now. I’m on my way to the office. As soon as I get there I’ll arrange for CCTV cameras to be installed at Sarah’s house, just as a precaution.’

  ‘I’m frightened, Dad.’

  ‘I realise that, but there’s no reason to panic, love. That’s what he wants you to do. Just keep taking sensible precautions. Don’t let Jamie play outside unless you can keep an eye on him. Don’t answer any phone calls unless you recognise the number of the person calling. Contact your mobile phone company straight away and arrange to have your number changed.’

  ‘Should I tell Mum about him calling me?’ Charlie hesitated. ‘If he’s got my number,’ Sue added, ‘he might have Mum’s as well. He might try to call her.’

  ‘We have to stick together as a family to get through this. Phone your mother and let her know what happened. Tell her to get her mobile number changed as well, just in case. T
o be on the safe side, I’ll arrange for CCTV cameras to be installed at your Aunt Grace’s house.’ Charlie drove to Pitt Street as fast as he could. As soon as he got to his office, he issued instructions for CCTV cameras to be installed at Sarah’s house and at his sister-in-law’s.

  Sitting down at his desk, his head in his hands, Charlie stared unseeing at his blotting pad. The bastard was out there somewhere, taunting him, laughing at him. Was there really nothing he could do, other than kick his heels and hope that Mhairi Orr’s profiling software might come up with something? For fuck’s sake! He didn’t even believe in profiling. The sense of frustration, of total impotence, was eating away at his guts. He didn’t even want to go down to the incident room where he would have to face O’Sullivan and Stuart. What did he have to say to them? He couldn’t give them any direction.

  Charlie’s mind was in turmoil. Should he bite the bullet and go and see Hamilton? Ask him to assign the SIO role to someone else because he wasn’t getting anywhere? He’d never walked away from a case in his life. But this was more important than his pride – a hell of a lot more important. His family’s lives were on the line. But what could anyone else do that he couldn’t? What line of enquiry could they pursue? At least he knew the people on his list – and what they were capable of. He’d have to stick with it, he told himself. He didn’t have any other option. Despondently, he took the list of names from his desk drawer and went through them again, one by one, trying desperately to figure out who could be doing this to him – and why.

  Ten minutes later, when he got to the last name on his list, he felt mentally drained. He was no further forward. He folded the sheet of paper and slipped it into his jacket pocket. He thought about going home to try to get some much-needed sleep, but the prospect of going back to an empty house was thoroughly depressing. Tugging his phone from his pocket, he paged through his contacts and clicked onto Bert Pollock’s number.