Bridge of Doom

by George McCartney

  The brief, but extremely bloody, battle of Bothwell Street was officially over.

  ‘How’s your side?’ asked Annie, as a bright red stain spread rapidly across Jack’s shirt.

  Wincing, Jack said, ‘well it’s definitely taking my mind off the sore knee, but it doesn’t feel that bad. I’ll fix it later, because we need to get out of here pronto, Annie. People are starting to look out of their windows and come outside, to see what the hell’s been going on. So try to keep your head down and cover your face with a hand. Seeing our pictures splashed over the front page of tomorrow’s papers would definitely not be a good thing.’

  ‘Yeah, but hold on, don’t you want to stay and tell the police what happened? We were the ones who were attacked after all. Let’s get all of these bastards charged and sent to jail.’

  ‘Are you mad? Take a look around, will you. We’re the only ones left standing, Annie, so there’s a better than even chance that we’d end up getting arrested and jammed up for hours, giving statements to the police and trying to explain what we’ve been doing. We don’t have time for any of that. So let’s just try and tip-toe quietly away, before the cops set up a bloody command post and start doing interviews by satellite link with Sky News.’

  ‘Okay then,’ said Annie. ‘You make a start walking towards the main road and I’ll catch you up in a minute. She knelt down and quickly went through Darren’s pockets, removing his mobile phone and wallet, before taking a graphic close-up picture of his battered and bloodied face using his own phone.

  Then, running to catch up with her partner, Annie put Jack’s arm round her shoulders and helped him reach the junction with Easter Road, where she flagged down an empty taxi.

  ‘The New Town, driver,’ instructed Annie, ‘just at the corner of Moray Place and Darnaway Street.’

  ‘No problem, guys. Hey, do you know what’s happened? It’s been all over my radio and the controller’s saying there’s been some kind of major disturbance. No details yet, but it sounds like maybe an organised gang battle between the local hooligans and some out of town mob. If that’s true, they’ve got some fucking nerve coming down here, because the local young team have quite a reputation.’

  ‘Well, you know what they say,’ said Jack, with a wink to his partner. ‘There’s always somebody bigger and badder, right?’

  Annie rolled her eyes and hissed, ‘older and stupider, more like.’

  ‘There’s police cars and ambulances flying around everywhere,’ continued the taxi driver. ‘And they’ve started to close off roads already, so I’ll try and get you out of here before the whole area goes into lockdown.’

  Annie leant forward and asked the driver, ‘could you stop at an all-night chemist on the way? I need to buy some bits and pieces for an elderly friend who keeps bumping into things.’

  Then turning to Jack she said, ‘I’ll get a knee brace and bandages, to patch you up when we get back to base.’

  ‘Thanks, Annie, and I see you remembered to lift Darren’s phone. Well done, that was smart thinking.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m just going to check who that last call was from and I took a picture of Darren as well.’

  Annie checked the call log on the gang leader’s mobile phone and then went through his contacts. Her thumbs were a blur as she scrolled through the relevant lists.

  'Shit, I don’t see Henry's name or number anywhere. That would have been just too neat. There are loads of weird nicknames, but nothing obvious that puts Henry in the frame. Although the caller might be somebody linked to Henry.'

  ‘Well there's only one way to find out,’ said Jack, taking the phone from Annie. ‘Let's dial the last number and see who answers. Obviously, if it's the same person who was behind tonight's fun and games, he or she will be sitting waiting to hear what happened. And they'll probably be expecting a few pictures of our bruised and battered bodies as well, just to prove the job's been done properly.'

  Jack dialled the last number in the phone, switched to speakerphone and gave Annie a thumbs up when the call was quickly answered. He then coughed and grunted, to try and elicit a response at the other end.

  'Hello, Darren? Is that you?' said a deep male voice which Jack didn't recognise.

  Winking at Annie, Jack replied, 'I'm sorry, but Darren can't come to the phone right now. Yeah, he's not feeling very well. Probably some kind of virus, I should think.'

  Silence.

  'You still there? Ah, you've gone all shy and silent … perfectly understandable. Okay then pal, I’ll tell you what I'll do since you obviously don't want to chat. I'm going to send you a picture of young Darren. Oh, and by the way, before he passed out … he sold you out. You just can't get the staff these days, can you?'

  The line abruptly went dead. 'The bastard hung up on me. You don't think I maybe overdid a little bit it there, Annie?'

  'You, overdo it? Never boss. Hard to tell from the phone call, but he didn’t sound like the usual thug type. Although they are probably slightly more up-market here in Edinburgh.'

  'Right, since he doesn't want to talk, send the bugger a text for me, Annie.'

  'Sure, what do want to say?'

  'Say … the trail leads straight back to you and the others. Be warned, we're coming for you. Oh, and attach the picture you took of our good friend, Darren.'

  'Okay, done,' said Annie, before switching the phone off. 'By the way, who are the others?'

  'I've absolutely no idea, yet. I just threw that bit in for luck, to see if we can spook whoever's behind this. We're trying to shake the tree, Annie, to see what kind of rotten fruit falls out.’

  When they were safely back inside the Moray Place townhouse, Annie helped Jack clean and bandage an angry nine-inch gash across his ribs, caused by the jagged timber spear. She then declined his offer of a stiff drink, and announced curtly that she was exhausted and intended taking a long hot shower before heading straight to bed.

  Jack could sense Annie had something on her mind and tried to lighten her mood. ‘I was just thinking, if that Leonidas bloke you were telling me about earlier had asked JD Investigations to send reinforcements, we might have swung it for him in the pass at Thermoplyae.’

  Stony silence. A major huff clearly in progress.

  ‘What’s up, Annie? Come on, if you’re pissed off with me about something, please just tell me what it is and get it off your chest.’

  ‘I’ll tell you what’s up,’ snapped Annie. ‘It was totally insane … what happened tonight. We could both have been killed.’

  ‘That’s true, but we weren’t killed, were we? And you have to admit, Annie, for the two of us to take on that horrible nasty crew and kick their arses big time was quite something. It was just like the old days for me, back on the beat in the Calton. A really good street fight gives you a fantastic adrenaline rush, don’t you think?’

  Annie stared at him and then shook her head in disgust, before storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

  ‘Fair enough, I’ll take that as a no then.’

  Chapter 41

  Next morning, having slept on Annie’s heartfelt rant, Jack decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour and decided to offer up a fulsome apology to his partner. He found her in the kitchen eating breakfast.

  ‘I owe you an apology, Annie, because I messed up big time last night and put your life in danger. Again. I totally underestimated those young guys and wandered into their ambush like a complete amateur. But, thank God, you were with me and you saved the day, no question.’

  ‘Apology accepted,’ said Annie in a flat non-committal tone.

  ‘Wait, I’m not finished grovelling yet. Your first instinct was also to turn this job down and you were dead right about that as well, because it’s turning out to be a real can of worms. Anyway we’re here now and I’m going to see it through till the end, but I’ll totally understand if you decide you want to head back to the office in Glasgow. You could still do a lot of useful work on the case fr
om there, in safety.’

  ‘You don’t know me very well, do you?’ said Annie decisively. ‘I’m staying on here as well, until the job’s finished. But I just think we need to work a lot smarter and we also need reinforcements. How about if I contact Jamie, to see if he’s available?’

  ‘He’s a really good lad, Annie, but I don’t think he’d be much use in a fight.’

  ‘Look, you’ve not been listening, because it’s not more muscle we need. This case will be cracked by using our brains and technology, not by risking our lives battling it out in the street with a bunch of hooligans. Hitting people over the head with sticks is just stupid cave-man stuff, no matter how much fun you seem to think it was.’

  ‘Okay, you’re right, Annie’ said Jack, suitable chastened. ‘Give him a phone and, if he’s interested, tell him he’ll be on two hundred a day and he can stay here with us. I’ll clear it with Guy when I speak to him later this morning. Oh and, if he’s on, tell Jamie to bring the little drone with him. You never know when it might come in useful again.’

  ‘I’ll text him right now.’

  ‘Anyway, how are you feeling this morning?’ asked Jack.

  ‘I tried to go for a run earlier, but I must have tweaked my ankle last night and I was just making things worse. So I gave up and came back and lay down in the sauna. And then Danni came in and gave me a massage. That helped a lot.’

  ‘Who the fuck’s Danny?’ said Jack. ‘Is he one of Henry’s pals?’

  ‘No, that’s Danni with an ‘i.’ She’s the woman who chatted me up at the party, remember? Her perfume was lingering around the gym the first time we went in. She’s a friend of Guy’s, apparently, and she stays a couple of streets away. So he lets her come over and use the gym any time she wants to work out.’

  ‘I do remember her. In fact, she’s popped up twice in my dreams for some unknown reason. So what happened?’

  ‘Well I was just lying there in the sauna and she came in and we got chatting, as you do.’

  ‘And …’

  ‘She asked me about the bruises all over my arms and legs and I told her that we’d been mugged, but had managed to defend ourselves and eventually escape. So she said there was something in her gym bag that was guaranteed to ease away my aches and pains.’

  ‘A half-bottle of vodka?’

  ‘No, remember that we’re not in Glasgow now, boss. Different rules apply here. So she started rummaging around and brought out a bottle of massage oil. It's her own personal formula, apparently, which contains arnica, ginger and some other exotic spices I can’t even remember. Smells absolutely fantastic when it’s warmed up and rubbed on your skin.’

  ‘Please continue,’ said Jack, slowly crossing his legs.

  ‘So we came out of the sauna and she got me to lie down on the massage table. She started playing some classical music on her phone, then lit a couple of candles, dimmed the lights and poured the oil over her hands and started working on my shoulders. She said they were in absolute knots, but after five minutes of massage all of the tension and stress just seemed to melt away. She’s got the most amazing light touch, you know.’

  ‘That’s incredible, it was exactly the same in my dream.’

  Ignoring her partner, Annie continued, ‘I don’t really know how to describe it, but it was just like tiny little feathers floating across my skin.’

  ‘Don’t stop there, for God’s sake,’ said Jack anxiously. ‘What happened then?’

  Annie giggled and said, ‘It’s really embarrassing … I was so relaxed and blissed out, I fell asleep. So I don’t really know what happened then. All I know is that when I woke up, she was gone. But I felt great and all my aches and pains were gone as well. What a woman.’

  ‘Isn’t she,’ said Jack dreamily.

  ‘But it’s so annoying because, just before I fell asleep, Danni was explaining to me that men are only good for one thing.’

  ‘What’s that?’ said Jack yawning widely.

  ‘That’s what’s really bugging me, I can’t remember.’

  ‘I take it that drinking large quantities of beer and farting loudly in public places wasn’t mentioned?’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘Okay then, it must be putting up shelves,’ suggested Jack.

  ‘Don’t make me laugh,’ snorted Annie. ‘I fixed the wonky shelf back in the office, remember?’

  ‘Oh right, so you did. Maybe it was carrying luggage then.’

  ‘My suitcase has four super-smooth little plastic wheels, thank you very much. So absolutely no help from a man required there either. Sorry.’

  ‘Fair enough then, Annie, I give up,’ said Jack sarcastically. ‘Obviously the way things are going, men will be extinct in a few years’ time and then you and your new best friend Danni will be in complete charge of everything.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me.’

  ‘Of course, if you really want to know what happened while you were asleep, we could check out the video tape from the CCTV system,’ said Jack enthusiastically.

  ‘I don’t think that would help very much, boss.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Danni put her towel over the camera. I quote, ‘in case any pervert men are watching and that includes you, Henry Dunn.’

  ‘Ah, you mean she was …’

  ‘Yes, we both were, because Dannie says it’s impossible to give a proper full body massage with all your clothes on. I’m not certain about that to be perfectly honest. Anyway, when I woke up I wasn’t sure if I’d dreamed the whole thing, but her perfume was still there in the room. Then, when I got up to get dressed and looked in the mirror, I saw she had left a faint red lipstick kiss on my cheek before she left.’

  ‘Which you’ve rubbed off. Pity.’

  ‘Actually, no. I’ve kept as a souvenir. It was such a sweet thing for her to do.’

  ‘Ah right, I’m with you, Annie. So her lipstick’s on your … butt?’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘Whew … I think I might have to try that sauna myself. You know, it might ease away the stiffness in my, er … knee.’

  ‘Actually, I think sitting for ten minutes in the ice-cold plunge pool might be a better bet for your particular problem, boss,’ said Annie with a smirk. ‘But, apart from the stiffness, how are you feeling?’

  ‘I’m okay, Annie. My knee will be sore for a few days and my side’s still a bit tender. But that’s all, just flesh wounds. After I got up, I had a fag and a good cough, followed by two cups of strong black coffee. That helped.’

  Annie smiled. The first one in a quite a while.

  ‘So are we good again?’ asked Jack tentatively.

  ‘Buy me lunch and I’ll think about it.’

  ‘Okay then, deal.'

  Chapter 42

  An hour later Jack and Annie left the town house in Moray Place and turned into Ainslie Place.

  'So where are we heading, boss?'

  'Henry told me yesterday about an old-style pub near here, called Bert’s Bar, where the beer’s supposed to be good and they also do a pretty mean pie and chips. Sounds like my kind of boozer.’

  'Do we need to get a taxi? What about your sore knee?'

  ‘No, I’ve got the brace on and I'll be alright if we take it slow. It’s not very far from here according to Henry, maybe a ten minute stroll. He said it’s just off the main drag, about halfway along William Street and there’s a couple of other decent pubs, Teuchters and The Melville, in the same neck of the woods. So if Bert’s is too busy, we should be able to get a seat in one of the others. But Henry said if, it’s a tasty pie you’re after, and I am, it’s got to be Bert’s.'

  'Bert's it is then.’

  Ten minutes later the two partners squeezed through the busy lunchtime crowd at Bert's bar and studied the menu and a long list of guest beers, which were featured on a large chalkboard.

  'I'm definitely going with the steak pie, chips and gravy, Annie. But I'm feeling adventurous, so I think I'll try something different
to drink. They’ve got a huge selection of beers.'

  Annie spotted a couple getting ready to leave and said, 'quick, if you can grab that table over in the corner, I'll pick something for both of us and then put the food order in.'

  Shortly afterwards a waitress brought a tray with two glasses of beer over to their table and said to Annie, 'you're the Blonde Bombshell and your grandad's an Old Peculiar, is that right?'

  'Correct,' said Annie with a satisfied smirk.

  'You set that up, didn't you? Bastard.'

  'Might have.'

  'I don't care. I've been called a lot worse than that. Cheers, Annie.'

  Ten minutes later, with their plates completely cleared, it was evident from their satisfied expressions that Henry had given them a good steer for a lunchtime pub.

  'That's much better,' said Jack, contentedly patting his stomach. 'And, whisper it, Annie, the pie and chips in here was actually a smidgen better than your aunt Peggie's.'

  'Whoa … you're on really dangerous ground now, boss. She has spies everywhere.'

  'Talking of spies, have you finished trawling through Henry's emails?'

  ‘Yes, there was nothing new this morning. But it would be great if we could get hold of his mobile, to see if the same number from Darren’s phone appears anywhere in Henry’s call log. If it did, I’d like to see him try and explain that one away.’

  ‘Obviously it’s been useful being able to read his emails, but they’re not giving us the whole story, are they? So you’re right, if we could get a look at his mobile, we might be able to fill in some of the missing pieces of the jigsaw.’

  ‘Most people’s lives these days are right there, laid out on their phones. Everything that matters anyway.’

  ‘That’s right, Annie, and remember a lot of the gambling action is now done much more discreetly, using smart phones apps. It’s not like the old days, when guys used to look around and turn up their collar, before nipping into a seedy betting shop. Now a lot of betting's done in private, almost like a guilty pleasure, and there’s no harm in that. But, unfortunately, problems arise when some people let it get out of hand and then they’re on a real slippery slope.'