Journeyman

by Heather Atkinson

  “Don’t tell me anymore, please. I don’t know why I’m surprised though. By the way, Tiffany and Margery say hi.”

  “You met them?”

  “Oh yes, as well as angry husbands, mothers and sons. You really left your mark on this part of the world.”

  One Eye chuckled. “It’s nice to be remembered.”

  “I must warn you, if you go back to Ullapool you may well get shot by a twelve bore shotgun.”

  “Was that Shelley’s husband?”

  “I don’t know his wife’s name but he runs the outdoor shop.”

  “Oh yes, Shelley.” His eyes sparkled. “A very energetic woman.”

  “I don’t want to know.”

  “Don’t think I didn’t notice the neat way you changed the subject there. You can either ignore this man or you’ll learn to live with his visits.”

  “You mean he might not go?”

  “Who knows?”

  “This talk was supposed to make me feel better.”

  “I tell you the truth, not what makes you feel better.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “Never change that.”

  “I won’t,” he said, looking up at the two ravens soaring above them but for once their presence didn’t denote danger, merely that all was right with the world.

  They looked round at the sound of a polite cough.

  “Hello Duncan,” smiled One Eye.

  “Hello,” he replied amiably. “Raven, your car’s ready.”

  “Fantastic, thank you. How much do I owe you?”

  “As I said, it’s on the house, as an apology.”

  “That’s very kind, thank you.”

  One Eye smiled when Duncan’s cheeks bloomed with colour. Raven’s considerable charms had once again worked their magic.

  She looked to One Eye. “You ready to leave then?”

  “Yes, it’s about time.”

  “Will you come back?” said Duncan.

  One Eye had no intention of ever returning to this village but he didn’t want him to know that. He liked to keep people on their toes. “Only time will tell.”

  “Oh. Well, safe journey,” he mumbled before shoving his hands in his pockets and ambling away.

  Luke, Saskia and Alan accompanied them to Raven’s car to see them off. Cherie had already left for Edinburgh.

  “Sure you don’t want to come back with us?” One Eye asked Luke and Saskia. “It’s been so long since we were together.”

  “Duty calls,” said Luke.

  “Where?” said One Eye.

  “I have a job in Sweden.”

  One Eye didn’t ask what job, although he knew it would involve a lot of subterfuge and possibly an understated murder.

  “I need the mountains,” said Saskia. “I have enough of buildings and cars. I need wild nature again.”

  “I’m going with her,” said Alan excitedly. “Saskia’s going to teach me how to survive in the wild. And she’s going to show me her remote log cabin. No one else around for miles,” he said, gazing at her. “I can’t stay here, not after what happened to Simon in there. Me and Cherie have already decided we’re going to sell the bloody place then go our separate ways. Ronnie’s interested in buying. Truth be told, it’ll be a relief.”

  “Sounds like a very wise decision,” smiled One Eye. He looked from Luke to Saskia. “But don’t stay away so long next time. My door’s always open to you both.”

  “We’ll certainly bear that in mind,” said Luke. He looked to Raven and opened his arms. “You going to give your Uncle Luke a big hug?”

  Her look was stony. “I don’t hug.”

  “Yes, I forgot,” he said, lowering his arms.

  She did however bestow a kiss upon his cheek, which made him smile. Raven looked to One Eye and Damon. “We need to go. We have to stop by the hotel at Inverness and pick up our stuff.”

  “Then let us delay no longer,” said One Eye.

  Goodbyes were said. Before One Eye could get into Raven’s car, Roberta and Helena came charging down the road towards him, clasping him tenderly to their bosoms and smearing his face with lipstick.

  Raven got into the driver’s seat, Damon up front with her while One Eye took the back, so he had room for his crutches.

  “Hey you,” said Damon, extending his arm to reveal the bracelet. “You can take this bloody thing off now.”

  “Fair enough.” Raven made a show of patting down her coat pockets. “Shit, the key’s gone.”

  “Oh ha bloody ha. Get on with it Raven.”

  With a grin she produced the key, unfastened the bracelet and slipped it back into her pocket.

  “Free at last,” beamed Damon, massaging his wrist. “And you bloody shocked me.”

  “To be fair, I was trying to get Silas off you.”

  “Didn’t work though, did it,” he retorted.

  “Why was Damon wearing one of my bracelets?” said One Eye.

  “To ensure he behaved like a gentleman,” said Raven. “We had to share a hotel room.”

  “Ah, now it makes sense.” He scowled at his son. “I hope you didn’t try to molest your sister?”

  “I wouldn’t bloody dare,” he muttered.

  They set off and One Eye experienced a pang of sadness as he watched Luke and Saskia recede into the distance. He dearly hoped they did visit him at home.

  After they’d left the village behind, Raven called Jules.

  “Hi babes,” said Jules’s voice.

  “Hi. Just so you know, you’re on speakerphone. How are you holding up?”

  “Not so bad.”

  “Mikey?”

  “Hanging in there. We need to get out of this hospital, we’ve already been attacked once in here.”

  “Jesus. I’m on way to Manchester. Damon’s coming too, he wants to help.”

  “That’s great, tell him thanks,” said Jules, making Damon grin.

  “Will do.”

  “We’re going to a private hospital in the countryside. I’ll text you the address. Could you meet us there?”

  “Not a problem.”

  “You don’t know how much I appreciate this Raven.”

  “Anytime for you Jules.”

  “Is One Eye okay? How did you get on with Silas?”

  “One Eye’s fine and Silas won’t ever be a problem again.”

  “Thank Christ for that. So you’re okay?”

  “Fine. We’ll be there in about seven hours. I’ll let you know when we’re close.”

  “It’ll be good to see you again.”

  “You too.”

  “Poor Jules,” said One Eye when she’d hung up. “She doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her. Make sure you make whoever’s responsible for this atrocity pay in bucketfuls of their own blood.”

  “Course we will Dad,” said Damon.

  One Eye nodded approvingly before turning his attention to the window, watching the scenery pass by. This particular wander had turned out very different to how he’d planned. He was even a little reticent about going on another of his wanders again but they kept him sane and he loved travelling. However Kurt would be coming for him. Silas had been telling the truth about his brother still being alive, he was certain so he must be prepared. He couldn’t risk getting caught out by Kurt as he had by his younger brother. Silas had been dangerous enough but Kurt was doubly so, he had a much more cunning brain and his lust for violence was unquenchable. Kurt had committed atrocities that would make the devil shake. How could he prepare to face such a demon?

  CHAPTER 33

  Raven sat in her favourite café in Leeds sipping a latte and watching the world go by. She’d arrived home just the day before from Manchester, having helped the Maguires and Laws successfully take apart all those who’d attacked them. Once again they were the top dogs in the north of England and Mikey Maguire was recovering from his injuries. She was so glad Jules wasn’t going to lose the love of her life and was once more her optimistic but extremely badass self.

&nb
sp; Sergeant Tom Carter sat down in the seat opposite her with a cappuccino.

  “Hello Sergeant,” she said. “I wondered whether you were going to join me or not. I saw you dithering at the other side of the room for the last five minutes.”

  His smile was wry. “I didn’t think you’d noticed me.”

  “I notice everything,” she said, taking a sip of coffee.

  “What happened to your face?”

  “I had a car accident.”

  “You don’t seem the type.”

  “Anyone can have an accident.”

  “I don’t think you’ve done anything accidental in your entire life.”

  “We all make mistakes Sergeant.”

  “And I thought we were past formalities. Call me Tom.”

  “Tom. So this isn’t official then?”

  “Why would it be? Have you done something wrong?”

  “No but the last time we met you were rather frosty.”

  “Because I saw the real you Raven. But there’s no reason why we can’t keep things civil.”

  “What do you want to ask me?”

  “What makes you think I want to ask you anything?”

  She smiled at him, studying him carefully. She liked this man. They’d had a date once while she was trying to track down the man who was stealing her contracts out from under her, the illegal hits the police didn’t know about. The man in question had turned out to be a police officer, so Raven had accompanied Tom to the police ball when he’d asked her out on a date in order to gather information on her rival. She still felt guilty for using Tom that way, he was a genuinely nice man and if she hadn’t been married or an assassin-for-hire she would have been interested in seeing more of him. Tom had discovered that she killed Jeremy Elias, her rival but he’d actually protected her by removing a vital piece of evidence against her, putting his job on the line and disregarding his own principles. Raven would be forever indebted to him but she was aware that had been the only free pass she was going to get and that he would bring her down given the chance. Unlike his colleagues he was aware of the darker side of her work.

  “Because you’re using your professional voice,” she said. “And you look so serious.”

  “Murder’s a serious business Raven.”

  “Murder?”

  “Tommy Gowan’s murder to be precise. He was shot outside The Golden Lion pub seven days ago.”

  “Tommy Gowan?” she said, feigning surprise.

  “You know him?”

  “I’ve heard of him but who hasn’t? He was always in trouble for something.” She raised an eyebrow at his intense dark stare. “You think I was something to do with his death?”

  “Were you?”

  “No.”

  “Where were you when he was killed?”

  “Scotland. My dad went missing. Me and my brother Damon headed up to Inverness to search for him.”

  “Did you find him?”

  “We did, on Skye and for your information we caught two murderers while we were at it.”

  “What?”

  His face gave nothing away as she told him the story, naturally skipping over the parts that included Silas and his men. He didn’t speak but his gaze was so intense she knew he was absorbed by her words.

  “Wow,” he said when she’d finished. “That’s some tale.”

  “I’ve not made it up,” she retorted, resenting his use of the word tale. “Check with the local police if you don’t believe me.”

  “I will.”

  She was annoyed but she hid it well, watching as he took out his notebook and pen.

  “Is this official?” she said.

  “If it was I would have taken you to the station. The truth is, I don’t have any evidence linking you to Gowan’s death, apart from my gut instinct.”

  “Which isn’t admissible in court.”

  “No it’s not but it doesn’t mean it isn’t accurate.”

  His gaze locked with hers but she met it steadily.

  “I didn’t kill him,” she said. “I was in Scotland.”

  “Then you won’t mind giving me the details of your trip. When did you arrive?”

  Raven described her journey up to Inverness, giving him the name and phone number of the hotel so he could verify the information she’d given him.

  “Gowan was killed at seven thirty,” said Tom when she’d finished. “Say six hours to get up to Inverness. That still gives you time to kill him before you left.”

  “And why would I kill him?”

  “Because someone paid you.”

  “Listen, I don’t…”

  “I know what you do Raven. Don’t treat me like a fool.”

  It was in that moment Raven realised this sweet, handsome man was the most dangerous adversary she’d ever faced. If anyone was capable of bringing her down it was him. If it had been a criminal threatening her position she wouldn’t have hesitated to take him out. However Tom was a police officer and killing them was stupid. Plus she didn’t want to hurt him, she was very fond of him. Strange, she never thought she’d actually like her nemesis.

  “I have no comment to make to that statement,” she said before pouring herself another cup of tea from the steaming pot on the table.

  “I bet you don’t.”

  “Have you any leads in the case?” she said casually.

  “I can’t give out details of an ongoing investigation, you know that.”

  She shrugged and smiled.

  He sighed and flipped his notebook shut. “Listen Raven. I know what your real business is. The contracts you take on for us are a clever smoke screen and have gained you the police’s trust.” He glanced around before lowering his voice. “I know you’re a contract killer. You killed Marcus Moore, you practically gutted him. I don’t think you did that because you enjoy inflicting pain. You had to send a message after Jeremy Elias messed with your reputation. It was a matter of survival.”

  “You got anything linking me to Marcus’s death?”

  “Nothing and no one’s talking. That doesn’t surprise me, you’re far too precise but everyone makes mistakes and you will one day Raven. Well?” he added when she remained silent. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know. Something.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you something,” she said before taking a sip of tea, making him wait, smiling when he shifted impatiently. “I think you’re an excellent and conscientious police officer. I also think you’re very attracted to me, which has been proven because you asked me out on a date.”

  Tom sat listening, his cheeks turning pink but his gaze remaining steady.

  “You hate the fact that you’re attracted to me,” she continued. “You think it goes against all the ethics you obviously hold very dear. This crusade you have against me is your way of atoning for that but there’s really no need, we can’t help who we like. I’m attracted to you too and if I wasn’t happily married I wouldn’t have run out on our date.” She thought it rather adorable when his blush deepened. Even the tips of his ears were turning pink.

  “I didn’t think you were so full of yourself,” he retorted.

  “I’m not, just honest. A lot of people can’t handle that but I think you can. You’re a good man Tom and you have a bright future ahead of you. Don’t ruin that.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Not at all. I wouldn’t threaten you. But I’ve seen obsessive thoughts drive people to self-destruction. I don’t want you going the same way.”

  “It’s obsessive to want to bring down a killer?”

  “Tell me Tom, how many police hours did Tommy Gowan take up?”

  “What’s that got to do with it?”

  “Don’t tell me you weren’t all celebrating when you found out he was dead. I bet there were celebratory doughnuts and coffees being handed around.”

  “Why does everyone think police officers are obsessed with coffee and doughnuts?”


  “That avoidance reply tells me that’s a yes. Whoever killed him made your lives that little bit easier.”

  “You mean you made them easier.”

  “You never give up, do you?”

  “To prevent murder, no.”

  “You finished with that?” said the waitress.

  They both leaned away from each other, feeling as though they were waking from a dream. Raven was a little alarmed that she hadn’t even realised the waitress was there, normally she was constantly alert to her surroundings and aware of who was around her. Tom was a dangerous distraction, it would be wise to bear that in mind. It also disturbed her why she’d allowed him to distract her. More guilt piled on top of what she was already feeling about the mysterious stranger in her dreams. She had hoped to leave him behind in Scotland but he’d followed her home. He’d turned up in her dreams again last night in that same small wooden cabin.

  “Yes, thank you,” said Raven.

  The waitress removed the empty teapot and cup. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “No thanks.”

  The waitress walked away, leaving them alone again.

  “Well,” said Raven. “It’s been nice catching up Tom but I must get home and feed my cat.”

  “You have a cat?”

  “Yes. Why is that a surprise? Oh I see, you think I’m too cold and unfeeling to care for another living being.”

  “I know there’s more to you than what you do for a living.” He sighed regretfully. “If only you’d joined the police force instead of taking that path.”

  “I’ve no idea what you mean.”

  “Course not.”

  She got to her feet. “It was nice seeing you again.”

  “You too and it won’t be the last time.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  “Are you still married?”

  “Yes.”

  “Happily?”

  She nodded.

  “Shame.”

  Her lips twitched when the corner of his mouth curled into a smile. “Goodbye Tom.”

  “See you around Raven.”

  He turned in his seat to watch her leave, her black coat swirling around her as she opened the door and stepped out onto the street. He was annoyed with himself for watching her until she’d disappeared from view and for being glad when she turned to look back at him.