by Jo McCready
“Yeah, but she did, and now we just have to deal with whatever that means.”
RJ shook her head and looked at the ceiling. “We are so close.” She knew every crack and imperfection in the sheets of polystyrene. If only she knew as much about the actual case. “I can feel it. We’re almost there.”
Stuart looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “This doesn’t have to be the end. There’s more than one way to skin a corrupt gamekeeper. Let’s just see what we can figure out. It’s not exactly the first setback we’ve had on this assignment.” He kept his tone light.
They war-gamed throughout the afternoon and early evening, trying to figure out what their options were and how they could move forward now that Janice Sullivan had effectively blown their cover.
Chapter 21
“Just what were you thinking?” RJ asked as she paced the floor in Janice Sullivan’s generous hotel room the next morning.
Janice lifted her head from the large mahogany desk in the corner and stared at RJ through gritty eyes. “I wasn’t. I wasn’t thinking. Isn’t that obvious?”
She’d managed to get herself up and had taken a half-hearted shower but hadn’t made it as far as getting dressed or leaving the room. A barely touched bowl of porridge sat on a tray in front of her, and she pushed it away ineffectually. The sleeve of her plush, white robe fell in the bowl as she waved it off with her hand.
“Do you even realize what you’ve done?” RJ demanded. She towered over Janice, hands on her hips, anger radiating from every pore.
Janice didn’t answer. Her head remained on the desk and a low moan erupted from somewhere under the mass of tangled hair.
“You’ve put the whole assignment in jeopardy, completely blown our cover to the people we were trying to investigate. You’ve compromised our ability to uncover the truth. Now that these people know we’re investigating them, they’re going to cover their tracks even more carefully.” RJ through her hands up in frustration. “Why the hell did you come here?”
Janice began to sob. The only other sound in the room was RJ’s harsh and labored breathing.
She tried to have more sympathy for the woman, but damn it, her job was to find out what had happened to James Sullivan, not babysit his widow or treat her with kid gloves when she had just jeopardized the whole mission.
“I’m sorry, I just . . .” Janice’s attempted between sobs.
RJ tried to rein in her anger, but it wasn’t easy.
“It’s just, nothing’s happening. You haven’t found anything.”
“You haven’t given us any time. The investigation is progressing, or it had been until you arrived. We can’t relay every tiny detail as we find it. If you had just waited . . .” RJ snapped at her in frustration. Ever since the drunk driver had caused her parents’ deaths, she abhorred drunks, abhorred people who relinquished their control over their actions.
Janice lifted her head with difficulty and scooted back in her chair to look at RJ. Some of her hair was plastered to her face, the rest a chaotic mess. She peered at RJ through slatted eyes. “Maybe it all needed to come out. Have you thought of that?”
“No. It didn’t need to come out. We were making progress and would have been able to find out more it you hadn’t just dropped in and arsed it all up.”
“I’m fed up with all these secrets and lies. I just want to know what happened. I want my James back.”
The tears started again, flowing silently and unapologetically down Janice’s face. She stared at RJ, who returned the look, neither willing to submit.
RJ ground her teeth. After a long, few minutes, Janice looked away.
“My brother hasn’t told you everything. He’s trying to protect himself and his campaign. He says he’s trying to project James’s memory, but that’s crap. He’s trying to save his own skin. Doesn’t want the negative publicity. Sure, he cared about James and he cares about me, but he cares about Brand Kowalski more.”
“Have you got any idea what he isn’t telling us?” RJ probed. She unfolded her arms and pulled a chair over to sit close to Janice. “If we had known the whole story at the start, we might have been much further in the investigation now. Do you realize that? If you and your brother want to find out the truth, you’ve got a duty to tell us everything, even if you think it has no bearing on the case. It’s up to us to determine that.”
Janice pulled at the dried porridge on the end of her sleeve, loosening a thread which she pulled free and twisted around her middle finger, watching until the tip turned purple. She unwound the thread and stared at the line where it had cut into her skin. Still, she refused to meet RJ’s eye.
“James liked to hunt,” she said quietly.
“We know that.”
Janice sighed deeply into her bathrobe. “Well, James liked hunting. He hunted all over the world. It was his thing, his hobby. A way for him to de-stress and get away from it all. He was an important man under a lot of stress. He needed to unwind. Anyone could understand that. So, he hunted. He spent his entire life working hard for his money, so he made sure he always got the best, paid for the best products and services available. Money wasn’t an issue, you see.” She took a breath and blew it out between her teeth, suddenly reticent to go on.
“And?” RJ prompted.
“He wasn’t a trophy hunter, not in the traditional sense. He’d never bring his kills home.”
RJ scooted forward in her seat as understanding dawned. “Those statues in your garden—the giraffe, the elephant—those where his trophies, weren’t they?”
“Yes,” Janice admitted and cast her gaze out of the window. “He liked to hunt big game, has for years. We’ve kept it quiet so as not to affect his businesses or Michael’s career. You’ve seen the kind of thing I mean. These things go viral all over the world. People get villainized. James wasn’t a bad person. He wasn’t hurting anyone. So, he was careful; he never even took a photograph of his kills.”
RJ tried to disguise the disgust growing in her gut.
“And you think this might have something to do with James’s death?”
“It’s possible. Some sort of environmental nut may have found out and taken their revenge.” She turned to look at RJ. “It’s an angle you should look into. These people don’t understand the kind of pressure men like my husband are under. Maybe they aren’t content with ruining careers and lives anymore. They might have stepped up their attacks.” It was clear Janice actually believed what she was saying justified her husband’s little hobby.
“With respect, Mrs. Sullivan. I don’t think I’ll personally be looking into anything now that you’ve dropped this bomb on the investigation.” RJ stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the tourists enjoying the breeze in the hotel gardens, the morning already hot. She sighed. “Has there been any indication that anyone found out about the big game hunting?”
“No. Not to my knowledge. James has always gotten hate mail or threats because he hunts and is in the public eye, but nothing to suggest that anyone knew he was hunting anything other than the regular deer and pigs.”
RJ turned to look at her. “Then what makes you think it has anything to do with his death?”
“I’m not saying it does, just that it might. I don’t know. I just want everything out in the open. I want to find out what happened. You lot need as much information as possible to do that. No secrets. Plus, he was killed when he was hunting . . .”
RJ tried to think. “There’s a mad stag on the estate at the moment. Perhaps that’s what killed him. Poetic justice, so to speak. The Buchanans would certainly want to keep that quiet. It could be why they’re so keen to talk about it. A double bluff,” she said in a low breath to herself.
“You don’t approve.” Janice looked dejected. “I knew there was a risk in telling you, but I had to.”
“Approve?”
“Of James’s hobby.”
“Whether I approve of not has no bearing on the case,” RJ said, voice hard as she looked
away. She couldn’t get involved in an ethical discussion.
She rubbed her face with both hands, and some of the sunscreen that she’d never imagined she’d need in Scotland got into her eye. RJ grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk and dabbed at her stinging and watering eyes. Her mascara came off, and she wiped carefully underneath her lashes. Discarding the tissue in the bin gave her some time to think.
“Look, I’ll need to talk to my bosses, but it’s likely I’ll get pulled off the case. We’ll regroup and decide on the next steps. I’ll pass on all the information you just gave me. That’s all I can do. I’m really sorry, but if you hadn’t disrupted the investigation, hadn’t made such a scene on Buchanan property, then . . .” She shrugged and raised her eyes to the ceiling.
“I know, I know that. Don’t you think . . . I’m just so angry and no one is telling me anything. I’m so lost and I don’t know what to do.” Janice’s voice broke as she started sobbing again.
“Well, you’re certainly not going to find the answer at the bottom of a bottle,” RJ told her gently. “Just go home, Janice. Go home and be with family and friends. This isn’t helping, and it certainly isn’t helping you find the answers you want. I get it, believe me I do. It’s not fair that the person you loved was snatched away from you. You feel like your heart is being ripped to pieces and there’s nothing you can do. I get it.” She laid her hand over Janice’s. “But leave this to us, okay?”
Janice nodded through her tears. There was nothing more RJ could do but leave.
She sat in her car with the windows down as she waited for the interior to cool down. Janice had ruined everything in one fell, drunken, swoop. She laid her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. It was over. Although it was clear that it wasn’t her fault, she still felt a sense of failure.
Once the car had sufficiently cooled down, she closed the windows and drove off with the air conditioning on. She pulled over to the side of the road once out of town, keeping the engine running for the air con. Even though she had stopped in a quiet area, she couldn’t risk anyone overhearing her conversation by opening the windows. She took out her phone to call in and explain the problem to headquarters, but the phone rang in her hand before she got the chance. Stuart’s name flashed on the caller ID.
“It’s human, the bone you found, it’s definitely human,” he began without preamble. She could hear his sigh as she imagined his shoulders drooping down in defeat.
RJ could taste blood again from inside her mouth where she’d been worrying her cheek. “Is it him? Is it Sullivan?”
“We’re still waiting for the DNA testing. But I’d say there’s a high chance.”
So close. They were so close to discovering what really happened to James Sullivan, but Janice just had to come along and ruin it all. Now, they might never find out. Janice’s behavior had given those involved a warning to bury their tracks even deeper.
RJ dialed in to HQ, defeated.
Macey, her handler for this assignment, was nonplussed. “She did what?” There was a pause. “You’ll need to come in. There’s no way you could talk your way out of that. I’ll start organizing an alternative team right away. Pack up your things and leave right away. I’ll organize transport back when you’re on the road. The sooner you get out of there, the better.”
“I agree. If they see us again, it’ll only make them more suspicious and cautious. We’ve tried to figure a way around it, but we see no other choice. I’m just hoping this hasn’t blown the whole case.”
“Only time will tell. Good job on your progress so far. I mean it. You’ve done well.”
“Thanks, Macey,” she said before hanging up. She sent a text to Stuart.
Start packing, we’re being pulled out.
Checking her mirrors, she pulled back onto the road and headed towards the village for the last time.
As she pulled through the gate at the side of the pub, she saw Kirsty waiting for her.
“No school today?” RJ asked her when she got out of the car.
“Strike,” the girl explained. “My mum said teachers don’t get paid enough so they have to not go to school today. It means we don’t have to, either.”
“No, I’m quite sure they don’t get paid enough. No brothers to play with today?”
“They’ve gone off to catch the cat.”
“Oh no, has Socks gone missing?” asked RJ, genuinely worried for the friendly little ball of fluff.
Kirsty looked at her like she was crazy and shook her head. “Up in the hills,” she explained as if that would tell RJ everything she needed to know.
“I hope they’re not going after wildcats. They’re endangered—there are hardly any of them left, I mean. I’d imagine they can be quite vicious, too. Does your mum know what they’re up to?”
Kirsty shook her head. “What’s a wildcat?”
RJ’s eyes grew wide as it all fell into place. She turned from Kirsty and raced up the steps to the cabin, leaving the car door wide open. She rushed in to find Stuart folding the last of his clothes in his black hold-all.
“We have to go,” she gasped, suddenly out of breath despite the lack of real exertion.
“Yeah, I’m just finishing up.” He looked up at her, and she saw his expression change from annoyance to concern as his eyes landed on hers. “What’s the rush?”
“No, I mean we have to go now. I know what happened. The twins could be in danger. Hurry.”
Chapter 22
Stuart jumped up from the bed, grimacing as he put his weight on his sore ankle. “Shit, ow . . . what is it?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Big game hunting. It’s not a rogue stag they’ve got on the loose, it’s a big cat.”
“Holy shit.” Stuart hobbled over to his bag. “And you say the boys are out there looking for it?”
He rummaged about and took out a pistol.
“Got one of those for me?”
He shook his head. “Sorry.”
“This’ll have to do then.” She pulled out her knife and tested the tip against her finger, staring at it disconcertedly before slotting it back in her ankle strap.
She rushed down the stairs to the car with Stuart hobbling behind as fast as he could. “You go,” he shouted. “I’ll take the car”.
RJ ran on. There was no way Stuart would have managed to keep up. Also, he could cover more ground with the car. Her advantage was that she was on foot just as the boys were, so she might be able to find them sooner.
She ran down the road and squirmed through the fence. Her foot caught the wire and almost sent her sprawling, but she caught herself in time and pulled it through. Looking at the road ahead, she decided it was the least likely route the boys would have taken. Instead, she ran up the side of the hill to try and get a better perspective on where they might have headed. Her heart pounded in her chest from fear of what she might be too late to prevent.
#
The wheels spun in the gravel as Stuart gunned the car down the side of the pub and onto the road, narrowly missing a little old granny and her tartan shopping trolley who jumped out of the way, quicker on her feet than she likely had been in years. She stood, shaking her fist in the air at the car as it disappeared down the road.
Once he’d reached the gates to the estate, Stuart jumped out and pressed the intercom.
A gruff male voice answered. “Yes?”
“There are two ten-year-old boys loose on the estate. They’ve gone to look for the cat. Jesus Christ, get everybody out looking for them and let me through.”
There was a long pause on the other end during which Stuart could hear heavy breathing.
“God help us,” came a quiet voice before the gates swung open.
Stuart rushed back to the car, spinning the wheels as he drove through. He saw RJ at the crest of the hill, scanning the landscape, and ploughed on to cover more ground than she could. It was unlikely that the boys would stick to the road, but if he could just spot them . . . He�
�d worry about what he could do after that.
#
RJ could see no sign of the boys. She looked back to the forest and wondered if they could possibly be in there. She tried to put herself in the mind of a ten-year-old boy. Where would he look? Not in the trees. They’d be ranging over the hills. Hoping she was right, she ran on, aiming for the next hill, stopping every few minutes to look in all directions. She’d decided against shouting because they’d likely go to ground if they knew someone was looking for them. Her—and their—only chance was to find them.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out.
“I’m in,” Stuart said. “Any sign?”
“Nothing. They must’ve come in through the trees at the back of the pub but where they went after that . . .”
“Any idea what we’re dealing with here?”
“Other than a huge feline, not a clue.” Their lack of information frustrated her. “Orange, yellow, black, brown. Could be anything. Whatever it is, it’s big enough to pay a lot of money to kill. Big enough to kill a grown man,” she added. “And it could be anywhere. With any luck, it’ll be nowhere near here. If we’d had more time after figuring it out, we could’ve found out more about how to find it.”
“Presumably the gamekeepers know that and they haven’t managed to find it yet,” he pointed out. “Speaking of which, any sign of them yet?”
“Nothing,” RJ replied. “They’ll come. They can’t risk two little boys being torn apart. It would be a bit harder to cover up than before.”
#
She watched from the mouth of her cave as the two stalked about in the grass below. She’d been woken from her sleep by the noise they made. Tilting her head to the side, she considered their value and whether they were a threat. If they came any closer, she’d take action. For now, she was content just to watch them, ready to pounce. She’d eaten recently, so she wasn’t hungry, but her instincts gave her a desire to attack what looked like easy prey.