Gore Glen (Cullen & Bain Book 4)

by Ed James

  So I frown at her. ‘Come again?’

  Paula leans in close. ‘Well, Angela the golden girl… Turns out, after her husband died, Cullen and Methven framed it so that she got a survivor’s pension.’

  I remember that. Big bugger too. Roid rage drove him potty. ‘That’s the truth?’

  ‘Totally.’

  I thought I had a loaded gun in my pocket, but she’s just handed us a nuclear weapon. ‘Back in a sec.’ I get up and go out into the corridor, phone’s out and dialling by the time I cross the threshold.

  I try calling Carolyn’s personal moby again. And I’m bounced to voicemail. Christ!

  So I try her office. Picked up straight away, and I jump in before her. ‘Hi, Elaine, is she back?’

  ‘Sorry, Brian, but she’s really busy just now.’

  ‘Tell her it’s urgent. More urgent than before.’

  ‘Will do. Have a good evening.’ Click, and Elaine is gone. Doesn’t sound like she’s got the message, but you’ve got to trust, haven’t you?

  Don’t know how, but I’m outside the station in the wind and rain. Feel a bit pished, to be honest.

  And Hunter comes out, too, with that look in his eyes, like he’s going to lamp us. I flinch, shut my eyes like a wee prick, but he walks past. There’s a CCTV camera by the phone box, isn’t there? And he’s gone, away from us. I’m safe.

  But there’s an idea. The phone box. Probably more a tramp’s toilet these days, but if I call Carolyn on it, she’ll maybe answer an unknown number.

  Christ, I’ve got a couple of pound coins too. I stick the first one in and tap in her number. Like going back in time this, but it might just work.

  The door opens behind us.

  ‘Just a minute, pal.’ I can’t look around, because some cunt’s punched us in the kidneys.

  I go down on my knees and the receiver cracks us on the fuckin’ teeth. Another boot in the arse too. A knee in the back, and I try to elbow the cunt, but he’s grabbing my wrist and smacking it off the glass.

  Twice, three times, feels like it’s fuckin’ broken.

  A boot in the back, and the cunt crunches us down on my ribs with his knee. Then again. Like he’s fuckin’ launching himself down.

  Then it’s like he’s grabbing my hair, but fuck me I’ve not got any hair anymore so it’s my fuckin’ scalp he’s got a hold of.

  ‘You don’t talk about other men’s girlfriends. Okay?’

  Hunter. Fuck sake.

  ‘Craig, you can fuckin’ do one.’

  He smashes my head off the pavement and I have to shut my eyes. Another boot in the back and they reopen again.

  I try to shout, try to plead with him to stop.

  ‘You even mention her name again and I will fucking kill you. And they won’t find your body.’

  One final boot to the skull and my head fuckin’ scones off the glass again, cracks it but doesn’t shatter it.

  I lie there, eyes clamped shut, and all I hear is footsteps walking away.

  Then a small voice. ‘Hello? Are you okay?’

  Soutar returned my fuckin’ call!

  25

  Even masked up, Cullen could tell it was Apinya Bain standing there, arms folded over her A&E scrubs. ‘You?’

  ‘Aye, it’s me.’ Cullen adjusted his own mask and put his hands into his pockets. ‘I know you’re not my number one fan, but I just need to see DCI Methven.’

  She still wouldn’t make eye contact. ‘Right. Brian was really hurt when you demoted him.’

  ‘He went to America without approval for his annual leave. I had no choice.’

  That looked like news to her.

  ‘How is Methven?’

  ‘Not good.’ Apinya’s cheeks puffed up, like she was smiling but maybe grimacing. ‘I’m afraid I can’t let you see him.’

  ‘It’s that bad?’

  ‘He’s in surgery.’

  Shite.

  Cullen had many, many uses for a time machine, but going back there to save Methven would be right at the top of his list now.

  ‘Scott.’

  Cullen swung around.

  DCS Carolyn Soutar was clutching a coffee cup, her face mask pulled low as she sucked through the lid. Her hair was salon-perfect, but God knows where she got that these days. ‘Come with me.’ She led him away from Apinya.

  Cullen gave her a curt nod as he followed Soutar. ‘She said he’s in surgery?’

  ‘Indeed.’ Soutar sat in the waiting area reserved for families, but Mrs Methven wasn’t there. The adjacent seats were blocked off for social distancing. ‘It’s not looking good for Colin.’

  ‘Is he going to die?’

  Soutar rested the coffee on the chair between them. ‘I spoke to the surgeon’s PA, who told me that Colin’s broken his back in two places. As much as he thinks he is, he’s not Batman, so he won’t be returning from a broken back any time soon.’

  It hit Cullen harder than the virus. Like he was being choked, just like Isobel Geddes had been. His feet locked tight, and felt like they were the only things keeping from him toppling over onto the floor.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘No.’ Cullen shut his eyes. He was really, really far from okay. ‘I owe him a lot.’

  ‘Colin is a great investigator, a great leader, and a very driven man. Almost as much as you are, Scott.’ Sounded like she slurped more coffee. ‘He’s been useful for me too, and he has solved several problems, while only creating a few in return. Hopefully he can be useful in the future.’

  Cullen reopened his eyes. She was staring right at him. He sat back. ‘I want to stay here. Find out how he is.’

  ‘That’s very noble, Scott. Thing is, while DCI Methven is still in surgery, DC Bain is in here, too. In a very bad state, I hasten to add. I had to call an ambulance for him.’

  Cullen caught a flash of it, Hunter’s brutality, his punches and kicks and knee drops, all the moves Cullen wanted to have done himself to Bain over the years. All over some stupid knob joke. But he didn’t see the hurt it caused. The deep pain.

  Hunter was a good guy, a good cop, and he had issues. Who didn’t? But Bain was a nasty piece of shit, the kind who knew how to probe Hunter’s issues, and how to exploit them, and for no gain, no reason.

  No wonder Hunter had just exploded.

  And it wasn’t an isolated thing. Bain had been a complete bastard for years. Getting away with shit, then clinging on to his position, then going from DI to DC.

  ‘Scott, I gather he was assaulted in a phone box outside St Leonard’s.’

  ‘A phone box?’

  ‘I’m surprised too. I thought they were all closed down, but no.’ She sniffed. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I didn’t see anything.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Because I heard it was DC Craig Hunter who hospitalised DC Bain.’

  Shite. Cullen’s felt a thick lump in the back of his throat. ‘Who did you hear that from?’

  Down the corridor, a hospital porter scraped the floor, whistling, headphone cable dangling down to his pocket.

  Soutar looked at Cullen, that deep stare that showed she was on to him and she wanted him to know. ‘You’re good, Scott.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Relax, Craig won’t face any charges for this.’

  ‘Did he do it, though?’

  ‘I had DS Shepherd look into the CCTV and Hunter walked off in the other direction from the assault location, which was in a blind spot… The next CCTV picks Hunter up still walking away in the opposite direction … Now if someone was fast on their feet, brutal with their fists and had knowledge that certain cameras were out, I suppose it was possible DC Hunter could have done it quickly and with military efficiency, then high-tailed it back to his route as if nothing happened, but the more likely answer is, someone else did it and DC Bain is blaming Hunter.’

  That didn’t sit right with Cullen.

  Hunter had gone right over the score, and should face some
thing.

  ‘Even though Shepherd’s with the Complaints?’

  ‘He’s not any more. Besides, he’s one of my people. I can trust Luke.’ But her brushing it under the carpet felt like there was another shoe to drop. ‘I’ve just spoken to Brian. As you know, Scott, we go way back.’

  Cullen felt his heart thud hard, fast.

  ‘One of my greatest regrets is keeping Bain on the force. He called in a few favours, and I went along with it, knowing he is capable of good work. Tonight, he tried to use something against you.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘DC Bain is a desperate man, who won’t go down without a fight, and certainly not without taking others with him, and he decided to drop another bomb. He divulged some hearsay about ADS Caldwell’s pension.’

  The last thing Cullen needed. On top of it all. How he and Methven had colluded to protect her, financially. Now Methven was lying in A&E with a broken neck, Cullen was the last man standing. It was so stupid of them, thinking that they would get away with cheating.

  Cullen took a deep breath. ‘Ma’am, we—’

  ‘Don’t try to deny it, Scott. I know you did it. And you know who told me.’

  ‘Bain?’

  ‘No, Scott. You don’t pull a trick like this without involving the boss. DCI Methven told me. And I rubber-stamped it.’

  She was in as deep as they were.

  ‘What’s going to happen, ma’am?’

  ‘I’ve spoken to the surgeon and it looks like Colin is going to be invalided out. He won’t be able to serve again. He’s going to take the full blame for any fallout, so we can manage it that way.’

  ‘So Angela won’t lose out?’

  ‘After what her husband did, no, she’s an innocent here.’

  ‘And what about me?’

  ‘I could demote you, Scott. I could put you back in uniform and let you rot.’

  Cullen knew he’d deserve it. But it would stop him doing what he was best at. What he needed to do.

  ‘But I’d rather not, Scott. You’ve been useful to me. So you can keep your position.’

  The surge of relief was overpowering, but it was tinged by the fear of what else would come from his indiscretion.

  ‘Trouble is, Scott, I need an adult around here to look after you. Colin’s been useful, sure, but it’s still way too much like the Wild West and I can’t have that. As of tonight, DI Davenport is going to take over from Methven as Acting DCI.’

  Ally Davenport. Right back to the start. Great.

  ‘And what about DC Bain?’

  ‘What about him?’ She licked her lips. ‘Forgot to say, DS Caldwell passed her exam. I got the results fast tracked. You might wish to pass on the good news.’

  Cullen pulled up on the street. It had been a while since he had visited Garleton in the early evening, but the view down to the coast through Long Vennel was stunning, the Christmas lights on the dim street matching by the glow of Drem and Gullane this side of the water, and the dark Forth in the distance. He killed the ignition and let the engine die away. ‘Better face the music.’

  Angela sat back in the chair, arms folded. She didn’t look like she was going anywhere. That half-hour drive back from Edinburgh hadn’t been enough to force out whatever she needed to say, though. ‘You’ve been quiet.’

  ‘Sorry. Been one of those days. Forgot to say, you passed your exam, Sergeant.’

  She looked over and her eyes were red. ‘Seriously?’

  ‘What’s up? Thought you’d be happy?’

  She flashed up her eyebrows. ‘Paula knows about what you did for me. The pension.’

  ‘Right. How does she know?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. Will I lose it?’

  ‘I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, Angela.’

  ‘But will that be enough?’

  Cullen could only shrug. He didn’t want to implicate Soutar in anything, but it was more like protecting Angela.

  ‘Don’t put yourself in danger for me, Scott.’

  ‘People in senior positions have got your back too. But me and Methven made a decision, not you. We chose to do this because it was the right thing. You lost your husband, your kids lost their father. None of that was your fault. And I don’t want you suffering for it.’

  ‘Thank you, Scott.’ She smiled at him, then brushed a tear away. ‘Speaking of suffering.’ She nodded over his shoulder.

  Cullen swung round to see Evie charging down the path towards them, arms folded across her chest in that way that screamed out how much shite he was in.

  Angela was already round that side of the car, hugging Evie and asking about her demonic sons. She looked over at the house. ‘Where are they?’

  ‘Little one’s sleeping and Dec’s playing that Switch thing.’

  ‘Good.’

  Cullen got out onto the street. ‘How was it?’

  ‘It was good.’ Evie wrapped him in a hug and whispered, ‘It confirmed that I never want kids.’

  Angela rolled her eyes. ‘I was going to ask if you wanted mine.’

  Epilogue

  Two months later

  I use the wee dial thing to swivel around and take another long look around the place, but it’s got a bit of a delay. I mean, I’m up here in the far north and that pub of mine, The Cheeky Judge, is doing a roaring trade. Doors open to the public, inside without even masks on. Spent many a drunken hour in here. Place has potential, that’s for sure. Shifted the bar over to the far wall, got some taps in straight to the kegs. Stuck in some more tables and stools. Still cops mostly drinking in here, and they’re different these days, so I’ve put on food and coffees.

  Aye, it has a lot of promise.

  And good old Alan Irvine is behind the bar. Nice to get the grant money for employing a man who’d paid his debt to society, isn’t it? An ex-jailbird, maybe, but an ex-copper, and one who the regulars love.

  ‘The Cheeky Judge, eh?’ I give a sly look to the four faces in Zoom. ‘Never met a judge who wasn’t just the straightest and most boring twat, ever, but hey ho.’

  Big Malky McKeown is top left. Brains behind this. Well, the technical side, eh? ‘Why did you keep the name?’

  ‘Oh, the name needed to endure, believe me. Has done for a long time. I bought that place, but it’s not just bricks and mortar, it’s a brand.’

  Can’t smell it, mind, but the place still reeks of pish and mould, mind. That takes a lot of cleaning.

  Willie is supposed to be top right, stupid fud is struggling to work his phone, so he’s got it on camera not selfie view, so the rest of us just across Applecross Bay. I mean… ‘So, are you serious, Brian?’

  ‘Aye, I’m deadly serious. I got stitched up, didn’t I? Booted off the force, no pension. Got the shite kicked out of us.’ I point up at the wounds that still bloody ache. ‘I mean, can you credit it?’

  ‘If Scott Cullen’s involved, I can believe anything.’ Willie’s face fills up his window, and the old sod’s scowling like a sex case. ‘Way you told me it, though, Soutar sacked you.’

  ‘Aye, but I’ve had a wee chat with her. She’s blaming Sundance for what happened to Crystal Methven and to me. Bottom line, Cullen’s going down. Him and Hunter.’

  ‘But you’ll need help?’

  ‘And I’ve got help.’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘Willie, the two people you don’t know on this bloody call!’

  The bottom two faces are those two fannies, masks on like they’re cooking up crystal meth in that show on telly, but they’re in the Argus’s newsroom. Richard McAlpine and Alan Lyall.

  ‘Boys.’ Can’t help myself but wink at them. ‘Tell you, Willie, the stories we’re going to get off the boys and girls in this boozer? It’s all going to be used to fuck over Scott Cullen.’

  I look back up at the pub screen on my telly and there she is. Wee Eva, working a treat as she chats to Buxton and Hunter at the back of the room. Gave them a bottomless tab, and the stupid buggers have been firing in for three hours. And
they’re on strong stuff.

  I flick off the mute, and Hunter’s speaking. ‘Aye, I mean, it doesn’t matter where you’re fighting, really, but a phone box gives you an advantage if you attack first.’

  Bingo.

  Loose lips sink ships.

  And they’ll nail Scott Cullen and Craig Hunter to the wall!

  SCOTT CULLEN WILL RETURN

  CULLEN 9

  WILL IT HAVE A NAME?

  WILL IT BE OUT IN 2021?

  WHO CAN SAY?

  Before that comes, I will publish “DEAD IN THE WATER”, a prequel short novel showing how Cullen met Bain, but also featuring Craig Hunter and some of the rest of the gang.

  If you want to receive it free three months before it hits Amazon, and would like to be kept up to date with new releases from Ed James, please join my Readers’ Club.

  Other Books By Ed James

  SCOTT CULLEN MYSTERIES SERIES

  GHOST IN THE MACHINE

  DEVIL IN THE DETAIL

  FIRE IN THE BLOOD

  STAB IN THE DARK

  COPS & ROBBERS

  LIARS & THIEVES

  COWBOYS & INDIANS

  HEROES & VILLAINS

  CULLEN & BAIN SERIES

  CITY OF THE DEAD

  WORLD’S END

  HELL’S KITCHEN

  GORE GLEN

  CRAIG HUNTER SERIES

  MISSING

  HUNTED

  THE BLACK ISLE

  DS VICKY DODDS

  TOOTH & CLAW

  FLESH & BLOOD

  SKIN & BONE (May 2021)

  DI SIMON FENCHURCH SERIES

  THE HOPE THAT KILLS

  WORTH KILLING FOR

  WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU

  IN FOR THE KILL

  KILL WITH KINDNESS

  KILL THE MESSENGER

  DEAD MAN’S SHOES (December 2020)

  CORCORAN & PALMER

  SENSELESS