A Cold Killing (Rosie Gilmour)

by Smith, Anna

  Ruby winced with the pain and looked at him.

  ‘Just so we’re clear here, I was telling your mate from school,’ Dunn said sarcastically, ‘you fuckers are history. Finished. It’s nothing personal. I don’t hate you or anything, and I know Tony likes a shag at you, and I’m always okay with that kind of thing. So it’s not personal. But you’ve tried to shaft me. Not just me, but the whole team here from Glasgow to London. What the fuck made you think you could do that?’ He went across to Tony and took the folder from him, leafing through it. ‘You see this shite? That’s all it is. How do I know if any of the stuff in here is true, or just something you’ve made up to keep us happy while you fuck off somewhere?’

  ‘It’s not. The information is solid. I don’t want your money.’

  ‘Shut the fuck up. I’m talking. Do you think I’m going to believe a word that comes out of your mouth now after what you’ve done? You brought this bird into your life – for whatever reason, I don’t know. And suddenly she’s down at my place conning me with some business deal. That’s bad enough in itself. But then she suddenly pitches up here with you? I mean, what’s the fucking score? It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. So. You don’t have a choice any more.’ He paused, a smirk spreading across his face. ‘Well. You have one choice actually.’

  He nodded to one of the silverbacks, who turned and left the room. Rosie and Ruby glanced at each other again. Seconds later, the door was pushed open and he walked back in, supporting an unsteady Judy, who tottered through the doorway.

  ‘Judy! Oh Judy!’ Ruby shouted, tears coming to her eyes as she tried to move in the chair.

  Judy gazed in her direction and then blankly out of the window.

  ‘Judy. It’s okay. Don’t worry. It’s all right. I’m going to . . .’ she sobbed. ‘I’m going to look after you, just like I promised.’

  The silverback pushed Judy onto a chair by the wall, and she sat staring at the floor.

  Rosie swallowed her tears, watching helplessly as Ruby dissolved into sobs. Dunn went across to Judy. He put the gun down on the table and grabbed hold of her hair with both hands. Her face tightened with shock and pain. He shook her head wildly.

  ‘See your sister there, Judy? She’s a fucking liar. Don’t believe her. She’s always been a liar.’

  Judy’s eyes flickered towards Ruby, and Rosie thought she saw a flash of recognition. Dunn let her go, then crossed the room and stood in front of Ruby.

  ‘So,’ he said calmly, ‘here’s the deal. You have one choice. Not about your life, but about the life of that fucking zombie over there. Before you die, you can tell us what’s going on here and if all that shit in the folder about the bank details is genuine. Because there’s a lot of our money tied up in there, so if it’s not genuine then we can’t get it after you’re dead. Here’s what’s going to happen. You tell us what’s going on with you and your school pal, and we take Judy back to the home unharmed. We’ll drop her off, and you’ll make the phone call to them telling them she’s outside, that you couldn’t cope with her and you won’t be back to see her again. You do that before we kill you, and we’ll take her back – if you tell us right now what exactly is going on. Now, if we find that the bank details are wrong in the next couple of days, she’s dead meat. We’ll go to that home and we will kill her.’ He gave her a menacing look. ‘And by the way, you were in the restaurant the other night, so you know I’ve got no problem doing somebody in.’ A sick smile crept over his face.

  Ruby’s whole body trembled and her head rocked from side to side in despair.

  ‘Tell me, bitch!’ Dunn slapped her hard. He grabbed her hair, almost pulling her out of the chair, then punched her again and again in the face in a frenzy. ‘Tell me!’ he screeched. ‘Tell me!’

  From the corner of her eye Rosie saw Judy’s face crumple in horror and her lips move. Then it happened so quickly that for a split second Rosie thought she was imagining it. Did Judy just move her hand from her lap and pick up the gun on the table? Judy opened her mouth in a silent scream, then suddenly let out a tormented, piercing squeal.

  ‘No! No! Stop!’ Judy wailed.

  Everyone in the room turned, startled. But it was too late. Judy had already fired the gun. Bang. A shot whizzed past Dunn and smashed a window behind him. Before he had a chance to dive or move towards her, she fired again, this time hitting him. He staggered backwards towards the window.

  ‘Fuck! Get the fucking gun!’

  But Judy was now randomly firing around the room as everyone dived for cover. Then she turned and fired again at Dunn as he collapsed to the floor. Another shot hit his body, then Rosie turned away as another opened up his gut and he lay motionless.

  ‘Judy! Judy! Oh, Judy!’ Ruby screamed and sobbed. ‘Oh my God!’

  Nobody moved. Then suddenly the door burst open. Two men in masks charged in and Rosie’s heart sank. Tony must have had a panic button somewhere on his desk. This was it. She braced herself. One of the men quickly moved around behind the desk to where Tony and the silverback lay on the floor.

  ‘Move a fucking muscle and you’re dead.’

  Rosie’s mouth dropped open as she recognized the abrupt tones of the captain.

  The other gunman came towards her and pulled up his balaclava. Superintendent Boswell-Smith grinned broadly.

  ‘The cavalry has arrived, ma’am.’

  ‘Christ almighty! You cut that a bit neat, did you not?’ Rosie managed a smile through swollen lips, grimacing at the pain, but relief flooding through her.

  The captain slapped handcuffs on Tony and the silverback, then went across to Dunn. He pushed at his body with his foot.

  ‘Might not need cuffs for this one, guv,’ he said.

  ‘Get an ambulance,’ the superintendent said. ‘I want this bastard alive.’ His eyes scanned Rosie’s face. ‘You all right, Rosie? Give or take a few bruises?’

  She sniffed, trying very hard not to cry.

  ‘I’m okay. Can you untie me, please?’

  He placed his gun back in his shoulder holster and untied Rosie. She stood up but felt her legs go weak. The superintendent held on to her.

  ‘Easy there,’ he said. ‘It’s the shock.’

  Rosie looked across at Ruby, who was sobbing, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks.

  As soon as the captain untied Ruby, she leapt out of her chair and across the room, throwing her arms around Judy, both of them sobbing. ‘I take it this is the lady you didn’t want us to meet?’ Boswell-Smith said as he watched them.

  Rosie nodded, unable to speak.

  He glanced around the room.

  ‘Right. Let’s get this show on the road,’ he said. ‘Since I’m not officially here, Rosie, I can’t call in the plods. So do you have a plan?’

  ‘Yes. I can call a contact. I’ve made an arrangement. But they can only come after Ruby and Judy are out of here.’

  ‘Fair enough. We’ll wait until they’re in the building, then we’ll disappear.’ He paused. ‘And we’ll talk later, regarding our own arrangement.’

  ‘Sure,’ Rosie said, knowing he was referring to the dossier. Losing the story was a small price to pay.

  She pulled out her mobile, but there was no signal.

  ‘I’ll need to step out to get a connection.’

  In the corridor she breathed in the musty, damp air as though it were elixir to her lungs. She could feel tears coming to her eyes, and she bit her lip to keep them back as she walked into one of the empty rooms to get a better signal. She stood at the window, gazing at the inky blackness of the River Clyde and out across at the lights of the city, wiping away tears of relief. Then she thought she saw a passing shadow on the window. But it was too late. The click of the gun came just as she felt the cold metal on her neck.

  ‘Don’t say a fucking word or your brains will be all over the window.’

  An arm went around her neck and she was dragged backwards towards the door, struggling to keep her feet. As the other silverba
ck kicked open the door, Rosie saw the colour drain from the faces of the supintendent and the captain. He pulled her in, his arm locked around her neck. The gun was now pressed so hard against her temple she could feel it grazing her skin.

  ‘Okay. Here’s the drill.’ He was breathing hard. ‘You cunts are going to give me your guns and take the cuffs off the boys.’ He pointed to Ruby. ‘Then we’re going to walk out of here, with this bird and her mental sister.’ He jerked his head towards Dunn, a pool of blood spreading across his shirt. ‘We’ll just leave that fucker on the floor. He’s an arsehole anyway.’ He motioned to Tony and the other silverback who were lying on their stomachs on the floor. ‘Handcuffs off! Now!’

  Nobody moved. His eyes darted around the room.

  ‘Listen. This is only going to go one way. We’re leaving here – whether you’re all fucking dead or alive. But we’re leaving. I’ll shoot every one of you and then we’ll walk out. Now get the fucking cuffs off.’

  The superintendent glanced at Rosie, his eyes blazing.

  ‘You won’t get away with this. That much I can promise you.’

  ‘Fucking move, ya posh cunt, or I’ll shoot you.’

  The superintendent blinked towards the captain, whose face was ashen. He crossed the room to Tony and knelt on the ground, fiddling with the keys in his hand.

  Rosie could hardly breathe as the gunman pulled his arm tighter and shoved the gun against her head. She looked down at Ruby, who was sitting with her arms wrapped around Judy, and at the superintendent, whose face was blank. It was then that she heard the click.

  ‘Drop the gun or I shoot you.’

  It was Adrian.

  ‘You shoot me and the bird gets it.’

  ‘Drop the gun. Now. Or you die.’

  Silence. Rosie’s heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. Then, suddenly, the grip eased around her neck and she heard the clatter of a gun dropping to the floor as he released her. She opened her mouth to speak as she looked at Adrian and was about to rush towards him when he shook his head and put his finger to his lips.

  The superintendent glanced at her, confused.

  ‘You two know each other?’

  ‘He’s nobody,’ Rosie said. ‘Like you. He wasn’t here.’ She took a deep breath and puffed out, rubbing her neck, her fingers touching blood on the side of her head from the gun. ‘Okay. Now I’ll phone the cops.’ She moved across to Adrian and squeezed his arm, then leaned in and whispered, ‘You saved my life. Again.’

  His expression didn’t change. He put the gun in his waistband and didn’t even exchange a glance with the superintendent or the captain.

  Rosie whispered, ‘I need you to take Ruby and Judy out of here. Now. Can you do that? Is Matt nearby?’

  Adrian nodded.

  Rosie went across to Ruby, and she stood up. They hugged for a long time, then Ruby pulled Judy to her feet and Rosie hugged her, too, feeling the frailness of her body and her arms around her.

  ‘Welcome back, Judy,’ she said.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  ‘What the Christ’s going on down there, Gilmour? I’ve phoned you five times already.’

  In the pub toilet Rosie pressed a paper towel soaked in cold water to her swollen lip, holding her mobile a couple of inches away from her ear. McGuire was ranting. She winced in the mirror at the angry bruise beginning to show around her eye and on her cheekbone. When she’d left the warehouse she’d nipped into a bar in Kinning Park that she knew was so rough that nobody would flinch if a woman walked in with a sore face.

  ‘I know, Mick. But I couldn’t take the call.’ She dabbed at her mouth.

  ‘Why?’

  Rosie said nothing, not quite knowing where to begin.

  ‘What the fuck happened?’ McGuire barked.

  ‘I . . . er . . . My phone . . . I’ve got a few missed calls, actually. But Ruby and Judy are out safe. Everything went with the plan . . . Well. Give or take a couple of unexpected events.’

  ‘Gilmour, I can smell the bullshit through the phone. Don’t fuck about. You were in there, weren’t you?’

  ‘Umm . . . Well . . . Wait and I’ll tell you what happened.’

  ‘You went in there, despite my express instruction not to. Tell me you were in there.’

  Rosie splashed water on her face and spat out blood into the sink, running the cold tap and watching almost absent-mindedly as it swirled and washed down the plughole.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Fucking hell! What part of a straightforward order is it that you can’t seem to comprefuckinghend? I told you not to go. To leave it to the professionals. I take it they showed up?’

  ‘Of course. Just in the nick of time. Look . . . I hear what you’re saying. I’ll explain everything.’

  ‘I want you in here, now.’

  ‘Well . . .’

  ‘Now, Gilmour!’

  ‘Listen, Mick. There’s a situation that’s developed. Let me explain. Just give me a minute. You know the prostitute who got kicked to death by that bastard Dunn?’

  ‘Yeah. What about her?’

  ‘I have a chance to talk to the witness – the other girl. I get the feeling she’s not going to last much longer, because Tony Devlin already said to Dunn that she’s been dealt with. And you know what that means. I was there and I heard him say it. But she’s the only witness to the murder – well, apart from Ruby. If all else fails here in the broader investigation we’re doing, then this girl can put these bastards in jail.’

  There was a long silence and Rosie checked that none of her teeth was slack from Dunn’s heavy blows.

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘She lives in the city centre. I know where she goes, and Adrian has already spoken to her, but not about this. We’re sure it’s her, so I think I should go and talk to her . . . sound her out. If I can get her to talk, she’s a crucial witness.’

  Eventually, McGuire answered.

  ‘Right. Okay. Do that. So what happened inside the warehouse?’

  ‘There was a big problem.’

  ‘What problem?’

  ‘Tam Dunn turned up.’

  ‘Oh fuck! He turned up and you were in there?’

  ‘Yeah. I don’t know who was more shocked.’ Rosie laughed nervously. ‘No. Correction. I was definitely more shocked. A phrase like shitting your pants would be appropriate.’

  ‘Jesus! So what happened?’

  ‘Well. To put it mildly, Mick, it went a bit downhill from then. But hey, I’m here talking to you, so I got away with it,’ Rosie said it with bravado, but when she held a hand out in front of her it was still trembling.

  ‘Christ, Rosie! This has to stop. Okay. Go and see the girl, then phone me. Have you talked to the police yet?’

  ‘Yeah. I phoned my contact. They’ve got all the documents Ruby had prepared. All the bank accounts, company records. Everything. That stuff could nail them by itself. But if we can deliver the witness to the murder, then they won’t see fresh air for a very long time. And we get a belter of an exclusive.’

  ‘Great. That’s all very well, but I’m not happy with you.’ He paused. ‘Listen. I’m almost reluctant to ask, but is there a body count in that warehouse?’

  ‘Not quite. But Dunn got shot.’

  ‘Shot?’

  ‘Look, I’ll explain everything when I see you. I need to go, Mick.’

  She hung up, and as she did Adrian’s name came up on the screen as her phone rang.

  ‘The girl is here,’ he said. ‘I’m in the café. She just came in and smiled at me, so I’m going to have a coffee with her.’

  ‘I’ll be there in five minutes.’

  Rosie gingerly patted a little moisturizer around her eyes and cheeks. Pale-blue eyes, a little bloodshot, looked back from the mirror.

  ‘So, what now, Rosie?’ she murmured, letting out a long, relieved breath and shaking her head. She’d be glad when this day was over.

  *

  The café was one of these trendy
city-centre places with a few sofas. It was nearly seven in the evening by the time Rosie got there, so there weren’t many other customers dotted around the place. Adrian’s back was to Rosie as she walked in, and the blonde girl next to him glanced up at her but didn’t pay much attention She walked up to the bar so Adrian could see her and then approached the table.

  ‘Olenca’ – Adrian gestured towards Rosie – ‘this is a friend of mine. Do you mind if she joins us?’

  The girl seemed a little bewildered, her blue eyes darting from one to the other.

  ‘Sure.’

  She shrugged and shifted on the sofa, her long, slender legs stuffed into leather knee-length boots. Adrian handed his packet of cigarettes round and they all lit up as the coffees arrived.

  Rosie inhaled deeply, enjoying the nicotine kick, and nodded to Adrian to begin.

  ‘Olenca.’ Adrian’s rich Slavic tones were soft and consoling. ‘I want to explain something to you. My friend here is a journalist. A reporter. From the newspaper. You know the Post?’

  Olenca nodded but looked a little uneasy.

  ‘I see it sometimes. It helps with my reading in English.’

  ‘She wants to talk to you about your friend Lucja.’

  Olenca’s expression froze.

  ‘Lucja is not here.’ She shifted on the sofa, away from Rosie, her body suddenly rigid, her eyes fixed on the floor.

  ‘I know you’re afraid,’ Rosie said. ‘Olenca, please, look at me. I want to tell you something. I know what happened to your friend.’

  Olenca looked up, her face reddening, her mouth tight as she flicked a glance from Rosie to Adrian.

  ‘My friend is gone away. Back to Poland. What is this? What is going on here? I not understand.’

  ‘Please, Olenca.’ Rosie spoke gently. ‘I know that you saw what happened to Lucja. In the restaurant that night. That she was murdered. I know someone who was also there. Another girl, who I know you saw. You remember her?’

  Olenca shook her head slowly.

  ‘I . . . I don’t want this . . . Please. I don’t know what you say.’

  ‘Olenca. You are in danger because of what you saw. I know that Tony said you’d be looked after, but that’s not true. Please believe me. Your life is in danger.’