by EJ Lamprey
She paused because both Katryn and Sylvia were howling, and started to laugh herself at the memory. It was a minute or two before she could go on.
‘They’ve been great, William and Donald. I had a really alarming date on Saturday night, who was trying to bully me, and they loomed at him. You know how big William is, and Donald can look unexpectedly evil. The bully hadn’t a chance. Most of the guys have been okay, but far too normal for my research.’
’Well, I’m barely five feet tall; if you find a good one too short for you, pass him on. All well and good, having a toy boy on the lead, but the strong silent type can get boring, especially when they’re shy. When’s the next date? Tonight?’
‘Nothing tonight. There’s one who may be too good to be true who asked me out tomorrow but...’ Edge let her voice trail off. She could hardly add ‘But I’m waiting until the police stop monitoring my dates’ and couldn’t think of anything else to say. She had every intention of continuing to put Ben off until she could meet him free of microphones and hidden listening devices.
Luckily Katryn had heaved herself to her feet, and Froufrou was also standing up, so Sylvia let herself be shepherded out by the administrator, who turned at the door to flash a parting wink.
‘Clever Katryn, clever Hamish,’ she told Mortimer happily, ‘you’re officially a resident now!’
They had a hectic round of the game she’d dubbed ‘crouching mouse, hidden tiger’ to celebrate. He won easily and jumped back to the window seat with his slightly battered catnip mouse. The clouds had cleared with the suddenness that is so very Scottish, and the sky was washed pale, rose-tinted lilac in the west. She was drawing the curtains to put on the lights when there was a tap at the door. Please not Sylvia again.
~~~
As she opened the door Donald’s dainty whippet slipped past her to check the dog bed for any interesting updates. Donald gave her a swift expert up and down glance and winced at her outfit.
‘No date tonight, then,’ he said, deadpan, and she shook her head.
‘Couldn’t face another tonight. Maybe ever. And by the way, even if I do, I won’t tell you in advance. I don’t think that poor man will ever recover.’
‘He was boring me to tears, and I wasn’t even at the same table.’ Donald said severely. ‘Anyway, you rolled your eyes at me and William had told me that was the signal. How does he get rid of them, anyway, when I’m not there?’
She felt a giggle bubble up again at the memory and pulled the door open invitingly.
‘I introduce him as my late husband’s brother, and Vivian as my sister-in-law, and then they sit and stare. Won’t smile, won’t talk, it’s nearly as quick as your way and the poor man isn’t petrified into the bargain. Coming in?’
‘Nope, I came to take you out for a walk, if you weren’t gilding the lily for another victim. Too nice to be inside. Don’t make me feel guilty; you’re doing this for stories, and he didn’t look the type that would have any.’
Odette spotted Mortimer as Edge sat down obediently to tug on her still-damp walking boots, and Mortimer hopped down to inspect her. They touched noses, then Mortimer settled down, his paws tucked under him, and purred.
‘She’s good with cats.’ Edge was impressed. ‘Buster still tries to pretend Mortimer doesn’t exist. I’ve got some good news; Hamish and Katryn worked out a way I can keep him.’ She pulled the door shut behind them and glanced across the lawns. As always at this time of day, there wasn’t a soul in sight. ‘Okay, which way are we going, and are we collecting Buster?’
‘No, because we’re going past the donkeys and out across the golf course. Buster will never get over the wall, and I’ve got some prime gossip for you.’
‘Good grief, Donald, you’re turning into Brian. I don’t think I can walk that far, I’ve already done one walk today. No one ever walks dogs that way, because of the hogsback. And it’s nearly dark!’
‘There’s a good hour of light left, and I don’t go the whole way round, I turn back at the old well. I’ll help you over the hogsback, and Odette climbs it like a monkey. Come on, hurry up – I want to get away before anyone sees us. Anyway, you’ve put on weight since Maggie went, so some extra exercise will do you good. Especially now you’ve been fully spayed.’
She gasped with the shock, then had to laugh. ‘Gay men are so utterly charming.’ She fell into step beside him as Odette flitted ahead of them. ‘What’s the gossip?’
‘All in good time.’ He held up a roll of peppermints. ‘I’ve brought Polos for the donkeys, do you want some?’
The sky may still have been light but the shadows under the trees next to the donkey paddock were gathering fast. They stroked the soft noses of the donkeys and fed them Polos until the jenny flashed her teeth jealously at Dudley. He threw up his head and did a very gentle, sedate canter back to the hayrack under the trees.
‘Now for that hogsback,’ Edge said resignedly. ‘This had better be prime gossip. It is a lovely evening, though. All we need is a full moon to bay at.’
‘Aye, would be good.’ Donald offered her a steadying hand as she nervously negotiated the steep old stone steps over the wall and Odette charged away in huge exuberant circles. ‘But the moon’s dark at the moment – new moon tomorrow. All the druids will be out with their sickles. Miss P will, anyway.’
‘Donald! You knew?’
‘Since December. I was out walking Odette just before Christmas, on the solstice, and she’d got herself into difficulties cutting mistletoe. I had to rescue her and climb up and get the bloody stuff. Apparently it’s pretty rare in Scotland and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.’ He shot her a sidelong glance. ‘I did wonder what I had got into, a nice quiet retirement village bulging with murdered corpses and inept hefty witches. She told me the other day that she’d told you too. She was really touched we hadn’t told each other. I did toy with the idea of warning William not to eat or drink anything she gave him, but I don’t think she’s up to love potions, eh? Auld Crabbit got away.’
‘She did tell me to dab witch-hazel behind my ears to make my dates very attentive! Well, as long as she knows we know. It seems much less than a month since she was harvesting her herbs.’
‘A lunar month isn’t exactly a calendar month. Anyway. Monday, after we helped Kirsty move, I went to that garage. Susan’s.’
‘Oh yes?’ Edge shot him a surprised look. ‘Looking for a bargain for your next service?’
‘Just wanted to see the guy.’ Donald offered her a Polo and she realized he wasn’t to be rushed and was striding along, his eyes on the blushing horizon, obviously enjoying himself. This was an unfamiliar side to him, relaxed and gregarious, and she willingly matched his mood.
‘Yes, thanks, if you’ve got one the donkeys didn’t slobber on. Was he lovely?’
‘Scrawny. Thinning black hair. The worst straggly ginger beard I’ve ever seen. No man in his right mind would keep growing a beard once he realized it was going to be a freak show.’
‘So he’s not in his right mind. You’re being very harsh, Donald. Not everyone shares your fine judgment of the aesthetic.’
‘You’re being very slow, Edge. And by the way, you promised you would tell Kirsty or Vivian whenever you went out with a man.’ He shook his head at her impatiently. ‘Look around you, woman.’
‘Not a soul for miles. Oh!’
‘Yes, oh. You did exactly what Susan did. You underestimated the danger.’ He stopped walking and pulled her round to face him, suddenly stern. ‘Susan got a very good deal from an amorous garage owner who came round for payment in kind, and she underestimated the danger too. As a result she’s dead and he’s grown hideous ginger whiskers to conceal serious scratches.’
Her jaw dropped and she stared at him. ‘No!’
‘Dinna fash, I told Iain.’ He was still holding her arm from having pulled her round. Now he took her other arm and looked down at her, his face implacable. Suddenly uneasy, she half-laughed and tried fruitlessly to pull away.
She’d never considered him a particularly powerful man but there was real and effortless strength in his grip. She looked up questioningly and felt a spasm of real fear as he stared coldly back. This was not the man she now considered a friend, and liked more with every month. This was the cold and hostile stranger she had first met, and instantly disliked, in December. And she was alone in the middle of nowhere with him.
~~~
Her knees went weak and she sagged in his grip – instantly he shifted it to hold her upright, his strong hands suddenly friendly again.
‘Are you frightened?’
He steadied her, and her legs stopped shaking at his normal tone. She nodded warily, and he stepped back slightly, one hand against her arm to balance her, the iron grip gone.
‘Good. Now, where’s that dog of mine got to?’
He turned away to whistle for Odette and she stared at his profile.
‘What – what the hell was that all about?’
He glanced back over his shoulder, his face serious. ‘Edge, you’re getting cocky. This is a risky business. Don’t be so damn careless again, dashing all over the place with strange men. I wanted to scare you, and I did, and now mebbe next time you’ll think twice before you trot off with a stranger, eh?’
She was too offended – and, in truth, too shaken – to respond immediately and they walked back in uncomfortable silence until they reached the hogsback again.
As he helped her up over it she made an effort and asked meekly, ‘Do you really think I’ve picked up weight?’
‘You eejit.’ He was surprised into a laugh, and almost affectionate. ‘Dinna fash. It suits you. Women of your age need a little extra padding, or they look start to look haggard.’
‘You sod,’ she said with feeling, but the exchange banished the last trace of that moment of real fear, making her brave enough to refer back to it. ‘In my defense,’ she said pointedly as they reached the well-lit walkway, ‘you did pass the Buster test a good while back. And we’ve been friends for months.’
‘We only met in December.’ He shot her a sidelong glance. ‘And you went white, Buster or no Buster. Just remember, people can change in seconds. Don’t trust anyone, and don’t go off alone with strangers. Are you brave enough to come in for a drink?’
‘Not without telling Vivian first,’ she was deliberately pert and he grinned approvingly, his teeth white against his deepening tan.
‘Don’t you forget it. But now that the point is made, I’m serious about the drink, and Brian’s intending to pop round too. He’s also Buster-approved.’ They’d reached his door and he cocked his head towards it. ‘Coming in?’
‘Well, half a glass of wine, then.’
He unlocked the door and pushed it open. ‘After you. There’s light, you should be able to see your way.’ He twisted up the dimmer switch as he followed her in and the entire room sprang to life, reflecting soft light from what seemed, for a dazzling moment, to be every surface. She’d never visited his apartment before, although Olga had made teasing references to it.
Donald loved leather – he loved wearing it and, it seemed, he loved surrounding himself with it. A vast black sofa caught soft gleams from the uplighters, downlights and feature spots, opposite a single opulent recliner chair. The paneling – she couldn’t resist touching – looked like coffee-coloured suede, although her fingertips revealed it to be a paint effect. A black baby grand piano was tucked into the far corner. A blown-up colour photograph of a huge harvest moon, starkly silhouetting a single dead tree, dominated the room above a slim steel and glass wall-hung heater. The only other decoration consisted of two geometric shapes, tubular steel and leather, wall-hung near the door.
‘Very nice. Although I’m disappointed you haven’t done the paneling and ceiling in leather.’
‘Katryn said I couldn’t.’ He pulled open the faux cupboard doors to get to his kitchenette, the twin of hers. ‘But after that crack, you’ll have to drink out of one of my leather wine glasses. That picture came from one of my sets, what do you think of it?’
‘Spectacular,’ she could say honestly. ‘I’m almost scared to sit down on that sofa, Donald. I could vanish from sight and never be seen again. ‘
‘It’s happened.’ He lifted down one of the geometric shapes, which turned out to be a folded chair, and shook it open. ‘There. No strain on the tummy muscles with that one.’
~~~
Brian arrived at that point with his beagle Archie, and while the two dogs politely exchanged news he grinned shyly at her, shook hands, propped his walking stick against the wall and made for the all-enveloping sofa. Slightly to her disappointment it didn’t close over him but he did sink visibly as it sighed deeply under his weight.
‘Just a stick now, then,’ she noted conversationally, and added wickedly, ‘you’re looking well. Phwoar!’
He had the grace to blush and cast a quick embarrassed glance at Donald, who was obliviously pouring wine. ‘It’s going well, yes, I don’t need the crutch any more. Very frustrating losing muscle tone, though. I’m genuinely tempted to join the morning classes. Donald tells me there are chair-based exercises as well.’
‘And how’s Cheryl?’
He sighed. ‘Deep in training for the Challenge, and on a special diet, so we haven’t been out together since. She’s a nice woman, but a bit intense.’
Edge remembered her overt role and asked curiously, ‘You’ve dated quite a lot through the websites, then?’
‘Quite a lot, quite a lot.’ Donald brought their glasses over as Brian answered, then sank gracefully into the other end of the sofa. ‘I’ve made more friends than girlfriends, to be honest. I’m not really the romantic type. Actually, I wanted to warn you. That bloke you met for lunch the day I met Cheryl? I’m pretty sure he’s the one who talked a woman I know into investing in a very dodgy set-up. I hope you haven’t been taking financial advice from him.’
‘My accountant would check everything first.’ She evaded the question, but couldn’t resist asking, ‘Is she still seeing him?’
‘No.’ Brian looked sombre. ‘Pretty horrible, actually. She’s dead. We were supposed to be meeting for dinner, and she rang to ask if she could cancel. She’d been chatting to some new bloke on-line and he’d asked her out for the same evening. Next thing the police wanted to interview me – she’d told a few friends she was meeting me that night, and the barman at Ringers gave the police my details. Quite right that he should, and luckily I’d gone off to meet another friend who was sitting on her own as the bloke she was supposed to be meeting hadn’t pitched up, so I had an alibi. The worst part was that she also died, three months later. The police weren’t very friendly about it the second time round.’
‘That’s the longest speech I ever heard you make,’ Donald remarked into the awkward silence that followed. ‘I did pass your warning on to Edge, to be bloody careful.’
‘Sounds to me like you’re the one who has to be careful. How on earth did you talk your way out of the second investigation?’ Edge was trying to remember the details on her Brian file even as she asked, and he gave her a rueful look.
‘Watching a football friendly in the house with three other residents and Jamie. The police weren’t treating it as a homicide, but they decided I wouldn’t have had the time to burgle the place between her leaving on her date and me turning up here to watch the game. If you had any idea how tempted I was that night to turn in early – bloody glad I didn’t.’
He did have some stories from his more conventional experiences which Edge, with some laughing help from Donald, managed to tease out of him, but finally the effort of having to talk so much took its toll and he got up to leave.
‘I’m not a kiss and tell sort of man,’ he apologized, ‘plus Archie needs his last run before I go up to the pub again. But listen, Edge, if you want to make overlapping arrangements – you know, not making a foursome but meeting people in the same place at the same time, like the other day – just say the word. Safer for yo
u.’
‘And an alibi for you.’ She said it solemnly, and he looked startled, then laughed. It transformed him, and she suddenly realized he was a very attractive man. Donald, who missed nothing, shot her a wicked grin.
‘Or you could go out together?’ he suggested, and Brian went a shade darker and mumbled something about Edge not wanting that.
‘You’ve never asked me,’ she pointed out, laughing, but he was more embarrassed than ever and left almost immediately. ‘Not one of my fans,’ she told Donald, in mock resignation, and he shook his head.
‘Little do you know. I think he’s terrified of you, though. Anyway, now that you’ve got the cat, nae chance.’
‘He doesn’t like cats?’
He shot her a sidelong smiling look. ‘Not that. But you can’t have a cat around a man wearing a wig. Disastrous.’
‘What, Brian wears a wig? It must be a very good one, I hadn’t noticed at all.’
‘I’m pretty sure, or his stylist should be shot. The cat would know in a minute. If he does, he’d never have a quiet moment waiting for the next time it was whisked off his head. Can’t ask that of a man. Why, do you fancy him?’
‘I can’t like the way his women friends keep dying. Maybe Mortimer is a blessing in disguise. Donald, I’m off too. That half glass turned into half a bottle and I’m going to get myself home while I can still make it under my own steam.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Thursday
Ben at 7.15
‘We’ve got a definate on the bully boy, Reginald Dickerton.’ Iain brought a burst of afternoon sunshine into the small police station as he entered, pulled round a chair and sat at Kirsty’s desk, looking pleased with himself. ‘That woman who was attacked and left for dead, she said it’s definately him. With the Pillay ID on the other case, and a close partial match on a thumbprint found at the first of the murder scenes, we’d got enough to charge him and start DNA matching. But even better, we’ve got Susan’s killer.’