Resurrection Men ir-13

by Ian Rankin

  He made a show of thinking it over, resting his feet on the desktop. “Boeuf en croûte, maybe, washed down with a good bottle of wine.”

  Siobhan wasn’t slow. “Jean called?”

  He nodded. “I wanted to thank you for interceding on my behalf.”

  “So where are you taking her?”

  “Number One.”

  Siobhan whistled. “Any chance of a doggie bag?”

  “There might be a bone or two left. What are you writing?”

  She noticed what she was doing. “Ellen Dempsey’s name was down here, only it’s been written over. I just wanted to write it again, to remind myself . . .”

  “Of what?”

  “I think she’s worth looking at.”

  “On what grounds?”

  “On the grounds that Cafferty said she has friends.”

  “You don’t think it was Donny Dow who killed Marber?”

  She shook her head. “I could be wrong, of course.”

  “What about this artist guy? I hear you had him in for questioning, too . . .”

  “We did. He took a payoff from Marber, promised to stop bad-mouthing him.”

  “Didn’t exactly work.”

  “No . . .”

  “But you don’t see him for the killer either?”

  She gave an exaggerated shrug. “Maybe nobody did it.”

  “Maybe a big boy did it and ran away.”

  She smiled. “Has anyone in the whole history of the world ever really used that as an alibi?”

  “I’m sure I tried it, when I was a kid. Didn’t you?”

  “I don’t suppose my mum and dad would have believed me.”

  “I don’t suppose any parent’s been duped by it. Doesn’t mean a kid wouldn’t try it . . .”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “Neither Dow nor Neilson has an alibi for the night Marber was killed. Even Cafferty’s story’s a bit shaky . . .”

  “You think Cafferty was involved?”

  “I’m beginning to lean that way. He probably owns the Paradiso . . . he could have known about Laura and Marber . . . His driver happened to be Laura’s ex, and Cafferty’s a collector, someone Marber could have cheated.”

  “Then bring him in.”

  She looked at him. “He’s hardly likely to burst into tears and confess.”

  “Bring him in anyway, just for the hell of it.”

  She stared down at Ellen Dempsey’s name. “Why do I get the feeling that would be for your benefit, rather than mine?”

  “Because you’ve a suspicious nature, DS Clarke.” Rebus checked his watch, rose to his feet.

  “Got to go make yourself look pretty?” Siobhan guessed.

  “Well, a change of shirt anyway.”

  “Better find time for a shave, too, if you want Jean to get up close and personal.”

  Rebus ran a hand over his chin. “A shave it is,” he said.

  Siobhan watched him go, thinking: men and women, when did it all get so complicated? And why?

  She opened her notepad at a fresh sheet and lifted her pen. A few moments later, Ellen Dempsey’s name was written there, at the still center of an ink tornado.

  Rebus had washed his hair, shaved, brushed his teeth. He had dusted off his good suit and found a brand-new shirt. Having removed its packaging and all the pins, he’d tried it on. It needed ironing, but he didn’t know where the iron was . . . or whether he owned such an object, come to that. If he kept his jacket on, no one would see the creases. Pink tie . . . no. Dark blue . . . yes. No stains on it that he could see.

  He gave his shoes a quick wipe with the dishcloth, dried them on the tea towel.

  Looked at himself in the mirror. His hair had dried a bit spiky, and he tried flattening it. His face was flushed. He realized he was nervous.

  He decided to get there early. A chance to check out the prices, so he wouldn’t look shocked in front of Jean. Besides, once he’d reconned the place, he would feel more comfortable in general. Maybe time for a quick whiskey just to steady him. The bottle peered at him from floor level. Not here, he thought: I’ll have one when I get there. He decided to take the car. Jean didn’t drive, and on the off chance that they might end up at her place in Portobello, a car would be handy. It also gave him an excuse not to order too much wine, let her drink for both of them.

  And if he did drink, he could leave the car in town, fetch it later.

  Keys . . . credit cards . . . what else? Maybe a change of clothes. He could always leave them in the car. That way, if he stayed the night at her place . . . no, no . . . if he suddenly announced that he had spare clothes in the trunk, she’d know he’d expected the night to end like that.

  “No premeditation, John,” he warned himself. Last question: aftershave, yes or no? No. Same reasoning.

  So . . . out of the flat, realizing halfway down the stairs that he hadn’t checked his phone messages. So what? He had his mobile and pager with him. The car was in a sweet parking space, almost directly outside. Shame to lose it . . . two minutes after he drove away, it would be taken. Still . . . Might not need a space tonight.

  Stop thinking like that!

  What if the menu was all in French? She’d have to order for both of them. Maybe that would be a good ruse; ask her straight off to order for him. Putting himself in her hands, et cetera. He was trying to think what else could go wrong. Credit card bouncing on him? Doubtful. Using the wrong spoon? Very possible. There seemed already to be patches of sweat beneath his arms.

  Jesus, John . . .

  Nothing was going to go wrong. He unlocked the car, slid into the driver’s seat. Turned the key in the ignition.

  The engine was behaving itself. Into reverse and out of the space. He shifted into first and started down the road. Arden Street had been reduced to a narrow lane by cars parked either side. Suddenly, one of them reversed out of a space right in front of him. Rebus hit the brakes.

  Bloody stupid . . .

  He sounded the horn, but the driver just sat there. Rebus could see the shape of a head. No passengers.

  “Come on!” he called, gesticulating. It was a twelve-year-old Ford with the exhaust practically hanging off. Rebus decided to memorize the license plate and make sure the bastard got some grief.

  Still the car wasn’t budging.

  Rebus undid his seat belt and got out, slammed shut his own door. Started walking towards the light-blue Ford. He was ninety percent of the way there when he suddenly thought: Trap! He looked around, but no one was coming up behind him. All the same, he stopped in his tracks, four feet from the driver’s door. The man was still sitting there, hands on the steering wheel. That was good. It meant he wasn’t carrying a weapon.

  “Hey!” Rebus called. “Either move the car or let’s talk about it!”

  The hands slid from the wheel. The door opened with a dry, grating clunk, the sound of unoiled hinges.

  The man placed one foot on the road, eased himself halfway out of the car. “I want us to talk,” he said.

  Rebus’s eyes widened. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this.

  This face . . . that voice . . .

  This ghost.

  “I can’t,” he managed to say. “I have to be somewhere in twenty minutes.”

  “This’ll take ten,” the voice said. Rebus’s eyes were drawn to the mouth. There was new dental work there. Blackened teeth had been removed or polished.

  The Diamond Dog was looking pretty good for a dead man.

  “We can talk later,” Rebus pleaded.

  Diamond shook his head, slid back into his car. He was reversing completely out of the parking spot. Rebus had to move aside so he wouldn’t be crushed between the Ford and his own Saab. A hand appeared from the window, motioning for him to follow.

  Rebus glanced at his watch. Fuck!

  Looked up and saw the Ford trundling forwards, moving away from him.

  Ten minutes. He could afford ten minutes. He’d still be at the restaurant ahead of time . . .
/>
  Fuck!

  Rebus got back behind the wheel of his own car and started following Dickie Diamond.

  They drove only the distance of two or three streets. Diamond parked on a single yellow — safe enough this time of the evening. Rebus stopped directly behind him. Diamond was already out of the Ford. They were next to Bruntsfield Links, a wide grassy slope where golfers occasionally practiced their pitch ’n’ putt skills. Recently, students had taken to holding barbecues on the links, using cheap disposable kits. The tin trays left charred rectangular marks on the grass. Diamond was testing one of these rectangles with his foot. He was dressed well. Nothing expensive or showy, but not bargain-basement either.

  “Who’s the lady?” he asked, his eyes running the length of Rebus’s suit.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Diamond met Rebus’s less-than-happy gaze. Then he gave a rueful smile and started walking down the slope. Rebus hesitated, then followed.

  “What sort of game are you playing?” he asked.

  “That’s the question I should be asking!”

  “I thought I told you never to set foot here.”

  “That was before I got wind of what’s been happening.” In the six years since they’d last met, Diamond’s face had grown even thinner, as had his hair. What remained of the latter was an unnatural depth of black. There were dark half-moons beneath the eyes, but no sign of excess weight or any lessening of the faculties.

  “And what exactly has been happening?” Rebus asked.

  “You’ve got people looking for me.”

  “That doesn’t mean they’re going to find you . . . unless, of course, you come charging back into town.” Rebus paused. “Who told you? Was it Jenny Bell?”

  Diamond shook his head. “She doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

  “It was Malky then?” Rebus was guessing, but it hit home. Diamond revealed as much by saying nothing. Malky in the Bar Z, hovering near the table . . . “My advice,” Rebus continued, “is that you get back in your car and hightail it out of town. I meant it when I told you to stay away.”

  “And I’ve been good as my word until now.” Diamond had started rolling himself a cigarette. “So why the sudden interest?”

  “Coincidence, that’s all. I’m on a training course and they happened to pick out Rico Lomax as an exercise.”

  “An exercise in what?” Diamond licked the edge of the paper. Rebus watched as he pulled a few stray strands of tobacco from the finished roll-up and put them back in the tin.

  “They wanted us working a case, see how they could turn us back into team players.”

  “A team player? You?” Diamond chuckled and lit his cigarette. Rebus checked his watch.

  “Look,” he said, “I’ve really —”

  “I hope you’re leading them up the crow road, Rebus.” His voice had assumed an edge of menace.

  “And what if I don’t?” Rebus said stubbornly.

  “I’ve been away a long time. I miss the place. It’d be nice to come back . . .”

  “I told you at the time . . .”

  “I know, I know. But I was maybe too scared of you back then. I’m not so scared now.”

  Rebus pointed a finger. “You were part of it. You come back here, somebody’ll get you.”

  “I’m not so sure. More I think about it, more I get the feeling it’s your arse I’ve been protecting all these years.”

  “You want to walk into a police station, be my guest.”

  Diamond examined the tip of his cigarette. “That’ll be for me to decide, not you.”

  Rebus bared his teeth. “You little turd, I could have had you buried . . . remember that.”

  “It’s Rico I remember. I think of him often. How about you?”

  “I didn’t kill Rico.”

  “Then who did?” Diamond chuckled again. “We both know the score, Rebus.”

  “And what about you, Dickie? Did you know Rico was giving your girlfriend one? Way she tells it, you were there at the time. Is that right? Maybe you’re the one who had the grudge, the one who wanted revenge.” Rebus nodded slowly. “That could be the way I’ll tell it in court. You whacked your old pal and did a runner.”

  Diamond was shaking his head, chuckling once more. He looked around, slid the tobacco tin back into his jacket pocket.

  Pulled out a snub-nosed revolver and aimed it at Rebus’s gut.

  “I’m in the frame of mind to shoot you right now. Is that what you want?”

  Rebus looked around them. No one within a hundred yards, dozens of tenement windows . . . “This is great, Dickie. Blending in with your surroundings and all that. Nobody notices people brandishing firearms in the middle of Edinburgh.”

  “Maybe I don’t care anymore.”

  “Maybe you don’t.” Rebus had his hands by his sides, bunched into fists. He was three feet or so from Diamond, but would he be quick enough . . . ?

  “How long would I serve if I shot you? Twelve to fifteen, out in a bit less than that?”

  “You wouldn’t serve ten minutes, Dickie. You’d be on a death sentence as soon as the prison gates shut behind you.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “People I know have long memories.”

  “I want to come home, Rebus.” He looked around again. “I am home.”

  “Fine . . . but put the gun away. You’ve proved your point.”

  Diamond glanced down at the revolver. “Not even loaded,” he said.

  Hearing which, Rebus swung at him, connecting with the hollow just beneath his breastbone. He grabbed Diamond’s gun hand and prized the revolver away. Sure enough, its chambers were empty. Diamond was down on his hands and knees, groaning. Rebus wiped his own prints off the gun with his handkerchief and dropped it onto the grass.

  “You try that again,” Rebus was hissing, “and I’ll break every one of your fingers.”

  “You’ve dislocated my thumb,” Diamond bawled. “Look.” He held his right hand up for Rebus’s inspection, then launched himself at him, smashing him backwards onto the grass. The wind was knocked out of Rebus. Diamond was crawling over him, pinning him down. Rebus struggled, and as Diamond’s grinning face came level with his own he head-butted him, then half rolled so that Diamond was forced off. Rebus clambered to his feet and swung a foot at Diamond, who wrapped his arms around it, trying to throw him off balance. Instead, Rebus dropped to both knees, his whole weight landing on Diamond’s chest.

  The man groaned and spluttered.

  “Let go!” Rebus spat.

  Diamond let go. Rebus got to his feet once more, this time stepping back out of range.

  “I heard a rib snap,” Diamond complained as he writhed.

  “The hospital’s the other side of the Meadows,” Rebus told him. “Good luck.” He looked at himself. Grass stains and mud on his trousers, shirt hanging out. His tie was over to one side, hair rumpled.

  And he was going to be late.

  “I want you to get in your car,” he told the prone figure, “and keep driving. It’s like the Sparks song said: this town ain’t big enough for the both of us. I see you here again after tonight, you’re dead meat. Understood?”

  The body said something, but Rebus couldn’t make it out. He guessed Diamond wasn’t complimenting him on the welcome home . . .

  He parked directly outside the restaurant and ran down the steps. Jean was in the cocktail bar, pretending to study the menu. Her face was icy as he approached. Then, despite the understated lighting, she finally saw that something had happened.

  “What did you do?” As he bent down to kiss her cheek, she touched her fingers to his forehead. It stung, and he realized he’d grazed it.

  “A bit of a disagreement,” he said. “Am I presentable enough for a place like this?” The maître d’ was hovering.

  “Can you bring John a large whiskey?” Jean asked.

  “A nice malt perhaps, sir?”

  Rebus nodded. “Laphroaig if you’ve got it
.”

  “And some ice,” Jean added. “In a glass by itself.” She smiled at Rebus, but with concern in her eyes. “I can’t believe I’m going to have dinner with a man who’ll be holding an ice pack to his face.”

  Rebus studied his surroundings. “Place like this, they probably have someone to do that for you.”

  She smiled more openly. “You’re sure you’re all right.”

  “I’m fine, Jean, honest.” He lifted her hand, kissed the inside of her wrist. “Nice perfume,” he said.

  “Opium,” she told him. Rebus nodded, filing the information away for future use.

  The meal was long and wonderful, Rebus relaxing a little more with each course. Jean asked just once about the “disagreement,” Rebus muttering a few words of concocted explanation before she held up a hand and stopped him.

  “I’d rather you told me to mind my own business, John . . . just don’t start making up a story. It’s ever-so-slightly insulting.”

  “Sorry.”

  “One day, maybe you’ll feel like opening up to me.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed, but inside he knew the day would never come. It hadn’t happened with Rhona during all the years of his marriage, no reason to think things would be any different now . . .

  He’d drunk just the one large malt, followed by two glasses of wine, and as a result felt fine to drive. As one of the waiters helped Jean into her coat, Rebus asked if he could give her a lift. She nodded.

  They drove to Portobello, well fed and friends again, an old Fairport Convention tape providing background music. As they turned onto her street, she spoke his name, drawing it out. He knew what she was about to say and preempted it.

  “You don’t want me coming in?”

  “Not tonight.” Turning towards him. “Is that all right?”

  “Of course it is, Jean. No problem.” There weren’t any parking spaces, so he just stopped in the middle of the road outside her house.

  “It was a lovely meal,” she said.

  “We’ll have to do it again.”

  “Maybe not quite so extravagantly.”

  “I didn’t mind.”

  “You took your punishment very nobly,” she said, leaning over to kiss him. Her fingers touched his face. He placed both hands on her shoulders, feeling awkward, much the way he’d felt as a teenager. First dates . . . not wanting to screw things up . . .