by Ed James
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Other Books by Ed James
Part 1 - Christmas Steps
Monday, 23rd December 2013
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Christmas Eve, Tuesday 24th December 2013
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Christmas Day, Wednesday 25th December 2013
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Part 2 - Windchill
Hogmanay, Tuesday 31st December, 2013
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Thursday 8th January, 2014
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Friday 9th January, 2014
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Next Book
Afterword
Other Books by Ed James
About Ed James
WINDCHILL
Ed James
Part 1 - Christmas Steps
Part 2 - Windchill
Copyright © 2014 Ed James
All rights reserved.
To Rhona - sincere thanks for being both a brutal editor and a friend.
OTHER BOOKS BY ED JAMES
THE SCOTT CULLEN SERIES
1GHOST IN THE MACHINE
2DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
3FIRE IN THE BLOOD
4DYED IN THE WOOL
5BOTTLENECK
6WINDCHILL
Writing as Edwin James -
SHOT THROUGH THE HEART, a standalone supernatural thriller
Part 1 -
"Christmas Steps"
Monday
23rd December 2013
Chapter 1
He tried to keep in the shadows as Steven opened the front door. Blinking, he stepped back as the taxi swept past the house before it trundled up the hill, headlights illuminating the wet street. He waited for it to pass and the dim glow of the street lights to return. "Can you not hurry up?"
A man passed them on the opposite side of the street, coat tucked tight against the rain, looking overweight. Had he seen them? His breath quickened.
"Got it." Steven fumbled with the front door, finally nudging it open. "Sorry about that. Too much to drink, obviously. Come on in."
"Thought you'd never ask."
Steven looked down at the cream carpet in the long hall. "Can you at least take off your shoes?"
"No." He smiled before walking through to the living room, flicking on the mother and child light by the sofa, but remained standing. "I'm fine as I am."
Still standing in the hall, Steven reached down to untie his own laces. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Now that would be good."
Steven marched across the wide room, switching a side light on. He paused in front of an oak cabinet behind a leather recliner, like he was going to say something, before pulling down the horizontal cabinet door, revealing a sizeable collection of spirits bottles. His hand hovered over them before settling on a whisky, black label embossed with silver. He sniffed it then poured healthy measures into a pair of glasses. "Here you go. Hope it's still to your taste."
"Dunpender, right?"
Steven took a sip and nodded, eyes staring into space. "Right."
He took the glass and wandered over to stand just to the left of the window, before sniffing the drink. Pure darkness. "Still think it's the best whisky in Scotland, Steven?"
"I like it. Get through a bottle every month."
"That's a lot of drinking."
"Helps with the stress. You know how it is."
"Don't I just." He finished the whisky in one, the liquid burning his tongue and throat. Sucking in a mouthful of air, letting it dampen the heat. Bliss. He held the glass up to the light and inspected the lines of the crystal.
Steven finished his dram and put his own glass down, hand shaking. "What is it you want?"
"A chat. One that can't wait. It's important."
"Why?"
"It just is."
"Come on. You dragged me from the pub to hear whatever it is."
"You'll want another drink."
"Do I?"
"Aye, I think so."
"I've had a skinful already." Steven turned his back and poured out another measure of Dunpender, his head bowed. "Fine."
He spotted a crystal quaich, Dunpender 100 etched into it, next to another tall bottle matching the design but gold replacing silver. "Nice little trinket you've got there."
Steven ran a finger over it and nodded. "Cost me a pretty penny."
"Disappointed you're not opening that one for me."
Steven sighed as he looked down at his glass. "Like I've got anything to celebrate."
"Quite." Taking a deep breath, he set the empty glass down on the dark brown window sill. He lashed out, connecting the base of his hand with the back of Steven's neck, forcing him against the cabinet, fingers clutching at the glass doors. Steven fell forwards, grasping for the hinge as he sprawled across the machined wood flooring, the bottle of Dunpender tumbling and smashing, a pool of gold liquid forming around his prone body.
Stepping forward, he followed through with kicks to Steven's stomach, head, balls. He kicked the head again. And again.
He knelt down, breathing heavily, fingers crawling up Steven's throat, clasping the pulse point. His heartbeat was faint.
Still alive. Good.
He dropped the toolbox in the middle of th
e living room, the trail of oil muddying the bleached wood of the floor, before sifting through the tools inside.
Pliers. Excellent.
Hammers. Two of them. Which one? The ball-peen for definite, its small head giving precision. The claw hammer was all about brute force. Maybe he'd need both.
He rummaged through the second layer of tools, finding a long cord, the sort used on a drying green. That's the ticket.
He got to his feet and untied the kitchen cloths on Steven's wrists, replacing them with the cord, the solid knot at the back of the chair just out of reach.
Breathe. Slowly, deeply. Take your time.
He picked up the glass of water from the coffee table and tipped it over Steven's head. He didn't wake up.
He raised the hammer, bringing it down on Steven's middle finger.
Steven's eyes shot open. He screamed, a primal roar from the pit of his gut, his gaze darting around the room.
The noise curdled his own stomach. He swallowed, his throat constricted. "So you're awake then?"
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Come on, Steven, you know what I'm doing and why."
"I can pay you."
"Can you really?"
"Please, how much do you want?"
"This isn't about money. At least not to me. No, it's about the betrayal of trust." He reached for the pliers, gripping the fingernail on Steven's left thumb and yanked. The scream turned his stomach anew.
One, two, three...
Two minutes - one hundred and twenty - that's all he'd allow himself to enjoy his work.
He stayed in the shadows, watching the yellow flickering in the living room and kitchen windows at the back. The briefest smell of charcoal and petrol.
Glancing around the street, he couldn't see anyone.
One nineteen, one twenty. Time up.
A cough. Somewhere to the left.
He looked around. There - a fat man stood a few doors down, focused on his phone as a small dog ratted around the bushes of the compact front garden, cocking its leg as it sniffed the air. It was the man who'd almost spotted him as Steven made a hash of getting in.
The dog sensed him, its brown eyes locking on, its mouth curling.
He stepped back into the shade. The dog's bark rattled around the small space.
"Benji, will you bloody quit it?"
One, two, three...
After sixty he peered out, the phone's backlight illuminating the man's face, thumbs working at the screen, the dog pulling the lead tight.
He clenched the claw hammer, hoping he wouldn't have to resort to another murder just to get away.
"Come on, Benji." The man tugged at the dog and led him inside.
He let out a breath, watching it mist in the cold air, before walking off. He headed for home, his work complete.
He allowed himself another glance at the house, the flames now visible and obvious to anyone who cared to look.
Chapter 2
"Secret Santa's another thing I fucking hate about Christmas." Detective Constable Scott Cullen put the bondage ball gag to his mouth, biting on the red sphere and tugging the black dog collar but not tying it. He took it out and chucked it on the table, before looking around at the other four officers. "There's not a bigger waste of ten quid in the western world."
"Maybe someone's trying to tell you something, mate." Acting DC Simon Buxton took a sip of red wine, chasing it down with lager. He ran a hand through his hair, long on top and flicked, but shaved at the side. He was tall, athletic and looked older than his twenty-five years.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you're always whingeing on about how nobody wants to promote you. You chomping on a ball gag is probably the only way you'll stop."
Cullen scowled at him as he sunk more wine. "Was it you?"
"No, mate. I got Methven a change jar."
"Priceless." DS Sharon McNeill doubled over with laugher, her dark ponytail dancing a jig. She sat up again and folded her thin arms. "Was it made of crystal?"
Buxton raised an eyebrow. "For a tenner?"
"Christmas is bullshit." Cullen finished his pint and moved onto the next one, the glass still cool. "The only good thing," he stabbed a finger in the air, "the only good thing is I'm not working this year. I just want to spend a day not dealing with scumbags killing each other. It's always the same every year, fuckwits slotting fuckwits on Christmas Eve. Just absolute bollocks."
"Bloody hell, Cullen." DC Chantal Jain shook her head, her dark hair fanning out. "You're a bloody nightmare. I'm not exactly the most Christian of people but I love Christmas."
"That's because you've usually got about three men chasing after you, throwing flowers and bottles of perfume at you."
Jain scowled at him. "I think you've had enough to drink, don't you?"
"Bugger off. I took tomorrow off so I don't have to worry about how much I get through tonight."
Jain smirked. "Never usually stops you."
"Look, the hard-core alcoholics wouldn't even bother to turn up to this sort of thing in case they showed themselves up."
"So, why are you here?"
"Charming." Cullen looked across the upper floor of Tigerlily, the wide room split into sections, each decorated with flowery tablecloths, dark green table lights, red roses. "See next year, can we not just go to a proper pub for our Christmas night out? We always end up in places like this."
"I organised tonight." Jain folded her arms. "You'd much rather end up in the Elm, right?"
"Even the Elm beats here." Cullen took another drink, now well below halfway. "Anyone fancy going to a proper pub?"
"No chance." Jain scowled at him as she tossed a handful of club tickets into the middle of the circular table, just missing the light. "We've got free entry to the club downstairs."
"Come on, Scott!" Sharon tugged his hands. "Why don't you want to dance?"
Cullen leaned back against the bar, stumbling a few steps. He steadied himself against the wood, snatching a few seconds to take in the club area, music thumping and dry ice burning his nostrils. "Give me a minute."
"Come on, I'm in the mood for dancing."
"I'm not stopping you. Chantal's over there." Cullen waved across the dance floor. "Is that Turnbull she's with?"
"Aye. He's hammered." She raised an eyebrow at him. "No more than you, mind."
"I'm okay."
She prodded him in the chest. "Five minutes and I want you doing your best John Travolta."
"You've seen my worst."
"Five minutes." She turned and sashayed across the dance floor.
Cullen turned to raise his empty glass at the barman, who immediately started pouring another lager. He handed over a tenner, getting a lot less change than he reckoned on.
Sipping his pint, he watched Sharon on the dance floor with Chantal Jain as they pranced around doing fifties moves. He looked around the room, watching the idiots in the team making bigger idiots of themselves.
"Evening, Constable."
Cullen spun round.
DI Colin Methven handed an empty glass to the barman. A baggy Christmas jumper, mostly red with a green reindeer, hung off his athletic frame, his pink work shirt just about breaking cover at the neck.
Cullen raised his glass. "Evening, sir."
Methven leaned in close. "Can I get you anything?"
Cullen inspected his pint glass, already halfway down. "Aye, get us a whisky."
Methven arched his bushy eyebrows. "Will Dunpender do?"
"Aye, go on. Cheers." Cullen took another gulp, the bitter tang of the Spanish lager hitting his tongue.
Methven raised a finger to attract the barman's attention. "Can I have a Dunpender, please." He nodded and Methven turned back to Cullen, giving him the up-and-down. "Any plans for Christmas Day?"
Nosy bastard. Cullen shrugged. "Just going to spend the day in front of the telly with DS McNeill." He tapped his nose. "Got her a box set for Christmas. Shhh."
"I see." Methven handed him the whisky, his heavy eyebrows almost lowered over his eyes. "There you go."
"Cheers, sir." Cullen swirled it around the glass before throwing it down his throat in one go. Heaven. "What about you, sir? Any plans?"
Methven's eyes remained locked on the empty glass. "Got some family commitments. My mother and father are coming over."
"Sounds like fun. I'm glad to be avoiding mine."
"You should come into the station." Methven paid for the drinks. "Double time on Christmas Day."
"I'd much rather not do anything, if it's all the same."
Methven flared his nostrils as he pocketed his change, fingers jangling it around. "Very well."
Cullen finished his pint. "Back in a second." He staggered to the toilet, his shoulder brushing off the patterned wallpaper. Bloody symbols - which was the gents? He pushed open a door and had a look around. Empty.
He tried the cubicles, all locked. No urinals. Strange. He took a deep breath and considered his options.
Fuck it, it'll have to be the sink.
"Scott, what the hell are you doing in here?" Sharon grabbed his shoulder, the door swinging shut behind her. "This is the ladies!"
"Is it?" Cullen frowned as he tucked himself back in. "Shite."
"Were you pissing in the sink?"
Cullen looked away, shame burning his neck. "The cubicles are all full."
She let out a deep breath. "Come on, we're getting you home. Now."
Christmas Eve
Tuesday
24th December 2013
Chapter 3
Harsh winter sunlight made Cullen blink as he waited, icy wind cutting straight through him as it tore downhill from the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament. His head was thudding, his mouth full of the bitter taste of hangover, his mind reaching for whatever he'd done to get into that state.
Drinking. So much drinking. George Street. Pissing in a sink.
Not again...
He leaned back against the glass front of the World's End pub and loosened his tie, his body wanting to sweat out the booze even in the crisp air. He hauled out his phone, watching the tribes of tourists as they milled about, laden with shopping bags and coffee mugs. He texted Buxton. "Where are you?"