wantonness, if you like.' She smiled, bent her head down and bit the
young man lightly on the nipple.
'But now I understand Myra completely, and I'm not scared of
myself any more. I know why she was as she was. It was the power,
you see. She loved having power, not over other people, but over
herself, over her own life. The sort of power that most men take for
granted, yet deny to their women.' She smiled, far away for a moment.
'She loved my dad, but she never surrendered herself to him, not
completely. There was always that other person; that other Myra. The
wild one; the free one, the one she kept from him.' She squeezed the
youth's scrotum, quickly, teasingly: heard him gasp, felt him stiffen
even more within her.
'Just as there's this other Alexis,' she whispered, 'the one that Andy
almost smothered, the one who broke free just in time. Heredity
reveals itself, always; you can't suppress it. I know that now. I've
taken power over myself, and I'll use it in the way my mother did. I
have the same hunger she had. Sure, I'll be a giver for Andy, as she
was for my dad; but I have to be a taker, too, for me.'
'What do you want?' he asked her, his voice hoarse and cracking in
her ear.
'What do I want to take from you?' Her eyes shone, fiercely.
'Nothing much. Only your body in all the ways that we can use it.
164
What do I want to give you? For tonight, the time of your young life.
After that? Maybe a few more nights, then the memory, that's all.'
165
52
At the same time, on the other side of the city, Kai-en Neville propped
herself up and looked at the bronzed, bearded man who lay beside her.
His eyes were closed, but there was a satisfied smile on his face.
'You see,' she murmured. 'I told you there was more where that
came from. And more .. .' she chuckled, 'and more . ..' She laid a
hand on his chest.
'Are you sure you can't stay the night?' she asked. 'You have to
admit, my bed's a damn sight more comfortable than that sofa
contraption you sleep on.'
'You'll get no argument about that,' said Wayne, opening his eyes,
'but I really gotta get back to Dennis.'
'I thought you said he took a sleeping pill.'
'He does.'
'Well...?'
The Australian looked up at her. 'Well. .. if you set your alarm and
run me home by seven-thirty. . .'
'It's a deal. That'll leave me plenty of time to get to work.'
'What have you got on tomorrow?' he asked. 'Is it that marketing
seminar you talked about?'
She frowned, thought for a few moments, then reached a decision.
'No, it's not,' she said, then reached across and switched on the bedside
light, so that he could see her eyes. 'Wayne, I've got a confession to
make. I told you a lie.'
'What,' he laughed, 'you mean you really are gay after all?'
'Silly bugger. No, I'm not; and I'm not a freelance conference
organiser either. I'm a copper, detective sergeant. I'm on the staff of
the Head of CID in Police Headquarters in Fettes Avenue.'
He whistled. 'A bizzy, eh.' He leaned forward and nuzzled her
breasts with his forehead. 'And what are these girls? Traffic Wardens.'
She pushed him away. 'Wayne, be serious for a minute. I'm not
kidding.'
'You mean you really are a copper?'
'Yes, and if you say anything about working undercover--'
'So why the story about being a conference organiser?'
166
She giggled, in spite of herself. 'Because I really was working
undercover. We had a big security crisis on. The heat's off now, though.
The whole business was a false alarm, and I'm back in my normal
job, so now I can be straight with you.'
'Appreciated.'
'You're not angry, are you?'
Wayne shook his head and grinned at her. 'Course not, girl. It's
exciting; I've never been with a copper before. A couple of girl
soldiers, yes, but never a plain-clothes police officer. Hey, maybe I
should tell you about my real identity.'
'I know your real identity.' He frowned for a second. 'You're Wayne
Ventnor, you work for Blaydon Oil on an installation off Western
Australia, and you're recovering from a broken ankle. I can tell you
that for sure.'
'You checked me out?'
She decided to economise with the truth. 'Mario, my boss, did.
You're not alone though; it was a pretty wide sweep. But, like I said, the panic's over. Now we can have a normal relationship.'
'As far as that's possible when your partner's liable to run off
chasing bank robbers at all hours of the night.'
'That won't happen. As I said, I'm on the Head of CID's staff; I
hardly ever get involved in the active stuff. My job involves coordinating
between operating divisions; I'm in the office nearly all
the time.'
'Except when you're scrutinising economists.'
'That was a one-off, honest.'
'Great.' He laughed again. 'Wait till I tell smelly Dennis that he
was a security risk for a while.'
'Wayne,' she said, her face serious, 'you mustn't mention this to
anyone. Promise me.'
'Okay, sarge,' the Australian replied. 'I promise.' He reached back
and switched off the light, then slid his arm around her naked waist.
'And now, come here. It's time for some more of that undercover
investigation.'
167
53
It was not a Tuesday to which Bob Skinner looked forward with any
great enthusiasm. Whenever he could, he would delegate meetings
with the Police Board to Assistant Chief Constable Elder, but he
realised that he could not ignore the Force's elected managers
completely.
His smile was a little superficial as he swept into the small outer
office. He had been late leaving home, and had been caught in the
inevitable tailback at the Jewel and then through town, so it was well
after nine a.m. when he arrived at Fettes.
'Morning, Gerry,' he said briskly to his secretary. 'Mail on the
desk?'
'Yes sir,' the young man replied, 'and'
Without breaking his stride. Skinner swept into the Chief
Constable's office .. . and his tight smile widened into a beam, as he
saw, comfortable in the old swivel chair, the Chief Constable.
'Jimmy!' he called out in his delight. 'My God, you look great
sitting there.'
Sir James Proud chuckled at his friend's surprise. 'I don't feel too
bad either,' he exclaimed. 'Don't get the wrong idea, though. I'm not
here to stay: not yet, at any rate. I've got an appointment at ten this
morning with the Force Medical Examiner, a cardiac consultant from
the Royal nominated for the purpose of passing me fit for duty.
'Gerry arranged it for me a week ago, but I told him to keep it as a
surprise.'
'You look fit enough to me,' said Skinner. 'It should be a formality.'
What he said was true. The Chief Constable looked a different
person from the tired, ageing overweight man who had gone on holiday
a few months earlier. Indeed, he looked like Proud Jimmy o
nce more.
He looked twenty pounds lighter, and five years younger as he swung
round in his chair. His deputy, on the other hand, had put on five
pounds and a few lines in his absence.
Skinner had visited his friend on the day after his return from
Spain. He had been pleased then by what he saw, and it was obvious
that progress to a full recovery was being maintained.
168
'So come on. Bob,' said Sir James, 'You've got time before the
Police Board. Give me a run-down. What's been happening?' During
their earlier meeting, the DCC had refused point blank to discuss
work.
He smiled and nodded. 'Okay, I guess you're up to it.
'The truth is that for the last couple of weeks. Sweet FAjust about
covers it. We had a very awkward investigation last month, into the
death of a woman out in East Lothian. Cancer victim: someone gave
her significant help to kill herself. The team didn't get a sniff as to
who it was though; a few false trails, that's all. I've chucked it at the
Fiscal; he's decided to lead minimal evidence at the FAI and just bury
it.'
'Has he indeed?' mused the Chief.
'Aye. Can't say I'm sorry. These things raise all sorts of moral
questions.'
'Not for us, Bob. The law's the law.'
'.. . and we are merely its servants, I know. Imperfect servants in
this instance, I'm not too unhappy to say.'
'Speaking of cancer patients' On his visit to the Chief, Skinner
had told him of Olive Mcllhenney's illness.
'She's coming on,' he replied at once. 'We saw her at the weekend,
in fact; Neil brought her and the kids out to Gullane on Sunday. She's
finished her first course of chemotherapy, and come through it well.
She's a bit grey-faced, but Sarah says her cough's a lot better. I tell
you, Jimmy, she's a study in human courage.'
'How about Neil? How's he handling it?'
'As you'd expect,' said Skinner. 'I can sense a tremendous tension
in him, but outwardly he's very calm and determined. I keep an eye on
him, don't you worry.'
'D'you never think about sending him on compassionate leave?'
'Doesn't want it. And he's right. It's better for Olive's morale if she
sees him going to work as usual. She has a cleaning woman in a
couple of mornings a week, and her head teacher visits her quite often
at lunch times, so she's not without company. She's doing some school
work at home too; computer stuff.'
'What are her chances, though?' the Chief asked, quietly.
Skinner looked him in the eye. 'Slim.'
Proud Jimmy sighed. 'Ahh well, let's just hope, eh.
'So what about the rest of it. I read about this global economic
conference: that's going to be a bugger for us, eh?'
'Jeez! Tell me about it. Jim Elder's been working on that for the last
month, putting together a policing plan. We had a security scare too,
with SB deployed all over the country looking for a guy who might
169
have been out to target one of the guests of honour.' He paused.
'That's history, though. The man was reported killed a couple of
weeks back.
'Our problems aren't over entirely though. We've been dropped
deeper in it, just in the last twenty-four hours. I've scheduled a meeting
with Andy and McGuire for three this afternoon, after the Board's
finished and the councillors have been fed; that's when I'll break the
bad news.'
Sir James sat up in his chair, attentively. 'Oh yes,' he said. 'What's
this all about then?'
170
54
Skinner looked at Mario McGuire across the Head ofCID's conference
table. 'You seem pleased with yourself,' he said. 'Is Maggie taking her
turn with the vacuum again?' His own spirits were high: the Police
Board had been at its most docile, noting every report and agreeing
every proposal without debate.
The inspector's smile widened. 'Not quite, boss; she's not up to
that yet, but she's well on the mend. Her temper's healed up faster
than her arm, thank the Lord.'
'When does she expect to be back at work?' Andy Martin asked: a
shade brusquely, the DCC thought.
'All being well, the hospital said, she can go back on light duties office
only, no driving - in a couple of weeks. She'll start physio then
and with that, in another month or so she'll be back to normal.'
'How the hell's she going to get to Haddington if she can't drive?'
'Couldn't she work in St Leonard's for a while, sir?' asked McGuire.
'Yeah, I suppose she could,' the Head ofCID conceded. 'I'll speak
to Brian about it. He'll be glad to have her back anywhere; his
division's clear-up rate has gone down in her absence.'
'As long as you don't expect it to shoot up when she goes back,
Andy,' said Skinner. 'Now, gentlemen, to the reason for this meeting.'
He glanced at Mcllhenney, who was seated on his right. 'Neil knows
this story already, but I brought him along anyway because I want him
involved.'
He gave a thin smile. 'I'll bet that ever since Michael Hawkins was
taken off the active list, you boys have been laughing up your sleeves
about the economic conference. What a Christmas present, eh?
Something this size and no CID or SB involvement.' He gave a quick,
wicked smile.
'Well, tough luck, colleagues. You might have known it was too
good to be true.'
'Great,' McGuire muttered, as Mcllhenney grinned at him. 'What's
coming now?'
'You can guess, I'm sure,' the DCC retorted. 'Now that the South
African's failed his pilot's test, the people in London have had a
171
rethink on security. They've decided that in the absence of a specific
threat, they do not want Edinburgh to look like a fortress to the
world's television viewers.
'So they have stood down the Ministry of Defence security team
and have thrown the ball back to us.'
'What does that mean?' asked Martin.
'Frankly, Andy, it means a rucking nightmare. Under the original
plan, the soldiers would have done the lot. Now, the intention is that
each Head of State will be accompanied by his own normal protection
people, under normal conditions. We will be responsible for liaising
with them all, checking all booked accommodation before they arrive,
accrediting them, and devising and issuing some form of discreetly
visible identifying badge so that every officer in that hall knows
who's meant to be armed and who isn't.'
'But that's crazy, sir,' McGuire protested. 'They're all going to be
carrying?'
'That's how it will be. The Americans always insist that their Secret
Service carry arms; they won't come otherwise. And if they do, the
Russians must, and if they must, the Germans . . . and so on. So the
decision is that everyone can bring their toys if they want, just as long
as they're declared to us.
'We'll be responsible now for the whole vetting operation, including
the journalist accreditation. The Foreign Office will pass us all the
names of everyone who applies to cover the conference, an
d we'll
have to run PNC checks on them all, before they're issued with their
badges by the FO Press Office people.
'Oh aye, and, just in case that isn't enough for you, they've added
a bit of extra spin ... as they say.' He paused. 'With an eye to the
elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Government has decided that
the conference will be opened by an address from the potential First
Minister, in other words, Dr Bruce Anderson, the Secretary of State
for Scotland.
'Mario, you'll be responsible for looking after him, reporting both
to me and to Sir John Govan.'
Martin frowned. 'Where the hell will we get the manpower?'
'From everywhere,' said Skinner. 'I want you to oversee the whole
operation. You and your team will become an expanded Special
Branch, if you want to look at it that way, merging with Mario and his
people. Neil will work with you, too.
'If you find that you're struggling, let me know. Jock's said that
he'll lend us people from Strathclyde if we need them, but I'm proud
enough of our force to want to do without that.'
He paused. 'The word proud reminds me. The Chief had his official
172
medical this afternoon. I'm enormously pleased to tell you that he'll
be back at work as of next Monday morning.'
'Aw, that's great,' exclaimed Mcllhenney, spontaneously, as Martin
and McGuire both smiled with pleasure at the news.
'Now, like Maggie, he'll be on light duties only, initially. He's been
told that it's mornings only for the first month, and I'll make damn
sure he sticks to that. But still - he's looking great, and it'll be a relief
to have him here even on that limited basis. It will also allow me to
play a proper part in the conference policing ... I'll be there most of
the time, in overall command.'
Skinner pushed his chair back from the table. 'The Foreign Office
is sending us, by close of play today, a full list of contacts in each
country attending the shindig. I'll have Neil circulate it as soon as it
arrives. Until then, Andy and Mario, you'd better call your troops
together for an initial briefing.'
He stood, and the others followed. McGuire and Mcllhenney headed
for the door at once, but the DCC held back.
'Here Andy,' he asked, failing to sound casual, 'have you seen our
kid lately?'
Martin nodded. 'We went to a movie on Saturday night, then for a
Gallery Whispers Page 22