Driftnet (26 page)

Now he was
muttering quietly to himself.

Jonathan lay
very still.

Simon looked at
him as if he had suddenly remembered he was there.

He went over
and opened a bag, lying in the corner. Jonathan saw the leather
straps and a whimper escaped his lips.

‘This is what
you came for. This is what you like, isn’t it Jonathan?’

Simon was
coming towards him, saying his name over and over again.

Jonathan’s long
cry propelled Rhona downwards, even though she didn’t know what she
would do when she reached the bottom. The cry abruptly ended in an
ominous silence. Rhona stopped dead. It seemed an age until she
heard another sound. Relief flooded over her. Jonathan’s weeping
meant he was alive.

She could hear
Jonathan moaning, a pitiful searing sound. Rhona couldn’t bear it.
She had to get Gavin away from the boy, even if it meant bringing
his attention back to her. Her eyes darted round the hall. The
front door still stood ajar. There was a chance that, if she hid
behind it, she would be out of his line of sight.

She shut the
front door and opened it again, then slipped behind.

She heard
footsteps. If he went upstairs, she was sunk.

She stopped
breathing as Gavin passed her and went outside.

Rhona
immediately threw her whole weight behind the door and slammed it
shut. The bolt slid home with a defiant rasp.

****

Jonathan looked
half crazy.

‘Who are
you?’

‘A friend.’

Rhona tugged at
the cord that tied his feet to the metal bed. Her bruised hands
fumbled, her fingers swollen and clumsy. Then she caught sight of
the kitchen knife on the floor beside the bed, but the end of the
blade was too thick to slip between the boy’s ankle and the cord.
She would have to slice in the other direction.

‘Stay as still
as you can.’

She sawed at
the cord. Its disintegration was achingly slow. But at last
Jonathan wrestled his feet free. The leather strap binding his
hands was easier. He sat up and wrenched off the tasselled cord
from his neck, revealing a brutal welt.

‘Did he take
your mobile?’Rhona asked urgently.

‘It was in my
pocket.’

He pointed at a
jacket behind the door.

Rhona started
frenziedly to go through the pockets.

She was on the
last one when she heard a window smash.

Jonathan threw
her a look of panic.

Rhona had found
the mobile. She thrust it towards him.

‘If you can get
a signal, call 999. They’ll trace us.’

Jonathan
nodded. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To make sure
he doesn’t get back inside.’

Rhona picked up
the knife and slipped it under her belt. She grabbed the poker from
the fireplace.

In the hall,
she could smell smoke. Rhona thought it seemed to be coming from a
room at the back. The bastard is trying to burn us alive, she
thought. She ran over and flung open the door. The smell of petrol
was overpowering. Fire was already licking its way along the floor
beneath the broken window. She might be able to smother it with the
curtains. She made a move forward, then dashed back towards the
hall. Behind her, the room burst into a sea of flames.

****

They were a
mile outside Arrochar, when the radio buzzed in the police car. The
driver answered it. A fisherman taking full advantage of the long
Scottish day, had seen smoke coming from a holiday cottage on the
far side of the loch and used his mobile to call the fire
brigade.

‘The brigade
are on their way, Sir.’

DI Wilson
ordered the driver to turn on the siren and get a move on.

****

The hands that
circled Rhona’s neck came from nowhere.

‘You never give
up, do you?’ Gavin’s voice was a devilish hiss.

Rhona dropped
the poker and grabbed at his fingers, trying to prize them apart.
He leaned back, lifting her bodily from the floor. Her neck was
ready to snap.

She scrabbled
in mid air, grabbing at nothing. Then her right hand touched metal.
The knife. She pulled it free and swung it sharply over her left
shoulder.

Everything
happened in slow motion.

It met Gavin’s
eye. She felt the momentary resistance, the point piercing the
membrane. As he staggered backwards, she heard a scream, but
whether it was his, or hers, she had no idea.

Free of his
grip, she slumped forward, gasping in the smoke filled air. She
looked up. Jonathan was shouting at her.

She struggled
forward.

‘I’m coming!’
The words tore from her throat as she staggered towards the loch
and the night sky and air filled with sweet oxygen.

****

Bill was out
and running even before the car came to a complete halt. The
cottage was engulfed in flames. He ran towards the fire engine,
scanning the group of figures for her fair hair. Then he saw
her.

‘Rhona! Thank
God.’

She was holding
a boy’s hand.

‘This is
Jonathan,’ she said. ‘He wants to go home.’

Bill said a
silent thank you to whoever was listening up there.

‘The hospital
for both of you first.’

Rhona looked
grey.

‘Gavin’s still
in there.’

Bill looked at
the inferno. He was glad.

‘He fooled me.’
Anguish filled her face.

‘He fooled us
all,’ said Bill gently.

Chapter
42

‘You wanted to
see me Sir.’

The Super
didn’t look up but went on reading the buff-coloured report on his
desk. Bill waited.

When he did
look up, his face was furious.

‘I thought I
told you to stop harassing Sir James Dalrymple.’

‘There are
certain aspects to this case...’

The Super’s
expression halted Bill in mid flow.

‘I understand
Fenton’s killer confessed to Dr MacLeod and that he is now
dead.’

‘No Sir.’

‘What?’

Bill took a
certain pleasure in the effect the news was having on his superior
officer.

‘We can’t be
sure Gavin MacLean died in that fire.’

‘Does Doctor
MacLeod know this?’

Bill shook his
head. ‘The news is just in, Sir.’

‘But you’ve
pulled in five men suspected of being involved in this paedophile
ring?’

‘Suspected,
yes.’

‘Sir James had
nothing to do with this.’

‘I have reason
to believe...’

‘You have
nothing to go on Detective Inspector.’

‘But...’

‘Nothing but
your bizarre obsession with implicating him.’

‘He did rent
out his hunting lodge to paedophiles.’

‘We only have a
rent boy’s word on that.’

‘Neil MacGregor
saved Dr MacLeod’s life.’ Bill’s voice was thick with anger.

‘And for that
we’re grateful.’ The Super became more concilitary. ‘The rent
boy...’

‘He has a name,
Sir.’

‘The rent boy
admits that he was always blindfolded when he was taken to this
place, doesn’t he?’

Bill knew where
all this was heading.

‘The lodge was
thoroughly searched. Forensic found nothing at all to support his
story. Is that not the case, Wilson?’

Bill held his
silence.

‘Sir James was
out of the country when all this happened. I repeat, Detective
Inspector. He has nothing to do with this case. I suggest you
concentrate your efforts on finding Gavin MacLean.’

With a curt
nod, he indicated that the interview was at an end.

Chapter
43

‘Sit down! You
were told to rest and put your feet up.’

‘I’m not an
invalid.’

Chrissy gave
her one of her looks.

‘Okay. Okay,’
Rhona relented. ‘But you’ll have to turn the telly on for me.’

Chrissy dropped
the remote in Rhona’s lap. ‘I’ll bring you a cup of tea,’ she said.
‘Then I’m off to the hospital.’

‘I hope you
don’t boss Neil like this or he’ll stay in there for ever.’

Chrissy wasn’t
listening.

‘Oh, someone
phoned while you were napping,’ she said as she went to fetch her
coat. ‘He said he would phone back.’

‘It wasn’t
Sean?’

‘Not this
time.’

‘Probably
Jonathan,’ said Rhona.

Chrissy had her
coat on. ‘I’ll see you later,’ she said.

‘Tell Neil I
was asking for him,’ Rhona called after her.

The person
called back fifteen minutes later.

Rhona was
watching the news. They were interviewing Edward Stewart. The
Conservative MP for Bearsden was being congratulated on helping the
police track down five suspected members of a paedophile ring that
had been operating in the Glasgow area. It had been a particularly
difficult time for Mr Stewart, the interviewer explained, because
the MP’s own son had been kidnapped from his hospital bed by one of
the men involved and had been in danger of losing his life.

Rhona pressed
the off switch just as Edward gave a special vote of thanks to Sir
James Dalrymple for his support at this trying time.

‘Hello,’ she
said into the phone.

‘Is that Dr
Rhona MacLeod?’

‘It is.’

‘I’m sorry to
bother you,’ the voice paused nervously. My name’s Liam. Liam
Hope.’

‘Liam?’

‘And I think I
might be... your son,’ he said.

‘Oh yes Liam,’
Rhona said. ‘Oh yes. You’re absolutely right. You are.’

****

Bill watched
Rhona take in the news that Gavin might still be on the loose.
Sitting in the armchair in her dressing gown, she still looked pale
and vulnerable.

‘He’s still
alive.’

She said the
words as though she already knew.

‘I wondered,’
she looked up at him. ‘When he grabbed me in the hall. He came in
by the back door. He must have got out that way.’

‘We’re running
a check on all the hospitals. If he did escape, he’ll need medical
attention. We’ll pick him up soon.’

She looked
haunted.

‘We’ve got
mountain rescue teams checking the surrounding hills, just in case
he’s hiding out somewhere.’

She pulled her
dressing gown tighter round her.

‘I wish Sean
was here with you.’

‘Don’t worry
about me. I’ve decided to go to see Sean in Paris.’

‘You’re
flying?’

Rhona shook her
head. ‘You know me. I like my feet firmly on the ground. A sleeper
and a trip through the tunnel.’

Chapter
44

The train was
slowing down.

Rhona had been
sitting for so long, her legs were stiff when she stood up. She was
very on edge.

The platform
was crowded. He would be there, she knew that. Taking her time, she
lifted the small case from the rack.

The carriage
door opened with a sigh. The smell of French coffee from the
railway restaurant reminded her how she would watch him move about
the kitchen; a glimpse of thigh, an arm reaching up, his penis
swinging soft and vulnerable. And he would whistle, that lovely
melodeous soundtrack to their lives together.

He was standing
at the barrier, watching for her. He smiled and waved. His face was
so familiar that the horrors of the recent past melted, and all she
knew was the smell of him, the taste of him, the warmth of his
body, the gentle sweetness of their lovemaking. How could she have
let herself get so close to losing this man.

He came forward
and took her case from her, his fingers brushing over hers.

‘How are you?’
he said.

His eyes were
so blue.

‘I’m fine,’ she
said. And it was the truth.

He put down the
case.

‘There are
things I have to tell you.’

She didn’t want
to hear it. She put a finger on his lips to stop him.

‘Just hold
me.’

He put his arms
around her and she buried her face in his chest, breathing him
in.

‘We’ve both
been stupid,’ she said. She looked up at him and liked what she saw
in his eyes.

He kissed
her.

‘You taste like
Ireland,’ he said.

As they walked
to the Metro, he asked if she had seen her son and she said not
yet, but she had spoken to him.

‘He wants to
come to university in Scotland.’

They left the
station arm in arm. And as they walked, Sean began to whistle a
tune, a tune so sweet that the sound of it in the Paris street
caused people to turn and smile.

####

About the
Author

Lin Anderson
has published seven novels featuring forensic expert Dr Rhona
MacLeod, of which Driftnet is the first. The seventh, The Reborn is
out in paperback in May 2011. Her short stories have appeared in a
number of collections. Most recently Dead Close was chosen for the
Best of British Crime 2011. Also a screenwriter, her film River
Child won a BAFTA and the Celtic Film Festival best fiction
award.

Other books in
the series, available as print copies and ebooks

Torch

Deadly Code

Dark Flight

Easy Kill

Final Cut

The Reborn

Connect with
Lin Online
:

Author’s
homepage:
http//www.lin-anderson.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Lin_Anderson

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Dunedin9