Dark Blood

Logan sniffed. ‘That or he’s holed up somewhere torturing someone’s grandfather…’

‘God, you’re a wee ray of sunshine today, aren’t you?’

Logan just grunted, trying to keep the car from mounting the pavement as it slithered to a halt outside the burnt shell of Knox’s house.

‘Ooh, here we go.’ Steel reached out and turned up the radio.

‘…angry scenes. Grampian Police issued this statement.’

DCI Finnie’s voice crackled out. ‘Richard Knox is considered extremely dangerous. If anyone sees him, they should call nine-nine-nine immediately, do not, under any circumstances approach him, or try to apprehend him yourself.’

There was an explosion of questions, all shouted at once:

‘Chief Inspector! Why did Grampian Police allow him to escape?’

‘What are you doing to recapture Knox?’

‘Are the public at risk?’

‘Is it true he raped one of the team supervising him?’

A cut, then Finnie was back, ‘…want to assure you that we’re doing everything we can to bring Richard Knox back into custody as quickly as possible.’

Then the radio moved on to a piece about all the traffic accidents caused by the snow.

‘Bloody media.’ Steel stabbed the off button. ‘How come they use everything Finnie said? Where the hell was my bit?’

At least she’d had a bit — all Logan had done was stand at the back, like a spare fart.

The car rocked as Danby popped the back door and clambered out, then picked his way carefully towards what was left of Knox’s house.

Logan killed the engine. ‘You’ve got to speak to Finnie about Beattie.’

‘Screw the pair of them.’ She dug out a packet of cigarettes and offered Logan one.

‘It’s all right for you, I’m the one getting hauled up for doing what you sodding told me!’

‘OK, OK, I’ll talk to him. Honestly: moan, bitch, whinge.’ She opened her door, put one foot on the road, gave a little squeak, and ended up flat on her back. ‘Buggering turd-burglars…’

Logan clambered out, inched around to the other side of the car, and hauled her to her feet. ‘Serves you right.’

‘Don’t push it.’ Her cigarette was bent like a dog’s leg. She spat it out onto the ice. ‘Should be off tanning my white bits on some sun-drenched beach, not looking after ungrateful bastard detective sergeants.’

‘You want me to let go again?’

‘Do it and I’ll kill you…’

They crab walked to the kerb, then shuffled their way across the slippery pavement and in through the front gate. Knox’s house was barely recognizable. The roof had gone, the walls were blackened and stained, windows missing, chunks of charred timber sticking up from the rubble, everything topped with a layer of snow.

Danby was standing in the hallway, hands in his pockets, breath steaming out around his big pink head.

Steel lit another cigarette, hissing the smoke out between her teeth. ‘Still don’t see what this is supposed to accomplish.’

‘Walking the ground.’ Danby held out a hand, as if blessing the fire scene. ‘No point going back to the flat he disappeared from: wasn’t even there twenty-four hours. This is where his roots are, know what I’m saying?’

Logan stepped across the threshold into what used to be the lounge. Blackened chunks and lumps, a scattering of slates from the roof. Humped shapes that could have been the remains of the sofa, or bits of collapsed ceiling — it was impossible to tell. The place stank of melted plastic and bitter charcoal. ‘Don’t think his roots exist any more. They’ve all burned.’

There was a deep sigh. ‘That’s what I’m worried about. The only place he’s got left now is his mother’s old house in Newcastle. Don’t think we really want him back. At least when we knew where the filthy little bastard was we could keep an eye on him, but now…’

Logan nudged a twisted metal shape with the toe of his shoe. Took a moment to realize it was the three-bar electric fire Knox prayed to every day.

‘Pffffff…Sod this: it’s too cold to be buggering about outside.’ Steel jammed her hands in her armpits. ‘You two can commune with the spirit of Pocahontas all you like — I’m going back to the car.’

Logan looked up and watched Danby haul a section of metal pipe from the rubble and start poking.

On his own in a strange city, surrounded by ruins.

The car door clunked shut, leaving them alone.

‘Why are you really here?’

Danby didn’t turn around. ‘Told you — Knox has info on Mental Mikey’s operation.’

‘You hate him, and he hates you. Why would he tell you anything?’

‘He’ll be heading south.’ The metal pole poked into a mound of something that disintegrated. ‘We need to start pulling in the local perverts, see if he contacted any of them for help, know what I’m saying? I’ll get my team to do the same in Newcastle.’

Logan just stared at him.

Silence.

Another sigh. ‘Billy Adams was my friend, and that…and Knox killed him.’

‘Thought Knox was in prison when Adams killed himself.’

‘Nah, he didn’t stick the gun in Billy’s mouth, or pull the trigger, but he might as well have done. See I got Knox on the forensic evidence from William Brucklay, but how do you think I knew to look at him in the first place?’

Logan frowned. ‘You said Adams heard rumours Mental Mikey’s accountant was into-’

‘I knew because he raped Billy. Must’ve found out he wasn’t really on the take — or Billy slipped up somewhere — but Knox had him in that basement for three days. I saw him after he escaped, bruised to hell, back all covered with bite marks and cigarette burns.’ Danby let the metal pole clatter to the ground. ‘Wouldn’t talk about it, wouldn’t press charges, wouldn’t even let me tell anyone. And three months after we put Knox away for what he did to William Brucklay, Billy drove off into the middle of nowhere with a shotgun…’

The DSI kicked a lump of charcoaled wood down the hall. ‘That’s why I’m here. So that bastard Knox can’t get away with it again.’

The old man screams, high pitched and angry. ‘Aya, fucking poof bastard!’

Richard Knox bites him again — on the buttocks, hard enough to break the skin, tears rolling down his face. Then he does it again.

Doesn’t have any choice, does he? Like with that prat Harry from Sacro: doesn’t want to do it, but has to.

Cos this is the path God has chosen for him.

‘AAAAAAAGH…!’

The room’s cold, a crappy little bedroom in a crappy little house out in the countryside, surrounded by sheep and snow. It’s got puffy patterned wallpaper — painted a rancid-butter yellow — and a double bed with one of them tartan blankets on top, scratchy beneath Richard’s naked skin.

Maybe it’s the old man’s house. Maybe he was just visiting. Doesn’t really matter, does it?

‘AAAAAAAGH…Fuck that hurts!’

It’s a test. Has to be: another test from God.

Richard stifles a sob, face pressed against the old man’s thigh, and bites down hard.

40

‘Any luck?’