'Sheriff said he'd shown real remorse and didn't present an immediate danger to the public. We were lucky he got banged up at all.' 'Why do we even bother arresting the bastards?' Steel hitched up her trousers. 'Right, I want you to--' 'Scuse me,' DC Rennie staggered to a halt, clutching a dusty cardboard box full of case files. 'Bloody thing weighs a ton ...' The inspector stood to one side and Rennie lurched past. The constable paused. 'You two coming tonight?' Steel shrugged. 'Ah, why not? Laz can bring his new boyfriend from Birmingham.' 'He's not my boyfriend!' 'That reminds me,' Renne shifted his grip on the box. 'Chief Constable Faulds's been looking for you.' 'Oh aye?' said Steel,'Well he can kiss my--' 'No, not you: DS McRae. Something about retracing the original investigation.' Logan closed his eyes. 'Oh God ...' Steel slapped him on the back. 'Never mind, Laz, you'll get your reward in heaven. But before you get there I want that vandalism report, or you're going the other way, understand?'
The setting sun made the grey buildings glow peach and gold as Logan locked the pool car and waited for Faulds to finish his anecdote about a seventy-two-year-old prostitute he'd arrested in the middle of Birmingham town centre wearing nothing but a nun's wimple and a surgical truss. Alec the cameraman waited till the Chief Constable got to the punch line, then confirmed the sound levels were perfect. 'Good.' Faulds ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sparkling granite tenement. Cleared his throat. Marched up to the door. Logan leaned over and whispered to the cameraman,'So ... Insch tell you to get lost again?' Alec pulled a face. 'He's a nightmare. Thought he was going to smack me one this morning. All I did was ask how his diet's going.' They followed Faulds into the building. It was dark inside: a welcome mat smeared with mud and the faint smell of dog shit; a mountain bike chained to the banisters; a stack of junk mail slowly festering in a dirty puddle on the tiled floor. Faulds started up the stairs. 'Anyway,' said Alec,'this is going to be great for the Flesher special - revisiting the original case, talking to the witnesses, walking the crime scenes.' Faulds paused on the first landing, leant on the balustrade and called down to them:'Something wrong?' 'With you in a second.' Alec lowered his voice. 'Just between you and me: what do you reckon to Faulds, then?' Logan shrugged. 'He's OK, I suppose. Fancies himself a bit. I was expecting him to be more of an arse, pull rank the whole time ... you know: your average Chief Constable.' 'You remember that Birmingham Bomber case? Well Faulds was the one who--' 'You two asleep down there?'
