Steel perched on the edge of a desk. ‘Polmont had an arrangement with our employer. But he’s no’ been keeping his end up. Know what I mean?’
Jumper-and-Tie went back to making the tea. ‘Well, I don’t see how that concerns us, Miss…?’
‘We’re talking three big ones here.’
‘Ah…’ He stuck a teaspoon in and swirled the bags around for a bit. ‘You should really be taking this up with Mr…Polmont, was it?’
‘Where is he?’
Milk. Sugar. ‘Andy, do we have a Mr Polmont working for us?’
The big man shook his head. ‘He was that sticky-fingered sparky, did a runner.’
‘Ah, yes…’ Jumper-and-Tie handed a mug to his colleague. ‘There was a problem with missing electrical equipment. Wire, cabling, junction boxes, that kind of thing. Mr Polmont made himself scarce before we could contact the police. Sorry we can’t be of further help.’
The inspector nodded. ‘He got any wages outstanding? Something he could be putting against his debt?’
‘I really think anything outstanding should go to pay for the equipment he stole, don’t you?’
‘Nah, that’s no’ going to—’
‘Think it’s time for you to leave, yeah?’ Big-and-Bald, AKA: Andy, came round the corner, towering over Steel, that huge scary dog trotting behind him, claws making skittering noises on the linoleum floor. ‘Got a buildin’ site to run here.’
She looked up at Andy. Then round at Logan. Raised an eyebrow.
Logan stared at the huge slab of a man. Screw that.
He stuck out his hand for Andy to shake. ‘No hard feelings.’
The big man paused for a second, then took it, his big fingers dwarfing Logan’s,
Andy grinned. ‘You have a nice day now, Officer.’
‘You’re a big, sodding, wet, Jessie bastard, you know that, don’t you?’ Steel stomped to a halt at the Fiat’s rusty passenger door. ‘Couldn’t throw your weight around for two bloody minutes!’
‘Did you see the size of him?’ Logan stopped behind her, both hands held up like a surgeon, waiting for a nurse to glove him up. ‘He’d’ve torn my head off and crapped down the stump. Anyway, he
‘You’re such a girl.’ She nodded her head at the car. ‘Well? Unlock the sodding thing; bloody freezing.’
Logan stuck one hip out. ‘Keys are in my front trouser pocket.’
She glanced down. ‘So?’
‘You’re going to have to drive.’
Her top lip curled. ‘Aye, that’ll be shining. Detective
‘Can’t. Did the hostage trick when I shook with Baldy Andy. You need to bag my hands till we get back to the station.’
Steel took another look at his trousers. ‘I’m no’ going digging about in your breeks, what if you get a stiffy?’
‘Just…don’t flatter yourself, OK?’
11
‘Bloody hell.’ Logan had one last bash at getting a cigarette out of the packet, then gave up. ‘Can you…?’
Steel shifted down and the Fiat whined around the outside of a massive tractor hauling a trailer full of cattle down the dual carriageway. ‘You’re like a wee kid.’ She took the pack from his slippery plastic-bagged hands, tapped one out against the steering wheel, stuck it between her teeth, and lit it with the car’s cigarette lighter. The edges of her scarlet lips cracked out like spider veins as she sooked. Then she held it out – a bright-red print on the filter – so Logan could sit forwards and pluck it from between her fingers with his mouth.
It tasted of burning perfume and Vaseline.
‘Thanks.’
Steel went back to squinting into the rain, windscreen wipers squealing and groaning across the pockmarked glass. ‘Either Polmont’s buggered off, or he’s dead.’
‘And if he was stealing electrical supplies from Malk the Knife, doesn’t matter where he runs to. Sooner or later…’
‘Silly bugger.’
‘You know,’ Logan tried to take the cigarette out of his mouth to tap the ash off, but couldn’t work the clear plastic bags into a position that wouldn’t burn a hole in them, ‘if you were going to kill someone for nicking your electrical wiring, there’s plenty of places to bury the body on a building site: mechanical diggers, concrete…’
‘Aye.’ Steel reached over and took the fag from Logan’s mouth, flicked the ash out of the open window, took a sneaky puff, then stuck it back between his lips. ‘Get onto Strathclyde when we get back, tell them I want a cadaver
