the public say they are not unhappy with what the Dark Angel is doing.’
There was nothing but dead air coming from his car radio. Eventually Shirley responded icily.
‘Thank you for attending, ladies and gentlemen. This press conference is now at an end.’
The station cut back to the studio where the presenter segued slickly into ‘Psycho Killer’ by Talking Heads. Winter switched it off.
He sat looking out of the car window and drumming his fingers. He gave it five long minutes until he couldn’t stand it any more and called Rachel back. Straight to voicemail. Winter swore at the phone then paused, waiting till he could leave a message.
‘It’s me. Call me back as soon as you can.’
Ten minutes passed that seemed to last an hour. He called again and again but only got the answering service.
He fingered through the contacts book looking for another number even though he knew it off by heart. As usual, it picked up on the third ring.
‘Hullo?’
‘Uncle Danny? It’s Tony.’
‘I know who it is,’ he growled back at him. ‘Are you going to tell me what it is this time?’
‘Danny, it’s complicated…’
‘Fuck off, Tony. Let me rephrase, you are going to tell me what it is this time. What kind of trouble are you in?’
‘It’s not me.’
‘So is it the guy in the Special Boat Service or is it your mate the cop who’s been shot? Or is it to do with the latest guy that’s been shot and just been on the news?’
It stunned him into silence.
‘I did this for a living, son.’
‘I need your help, Danny.’
‘I’d kinda gathered that. Okay, what do you need?’
‘There’s a friend that I… my girlfriend. I need you to look after her.’
Danny paused, taking the information in.
‘Okay, so who is she?’
She wasn’t going to like this but it was too late for that.
‘She’s a cop. A detective sergeant.’
‘I need her name, Tony.’
‘Rachel Narey. DS Rachel Narey.’
Danny laughed lightly.
‘I know her. You’ve done well there.’
Despite everything, Winter laughed too.
‘Cheers, Danny. You can tell her that yourself. I want you to pick her up from Pitt Street. You still know enough people in there that you can get past the front desk, don’t you?’
‘Course I do. And where do you want me to take this girlfriend of yours?’
‘Somewhere safe. She won’t want to go with you and she’ll not be happy when you tell her who you are. Danny, I want you to not take no for an answer.’
‘Okay. You going to tell me why?’
‘We need to get her safe because she might be next. I know that this Dark Angel guy knows where she lives and I think he might be looking to shoot her.’
A long pause.
‘Why would he want to do that, Tony?’
‘She’s not on the take, Uncle Danny. I’m as sure about that as I can be. But one of her informants had her name in his mobile and the cunt that’s doing all the killings has that phone.’
‘Tony, you should be going to the cops with this. I know Alex Shirley, he’s sound. You can talk to him.’
‘No. I can’t. I can’t go to anyone in Strathclyde with this.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because… because I’ve fucked up and I need to sort it.’
‘That’s not good enough, Tony. People are dying here. It can’t be about your pride being hurt.’
‘It’s more than that. I owe it to people. Give me two days and keep Rachel safe. If I’ve not sorted it by then, I’ll go to Alex Shirley. I promise.’
‘No need to promise,’ Danny growled at him. ’If you haven’t done it by then, I’ll drag you there myself.’
CHAPTER 42
It was well after dark o’clock and Winter knew it was no time to be going visiting but then again it was no time to be standing on ceremony.
Just minutes after phoning Danny, he was driving up the High Street past the cathedral, his head full of Rachel and Addison, safe houses and hospital beds. He could still hear Danny’s warning, knowing he was right and only managing to shut him out when the lights at the Royal turned green and the road before him swung right and down the hill onto Alexander Parade. It felt like he’d been in Dennistoun more often than he’d been in his own flat the last few days and he was beginning to get sick of the place.
Maybe Mrs McKendrick would be out or in bed but his guess was that she was in her flat, peering into the bottom of a glass of brandy or gin and wondering how the hell it all happened. She’d be up half the night, doped up on Prozac and booze and too tired to sleep. Whether she wanted a visitor to share her misery was another matter but he had to find out.
Winter parked on the other side of the road and looked up. Sure enough, there was a light on in the McKendricks’ flat, a dim light like that given off by a table lamp. He crossed the road and pressed the buzzer, hoping that it wouldn’t simply scare her. Stepping back, he saw the curtains twitch as a shadow looked down onto the street. It didn’t pay to let someone know you were in at that time of night without checking them out first. Rosaleen couldn’t have been happy with what she’d seen because there was no voice through the intercom and he had to buzz again. Another minute passed and finally a crackle and she spoke, her voice weary and slightly slurred.
‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Tony. Ryan’s mate. I was round yesterday.’
‘Oh.’
She fell silent and for a moment he thought she’d walked away.
‘Are you still there, Mrs McKendrick?’
‘Yes.’
‘I want to speak to you.’
‘It’s very late.’
‘I know but it’s important.’
‘About Ryan?’
‘Yes.’
There was a pause as she deliberated then he got his answer as the intercom buzzed loudly. He pushed against the open door and made his way quickly but quietly up the stairs. She was standing just inside the door, holding it to her as if it was some kind of ill-considered protection. He read the look on her face and immediately felt like shit. She thought he was there to bring her bad news about her son.
In some ways, it was the exact opposite. He was there to not tell her the bad news that he knew. He wasn’t protecting her for her sake but for his. And Rachel’s.
‘Do you… is Ryan…’ she faltered.
‘No, no,’ he reassured her, lying through his teeth. ‘I haven’t heard anything.’
She fell against the door frame in her relief, immediately making him feel even worse, and burping out a small, fake laugh. Her eyes were frazzled and either prescription medicine or alcohol had been hard at work. She
