to his lips, Rebus stared up at Todd, who had begun to blush.
‘Yes, sir,’ he said. ‘I know him.’
‘Mm-hm.’ Rebus tested the tea, seeming to relish the bland flavour of milk and hot water. ‘Told you to keep an eye on me, did he?’
‘Sir?’
‘If you happen to see him, Todd, tell him everything’s fine.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Todd was turning to leave.
‘Oh, and Todd?’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘Don’t let me see you near me again, understood?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Todd was clearly downhearted. At the door, he paused, seeming to have a sudden plan that would ingratiate himself with his superior. Smiling, he turned back to Rebus.
‘Did you hear about the action across in Fife, sir?’
‘What action?’ Rebus sounded uninterested.
‘The dog fight, sir.’ Rebus tried hard to still look unmoved. ‘They broke up some dog fight. Guess who got arrested?’
‘Malcolm Rifkind?’ guessed Rebus. This deflated Todd totally. The smile left his face.
‘No, sir,’ he said, turning again to leave. Rebus’s patience was short.
‘Well who then?’ he snapped.
‘That disc jockey, Calum McCallum,’ Todd said, closing the door after him. Rebus stared at the door for a count of five before it struck home: Calum McCallum . .. Gill Templer’s lover!
Rebus raised his head and let out a roar which mixed
laughter with a kind of twisted victory cry. And when he had stopped laughing, and was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, he looked towards the door again and saw that it was open. There was someone standing in the doorway, watching his performance with a look of puzzlement on their face.
It was Gill Templer.
Rebus checked his watch. It was nearly one in the morning.
‘Working the late shift, Gill?’ he said to cover his confusion.
‘I suppose you’ve heard,’ she said, ignoring him.
‘Heard what?’
She walked into the room, pushed some papers off the chair onto the floor, and sat down, looking exhausted. Rebus looked at all that paper slewed across the floor.
‘The cleaners come in in the morning anyway,’ he said. Then: ‘I’ve heard.’
‘Is that what all the screaming was about?’
‘Oh, that.’ Rebus tried to shrug it off, but could feel the blood tingling in his cheeks. ‘No,’ he said, ‘that was just something … well, something else.
‘Not very convincing, Rebus, you bastard.’ Her words were tired. He wanted to buoy her up, tell her she was looking well or something. But it wouldn’t have been true and she would just scowl at him again. So he left it. She was looking drawn, not enough sleep and no fun left any more. She’d just had her world locked up in a cell somewhere in Fife. They would be photographing and fingerprinting it perhaps, ready to file it away. Her life, Calum McCallum.
Life was full of surprises.
‘So what can I do for you?’
She looked up at him, studying his face as though she wasn’t sure who he was or why she was here. Then she >k herself awake with a twitch of the shoulders.
‘It sounds corny, but I really was just passing. I dropped into the canteen for a coffee before going home, and then I heard -’ She shivered again; the twitch which wasn’t quite a twitch. Rebus could see how fragile she was. He hoped she wasn’t going to shake apart. ‘I heard about Calum. How could he do that to me, John? Keep a secret like that? I mean, where’s the fun in watching dogs ripping each other -’
‘That’s something you’ll have to ask him yourself, Gill. Can I get you some more coffee?’
‘Christ no, I’m going to find it hard enough getting to sleep as it is. Tell you what I would like though, if it’s not too much trouble.’
‘Name it.’
‘A lift home.’ Rebus was already nodding agreement. ‘And a hug.’
Rebus got up slowly, donned his jacket, put the pen and piece of paper in his pocket, and met her in the middle of the room. She had already risen from her chair, and, standing on reports to be read, paperwork to be signed, arrest statistics and the rest, they hugged, their arms strong. She buried her head in his shoulder. He rested his chin on her neck, staring at the closed door, rubbing her back with one hand, patting with the other. Eventually, she pulled away, head first, then chest, but still holding him with her arms. Her eyes were moist, but it was over now. She was looking a little better.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
