“It’s over, Holden,” I said. “With Lena’s confession and Finn’s statement, we’ve got enough to put you and all your people here away for a long time. All that’s left for you to do is release Haruto as well.”
“You can try,” Holden sneered. Even beaten and bleeding, he managed to come across as condescending.
“I certainly will,” I promised. “Now where’s Haruto?”
“On his way to London by now,” Holden sneered.
I took a threatening step forward. “He better not be.”
“He’s downstairs,” Harris interrupted as Holden prepared to insult me once again. “In a study off the library.”
Holden’s eyes practically bulged out of his head, his face turning a bright red. “How dare you!” He tried to rise out of his chair, but the pain from his wound was too much, and he fell back again. “I pay you!”
“I’m not going to jail for you!” Harris shot back as fury crawled over Holden and Elias’s faces.
“And the cache you took from the Castle of Old Wick?” I asked Harris.
“In the safe under his desk. The combination should be 36-22-90.”
What a helpful criminal.
“Thomas Holden, you are under arrest for kidnapping and theft. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention something when questioned which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
I pushed Harris aside and approached the desk, unhooking the handcuffs from my belt. The room broke. Holden’s once-loyal employees bolted for the door, Elias at the head of the pack. Fletcher tripped up Harris, and MacGowan tackled the woman with the curly hair, but the others managed to leap out the door and disappear down the hall. Hopefully, my team was outside and ready to round them up.
Holden didn’t resist when I clapped the restraints on him, but he did give me a look that promised a painful and lingering revenge. I just smiled at him.
“This is MacBain,” I said into my radio once he and the others were secure. “We’ve got Holden, and Finn is safe. Nab any stragglers you can and call for cleanup. Over.”
“We’ve got a team waiting in Tain,” Reid replied. “They’ve got Finn, and they’re sending boats over now to help transport everyone. Over.”
“Good work, you guys. When--”
“Got to go, sir!” Reid interrupted. “Some bogeys just came out of the building! Don’t worry. We’ll get them.”
I had no doubt my team could handle them, so I dropped the radio to the chair behind me and let out a deep breath. Exhaustion flooded my body, making my vision swim for a moment. Lena approached me cautiously and reached out to touch my elbow, her fingers hesitating just before they made contact.
“Are we… okay?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” I said and smiled to reassure her. I pushed Holden’s chair aside and crouched painfully in front of the metal safe that was tucked under the desk.
“Well, I’m not okay!” Fletcher cut in, folding her arms over her chest. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep the act up,” I said. “I didn’t want to add another factor to the deceit. I’m sorry.”
Fletcher shrugged and punched me in the shoulder. “I forgive you.” She narrowed her eyes in Lena’s direction and jabbed a finger at the other woman. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, though.”
Lena laughed, but the sound quickly died away when she realized Fletcher was deadly serious. “What about Finn’s father?” she asked, looking over my shoulder.
We all turned to look at MacGowan, who was in the process of trying to sneak out the door. He froze with one foot in the air and gave us a sheepish grin.
“As far as I’m concerned, MacGowan escaped in the chaos,” I said and winked at him.
MacGowan nodded to me and ran off, his black-clad form disappearing down the stairs. He would have to get himself off an island full of police officers scouring every rock and bush for people to arrest, but I wanted to repay him for coming to our aid, even if he had made everything worse for a hot second. And I wanted to give him a chance to reconnect with his son, and he couldn’t do that if he was in prison.
I spun the knob a couple of times, and the safe’s lock clicked, allowing me to swing the door open. A leather sack lay inside, looking remarkably drab. I was a little disappointed. I’d expected it to be golden and shining or something. I plucked the bag out of the safe and loosened the drawstrings to peer inside, Fletcher crowding in close to get a peek as well.
It was mostly coins, mottled green with age, the etchings on either side barely visible. There was a corroded metal blade, several banded bracelets pounded into shape by a long-ago hammer, and an axe head carved with swirls and knotwork.
“Cool,” Fletcher said.
I tightened the strings again and gathered the last dregs of my energy, breathing deeply to wipe the exhaustion from my face as I slipped Lena’s note back into my pocket and passed Fletcher her phone.
“Up,” I said to Holden, and when he didn’t move, I grabbed his uninjured arm and hauled him upright. “All of you, outside.”
Fletcher corralled our other two prisoners out the office and all the way down through the building to the door to the outside. A forensics team would sweep this entire place for evidence, but that wasn’t my problem. Maybe they would even find some other artefacts we could return to their proper owners.
I peeled off from the group in the library to finish the search for Haruto. I tried every door until I came across one that was locked. I knocked lightly. “Mr Sato? Are you in there? This is Callum MacBain.”
A pause, then Haruto’s frightened voice filtered through the door. “DCI MacBain?”
“Stand back, okay? I’m
