“Fat chance!” Caitlin hmphed. “It’ll be dull as dishwater around here while you’re away, you’ll see. And you’re the bloody trouble magnet around here, Conall, especially when you’re swanning about with your batshit loon of a cousin. I’ll just have to trust you both to watch each other’s backs... he’s certainly better qualified for the job than I am.”
That was true, but she was unfair to herself. We’re all unique, every human being on the planet. But Shay was so uniquely unique that he might as well be of an entirely different species. Most people’s jaws drop the first time they get a good look at my cousin, but his remarkable appearance was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg where his ‘strangeness’ was concerned. That he’d diligently applied himself to the task of turning his ‘vehicle’ (the body that housed his extraordinary brain) into a superbly honed defence system was neither surprising nor irrational. Having trained with him for most of my life, I didn’t do too badly myself at that game. DS Caitlin Murray was far above average when it came to the fighting abilities of the British police force in general, but she hadn’t grown up the way we did.
“Well,” I straightened up, “speaking of the devil, I think I’d better see if I can drag him away from his favourite new project.”
That got a real grin. I could see her picturing me grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and physically doing just that.
“Just come back in one piece,” she admonished me and gave me a brief hug. “Go get ‘em, Conall… and make it quick, if you can!”
I watched her walk away across the road before climbing into my car. It was far too warm and stuffy in there. It might only be fifteen degrees outside, not exactly ‘hot,’ by anyone’s standards, but my Peugeot had been sitting in the sun all afternoon. I dumped my jacket and bag on the passenger seat, opened up the windows and got moving. With a nice breeze blowing through, it soon felt much more pleasant in there. I put my phone in the holder and hit the speed dial.
“Fuck!” Shay’s voice answered on the seventh ring, “It’s after five already? Where did the afternoon go?” I could hear a nearby hammering noise. He was over at the new house again then, as I’d expected.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“We’ve nearly finished with the roof,” he told me cheerfully. “So we can fit the hemp batts in the attic tomorrow, ready for me to do the inside woodwork. And the joiners seem to be doing a decent job with the new window frames.” Yes, but only by copying the one he’d made to show them what he wanted, and by working to his exacting specifications. He was absolutely determined to make the place not only beautiful but also airtight and energy-efficient. I sometimes thought the contractors ought to be paying Shay, considering the amount they were learning from him. “I finished that last little job for The Ids this morning too, before I drove over.”
Good. That would keep the Invisible Division happy. They were probably kicking themselves for not turning him loose sooner. A happy Shay was a far more productive Shay. I heard a shout in the background, and my cousin’s irritated reply.
“No, you look where you’re going ‘Pal!’ I could dance blindfolded across my own bloody roof without cracking a tile.” He muttered something inaudible, then growled, “Health and Safety regs my arse. Honestly, Con, I’m not prattling about with safety equipment, even if they all have to.”
I found myself smiling. He was so easily irritated by any attempt to restrict him.
“Let me guess,” Shay said. “You want to know if I fancy a couple of hours on the water?”
“That was the plan,” I admitted. “Until Anderson called with a case for us.” There was a brief pause as he digested that.
“Where?” he asked.
“Lewis and Harris. A suspicious death. We’re to fly over in the morning.”
“Well, that’s just really inconvenient timing!” He went silent for a while, thinking, planning. “Give me forty minutes or so, and I’ll meet you back at the rental. I’d better go through the work list with the foreman first, or I don’t know what they’ll do once my back is turned.” He hung up.
Ten minutes later, I parked up beside Shay’s van in the generously paved space that fronted the place in Inverarnie that we’d leased for six months. The house was a modern, characterless box, but at least it had a good-sized rear garden, and it was true what they said about two being able to live cheaper than one - and three could certainly live cheaper than two. My monthly living costs had dropped significantly. The house even had a small fourth bedroom for occasional guests, and we never used the little dining room, so that was also an option if any of the gang came up for a weekend. Two and a half bathrooms too. After trying to share just one with da and Shay at my old cottage for a brief period, that was a significant improvement.
Da took my news with a nod and a grin. He wouldn’t mind a few days of peace and quiet, truth be told, he admitted. “And it’ll do you good, son,” he said cheerfully, slapping my shoulder. “It’s about time they gave you something you can really get your teeth into.”
Peace and quiet, was it? Well, I’d rather not pry. Don’t ask questions if you’re sure you won’t like the answers. Besides, it was none of my business if
