Close to the Bone

.’ A shrug rearranged the creases on his cheap grey suit, the fabric thin and shiny, like its owner. ‘You know? ’

Not even vaguely.

The back garden was big enough for a swing set, a slide, and a Wendy house that looked as if it’d been built by a drunken chimpanzee. Lichen flecked the patio slabs. A gas barbecue and a set of plastic furniture lay abandoned in the middle of the grass.

Off in the middle distance, a tractor rumbled along the edge of a field. Rapeseed flowers glowed violent yellow, as if someone had taken a highlighter pen to the landscape. A pigeon whrrrrooooed in the thick leylandii hedge.

All very bucolic.

Logan shaded his eyes against the sun. ‘So he drank, he smoked dope, and he dumped her? ’

‘Well. . they were always doing that. Storming out, “I’ll never speak to you again, you lying bastard.” “Screw you, you mental bitch.” And next thing you know they’re tying each other’s tonsils in knots with their tongues. Even when he’s cheating on her.’

Chalmers stopped scribbling in her notebook and stared at him. ‘And Agnes is OK with that? ’

‘Oh, she makes him pay for it, but basically: if Ton’s happy with it, she is too. Tell you, he’s had dogs less loyal than her, and I’m talking Alsatians.’ Duncan made a little circular motion with the tip of his cigarette. ‘You hear about her tattoo? ’

‘And you’re sure they’ve not been in contact? No missed calls, or texts? ’

‘Nah. Ton’s like that though: man of mystery. Doesn’t like being pinned down.’ Duncan checked his watch, took another puff. ‘Bastards should be here by now. Got another couple to show round at half two.’

Logan moved across the patio, so the sun was warm against his back and not blazing in his eyes. ‘Any idea where they’d go? Ever talk about escaping somewhere else? Down south, maybe? ’

A frown creased Duncan’s thin face. Then he swept a hand outwards at the fields and trees. ‘Why’d you want to escape all this? It’s, like the best place in the world.’

‘They never talked about leaving Aberdeen? ’

‘Sometimes, when he’s stoned, Ton bangs on about how great San Francisco is, but. .’ Duncan leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘There were some Chinatown Triad guys after him: that’s why his mum and dad had to pack up and do a runner over here. The way Ton tells it, there’s this big gunfight behind some restaurant and he caps two of them, but they get his cousin. Bang, right between the eyes.’

Chalmers moved a step closer. ‘He told you he killed two people in San Francisco? ’

‘Pffff. . Nah, shot them in the leg and that. Totally self-defence.’

‘And you believed him? ’

‘Yeah, well. . Ton’s my main man, you know? ’ Duncan shifted the schedules from one armpit to the other. ‘Don’t know what I’m gonna do if he don’t come back.’

Logan passed the brown paper bag over, then settled down on the bench. Sunlight beat down against his cheeks, the sharp salty tang of the sea mingling with fresh-cut grass. Three huge offshore supply vessels were lined up a mile from shore, probably waiting their turn to slip into harbour.

The grass dropped off in a steep incline down to a tarmac path, then a railing, then another steep drop — concrete this time, then a wide strip of pale-gold sand. A mother lumbered along it, following a pair of wee girls that giggled their way to the water’s edge, then scurried away squealing as the waves tried to eat their bare toes.

Chalmers rummaged about inside the bag and came out with a couple of fries. ‘Thanks.’

‘Did you notice? ’

She chewed, swallowed. ‘They’re a pair of nutjobs and they deserve each other? ’

‘Apart from that.’ Logan unwrapped his cheeseburger and took a bite. Talking as he chewed. ‘No one mentioned Agnes taking drugs. It was all him.’

‘Her dad did.’

‘Yes, but did he actually see her do it? Or did he just smell the marijuana on her? Maybe the weed was in her house because she was holding it for her boyfriend.’

‘Her boyfriend the complete scumbag.’ An onion ring disappeared in two goes. ‘He gets high all the time, plastered too, he cheats on her, and she’s still running around after him like a lovesick puppy. .’ More fries. ‘Makes you vomit, doesn’t it? ’

‘Takes all sorts.’ Another bite of burger. Chewing, staring out at the glittering blue sea. ‘We need to chase down this Stacey he was seeing on the side. Might still be at it.’

One of the wee girls turned to run away from the North Sea again, tripped, went sprawling on her face in the sand, and was swallowed by a tiny wave. Cue screaming and bawling.

Logan helped himself to one of Chalmers’s onion rings. ‘Why are they hanging about Aberdeen, though? If you’re going to run away, you run away, you don’t stay in the same place where people are going to recognize you. .’ He dipped a couple of chips into a dollop of mayonnaise. ‘What about the diary? ’

‘Next on my to-do list. Spent most of the morning going through CCTV footage.’ Chalmers tore the top off a sachet of salt and sprinkled it into her brown paper bag. ‘When I was little, Dad would load us all in the car and down we’d come from Inverness for a long weekend during summer holidays. Play on the beach. Go to Duthie Park. Eat ice cream and rowies.’

‘Maybe they’re not running away at all. Maybe they’re hiding? ’

‘Do they still have that petting zoo out by Hazlehead? ’

‘What if Anthony Chung isn’t just into smoking dope? What if he’s been selling it too? ’

Chalmers stuffed more fries into her mouth. ‘I used to love the llamas. Like mutant sheep on steroids.’

‘Run a PNC on the pair of them when we get back to the station.’

‘Already did it.’ She sooked her fingers clean, then pulled out her notebook and thumbed through the pages. ‘Here we are: Anthony Chung, done for drunk and disorderly behaviour twice, no jail time, just fines. One charge of driving without a valid tax disc. Two warnings for possession of a controlled substance, but they didn’t find enough weed to do him for intent to supply.’

‘Agnes? ’

‘Choirgirl, compared to him. She was given a warning the week before she went missing — local production company filed a complaint about her breaking into their film studio. A Mr Alexander Clark from ClarkRig Training-’

‘Wait: Alexander Clark. Zander Clark? ’

‘His name’s on the complaint. They had to get security to eject her three times, then she broke in.’

‘Why was she breaking into a porn studio? ’

16

‘Porn? ’ DCI Steel’s mouth twitched at the corners, nostrils flaring, eyes widening. ‘Seriously? ’

‘Got thrown off the set three times. Then she broke in.’ Logan hung his jacket on the back of his chair, then settled in behind his desk. Some sod had dumped a big pile of interview transcripts in his in-tray, as if he didn’t have anything better to do. .

Steel clapped her hands together. ‘Well, don’t just sit there: get us a pool car and we’ll go a-visiting!’

Logan stared at her. ‘“Being a DI’s no’ about running around”-’

‘Oh, don’t be such a whinge. You said this Andrea’s a suicide risk, right? ’

‘Agnes. Do you ever pay any attention to anything I-’

‘Be derelict in our duty if we didn’t follow up on an important lead that could save a young woman’s life. So get your arse in gear. I’ll come along and. . supervise.’

‘I don’t need you holding-’

‘No, no,’ she held up a hand, ‘I insist. A good senior officer knows when to step in and lend a hand with the troops.’

‘How very team-spirited of you.’ He didn’t move.

Steel bounced up and down on the spot, like a horny terrier. ‘Porn, porn, porn, porn, porn!’