A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin

Author:Ian Rankin [Rankin, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3, pdf
Tags: Detective Stories, Crime, General Fiction, English, Scottish author, Mystery
ISBN: 0752858963
Publisher: Orion Press
Published: 2003-01-20T23:00:00+00:00

Day Four

Friday

12

“You slept in your clothes,” Siobhan commented, picking him up the next morning.

Rebus ignored her. There was a tabloid on the passenger seat, same one Steve Holly had brandished the previous night.

HELL HOUSE COP MYSTERY

“It’s slim stuff,” Siobhan reassured him. And so it was. High on conjecture, low on facts. All the same, Rebus had ignored phone calls at 7, 7.15 and 7.30 a.m. He knew who it would probably be: the Complaints, trying to book an appointment for his persecution. He managed to turn the pages by dint of wetting the fingers of his gloves. “Rumours are flying at St. Leonard’s,” Siobhan added. “Fairstone was gagged and tied to a chair. Everyone knows you were there.”

“Did I say I wasn’t?” She looked at him. “It’s just that I left him alive, nodding off on his sofa.” He turned a few more pages, seeking refuge. Found it in the story of a dog who’d swallowed a wedding ring—the one shaft of light in a paper full of grim little headlines: pub stabbings, celebs being outed by their mistresses, Atlantic oil slicks and American tornadoes.

“Funny how a daytime TV host merits more column inches than an ecological disaster,” he commented, folding the paper and tossing it over his shoulder. “So where are we headed?”

“I thought maybe a face-to-face with James Bell.”

“Good enough.” His mobile rang, but he left it in his pocket.

“Your fan club?” Siobhan guessed.

“I can’t help being popular. How come you know the goss at St. Leonard’s?”

“I went there before I came to pick you up.”

“A glutton for punishment.”

“I was using the gym.”

“Not a word I’ve come across before.”

She smiled. When her own phone sounded, she looked to Rebus again. He shrugged, and she checked the number on her screen.

“Bobby Hogan,” she told Rebus, answering the call. He could hear only her side of the conversation. “We’re on our way … why, what’s happened?” A glance in Rebus’s direction. “He’s right here … not sure his phone’s charged up … yes, I’ll tell him.”

“Time you got one of those hands-free jobs,” Rebus told her as she ended the call.

“Is my driving that bad?”

“I meant so I could listen in.”

“Bobby says the Complaints are looking for you.”

“Really?”

“They asked him to pass on the message. Seems you’re not answering your phone.”

“I’m not sure it’s charged up. What else did he say?”

“Wants to meet us at the marina.”

“Did he say why?”

“Maybe he’s treating us to a day’s cruising.”

“That’ll be it. A thank you for all our diligence and hard work.”

“Just don’t be surprised if the skipper turns out to be from Complaints … ”

“You saw this morning’s paper?” Bobby Hogan asked. He was leading them along the concrete pier.

“I saw it,” Rebus admitted. “And Siobhan passed on your message. None of which explains what we’re doing here.”

“I’ve also had a call from Jack Bell. He’s toying with making an official complaint.” Hogan glanced at Rebus. “Whatever it was you did, please keep it up.”

“If that’s an order, Bobby, then I’m happy to oblige.

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