Fall from Grace: A Scottish Crime Thriller (A DCI Harry McNeil Crime Thriller Book 10) by JOHN CARSON

Author:JOHN CARSON [Carson, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-13T22:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

‘Thanks for meeting me here, Derek,’ DCS Jill Craig said.

‘It’s been a long time, Jill. All my fault, of course. I should have called you.’

Jill smiled at him and put a hand on his. ‘It’s fine.’

‘You’ve done well for yourself.’

‘So have you.’

‘Eventually,’ Derek said, standing up. ‘Refill?’

‘Thanks.’

He picked up her empty glass and headed to the bar. He got a tonic for her and another glass of Coke for himself and headed back to their table, which was a semi-circular booth in the far corner. They were in the Mercure bar, amid other guests and visitors.

‘Hardly a jumping nightclub,’ Derek said, sitting back down.

‘We’re hardly the age for that anymore,’ she said, sipping her drink.

He laughed. ‘I’m worried about falling and needing a hip replacement. Cheers.’

‘Do you think Harry is going to be angry when he finds out who you were drinking with?’

‘Probably. He’ll have a million questions, but I was able to cadge a lift from him to get up here, and he went for it. It was much better than me coming here and him suddenly bumping into me. Your idea to go through and talk to him in person was good advice.’

‘It’s just using a bit of psychology.’

‘If he only knew why we were really here.’

‘It’s got to be between us right now, Derek,’ Jill said.

‘I know.’ He sipped the Coke, wishing it was a pint of lager, but he knew he had to stay sober.

They talked about old times, about growing up in Inverness, how they both moved away and followed different paths.

Harry called again. They couldn’t get hold of their friend so they were just going to stay in the wee hotel they were in with a view to having a few sociable beers and an early night.

‘They’re going to get pished,’ Derek said.

Jill laughed. ‘You still have a way with words.’

‘You know me, Jill; I like to say it like it is.’

‘Come on then, let’s get going.’

‘What kind of car do you drive?’ he asked her as they made their way out of the back door.

‘Lamborghini.’

‘You jest.’

‘Of course I jest. I drive a police issue Vauxhall. It was either that or use my own car and I didn’t have my own car.’

‘Police issue it is then.’

They walked into the car park, which overlooked the River Ness. It looked spectacular in the gloaming with the lights coming on. Not quite full dark but well on its way. Jill stood next to him and spoke without looking at him.

‘You ready for this?’

‘Not really. How can I be?’ Derek looked at her, studied the outline of her face – the strong jaw, the bright eyes, the perfectly shaped nose.

After some moments of silence, she turned to him. ‘You’re sure Harry doesn’t have any idea?’

‘I’m sure.’

‘We should tell him. I’ve said that from the beginning.’

‘We can’t, Jill. We can’t know for sure, so we can’t tell him. Not until the proper time.’

‘I hope we’re wrong.’ Jill looked back at the twinkling lights across the river.

‘You and me both.’

Jill took a deep breath and let it out slowly, shivering in the cooling evening air.

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