Shadow Man by Margaret Kirk

Author:Margaret Kirk [Kirk, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9781409165507
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2017-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

28

11.20 P.M.

Ness Islands, Inverness

Donnie zips up his hoodie and pulls it round his face – there’s no CCTV this far past the castle as far as he knows, but he’s not taking any chances. He walks on, past Bellfield Park, past the posh flats before he turns down into the Islands. Fucking stupid place to meet, he thinks. A crazy place. It had been fine a couple of hours ago, when the sun was out and there were still folk around – kids mucking about, bairns playing in the park, tourists taking selfies on the bridge. But the kids and the tourists are gone now, and the Islands are dark and quiet, the only sounds the rushing water and the hitch of his own breathing, quick and nervy like a young lassie on her first date.

Standing out here on the bridge gives him an odd, exposed feeling. He looks round and finds a spot on the bank, near to the trees where he can watch for someone coming from both directions. He wipes his damp palms on his jeans, his eyes darting from side to side as the darkness takes hold and the shadows lengthen.

Fuck, what is he doing here? This whole thing had been a bad idea, right from the start. Oh, contacting the knife guy to tell him things had changed, that had felt good. He’d been calling the shots for once – him, wee Donnie Stewart, showing he couldn’t be pushed around. And it had gone great, just the way he’d planned . . . only there’s no sign of the guy, and the dark, the trees, the fucking silence is doing his head in. Making him see things, remember things—

The bushes beside him explode into life. He spins round, his hands bunching into fists . . . and a wee brown and white dog bursts onto the path, trailing a long, sparkly lead. It takes off for the bridge, little legs going like the clappers, and though its owner is only a couple of minutes behind, Donnie’s betting the beastie will be halfway to Bught Park before she catches up with it.

No sign of the knife guy yet. Donnie pulls out his mobile to check the time, wishing he’d got a video of the wifie chasing her dog. Put that on YouTube and he wouldn’t need the guy’s money, he’d be fucking coining it. He glances at the display, and a finger of cold touches the back of his neck. Twenty-five past? Christ, the guy’s nearly half an hour late.

Donnie thinks about calling him. Thinks about it for all of five seconds, as the cold feeling inches its way down his spine. Because this is starting to feel all wrong. Bad wrong, like that night at Bunchrew. What the fuck is he supposed to do if the guy doesn’t turn up – he can hardly go to the bobbies, can he? He’d taken the guy’s money, made himself a fucking accessory or something. And—

Footsteps coming up behind him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.