The Gathering Storm by Lynne McEwan

Author:Lynne McEwan [McEwan, Lynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

There seemed little point in going back to the CID office, so Shona headed for the A75 and the thirty-minute drive home. Although she felt less resentment towards DI Dalrymple now that she realised he wasn’t trying to oust her, she had no desire to witness him sitting in her chair, physically and metaphorically.

James McGowan had promised to look for the note he’d received, and the constables who’d arrived to help him search through the gifts and cards sent by fans would call if they found anything.

Without a clear picture of who was targeting him and why, it was hard to create an offender profile, and even more so to plan strategies that neutralised the threat they posed. What was McGowan’s assailant capable of? The incident with the haggis had the potential to seriously injure him. Why not just run him over? Or send the IED in with all the other fan mementos? McGowan always had a certain level of security around him. To pull off a stunt like that you needed confidence to pass unnoticed among so many people.

In a single-lane section, she came up behind a lorry bound for the ferry at Cairnryan and eased off on the Audi’s gas. Many drivers were impatient when the dual carriageway was forced to narrow due to the route’s rolling topography. The A75 was regularly monitored for speeding and dangerous overtaking, but she often welcomed the limitations. It allowed her conscious mind to sit back a little, leaving room for her unconscious to sift the facts of whatever case was most troubling her.

It seemed to Shona that for McGowan’s assailant it was all about pulling strings, making people dance to their tune. Beyond the damage to the film, whoever did this wanted inside McGowan’s head. Now every person, known or unknown, whom the actor encountered would be viewed by him as a potential threat. Like Rob in prison, she thought, and a catch somewhere below her heart made her draw in a deep breath.

McGowan’s apparently laid-back reaction started to make sense to Shona. It was bravado. You could take the boy outta Glasgow, but you couldn’t take Glasgow outta the boy. See me, I’m pure dead brilliant and nane o’ you bastards can touch me was the gallus motto of every man in the city. Swaggering like you didn’t care, so people couldn’t see you were scared, made you less likely to be targeted, the logic went.

But it didn’t mean the danger would go away. Neither Rob Oliver nor James McGowan was ever going to be free of the threats they faced, without her help. And if they weren’t careful, their bravado might just get them killed.

Shona crested the hill at the top of the village just as a shaft of sunlight caught the smooth grey water of the firth, illuminating it like a landing strip guiding her home. She felt a huge rush of tension leave her and rolled her window down a fraction so the blast of Atlantic air could carry away the last of the stuffiness from the hotel room.

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.