LITMIR.BIZ

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a member of the working classes, but that wasn’t going to happen up here. They couldn’t afford the price of the drink.

      They sat down. Wattie picked up the menu and scanned a list of things he’d never heard of.

      ‘Have they got any normal food?’

      McCoy just ignored him, ordered him a chicken dhansak when the waiter appeared. He eyed it suspiciously when it appeared, tasted a tiny bit on the edge of his fork then started wolfing the bloody thing down. He settled back in his chair, empty plate in front of him, and burped loudly.

      ‘Not half bad, this stuff. Don’t think they have it in Greenock. Didn’t think I’d like it but it’s no bad at all.’

      The couple of pints they had consumed in the pub next door beforehand seemed to have loosened Wattie up, he was happy to talk away now. His Greenock accent meant most of what he said was lost under the background sitar music. Suited McCoy fine. He had enough to worry about. He was going through everything in his mind, trying to make some sense of what had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Nairn, the shooting at the bus station. He wasn’t getting anywhere. He was stuck, as always, on the things that didn’t matter. Christine Nair and her hopes pinned on an engagement ring that looked like it had come out a lucky bag, the expression on the boy’s face as he put the gun to the side of his head. He seemed happy, almost like he was looking forward to it. Could only have been eighteen or so – why would a young boy want to do that to himself? Two seconds away from blowing the side of his head off and he was smiling away like he’d won the pools. Didn’t make any sense. He drifted back to Wattie’s chatter. Was trying to recount the plot of some gangster film he’d been to see. He stopped, looked at him, must have asked a question.

      ‘You listening to me?’ he asked.

      ‘Aye sure, shot him in the boat. Sounds great. What did they get from that cunt of a manager?’

      ‘Nothing,’ said Wattie. ‘Was about to let her go. No idea about her extra-circular activities. Knew nothing full stop.’

      ‘Curricular. They believe him?’

      ‘Think so. He’s a wee weirdo apparently. Managing the restaurant is all he cares about, wouldn’t put that in jeopardy for the kickbacks of two girls on the game.’ He looked at his watch. ‘What time’s he coming then?’

      ‘Don’t worry, he’s always late.’

      Apart from Murray, Alasdair Cowie was the only polis McCoy thought anything of. Not a good sign, seeing the Glasgow force was more than two thousand strong. Cowie was smart, smarter than him, would have been fast-track material but his wife got ill, MS, and he took his foot off the pedal. Liked to be home twenty minutes after his shift, no nights and no overtime. Bosses didn’t know what to do with him, was obvious he’d be wasted as a journeyman polis, so he was shifted about different departments, kind of a troubleshooter. He was in vice now, trying to form a liaison group between the polis, some woman’s group from the university and the girls who worked Blythswood and the Green. God help him.

      ‘Who’s it going to be, then?’ asked Wattie, looking round the restaurant. A group of drunk businessmen in suits, young couple holding hands, two middle-aged women inspecting the menu.

      ‘What?’

      ‘Everywhere we’ve been today somebody’s died. My money’s on that couple getting poisoned by their curry.’

      ‘Aye, very funny. Think I preferred it when you kept your mouth shut.’

      The restaurant door opened and Alasdair Cowie appeared in a blast of wintry air. One of the waiters greeted him at the door, took his duffle coat off him, pointed at their table. Cowie looked over and waved, handed the waiter a long red scarf. He wasn’t big, Cowie, but he was broad and getting broader as the years went on. Round face now sat above a couple of chins. He was ordering en route, waiter behind him scribbling in a notepad. McCoy could have told him the order himself, never changed in all the years they’d been coming to the Shish Mahal. Mushroom pakora, lamb rogan josh, saffron rice, two chapattis.

      ‘All right, Harry?’ Cowie asked, pulling a chair out.

      McCoy pointed across the table. ‘Wattie. Seconded. Stuck to me for two bloody months. And he’s from fucking Greenock as well.’

      Wattie nodded warily. Knew he was an unwelcome presence, but he was determined to stick it out whether McCoy liked it or not. Just like Murray’d told him to.

      ‘That was a right fucking mess this morning,’ said Cowie, sitting down and pulling his polo-neck jumper over his head. He put it on the chair next to him, tried to smooth out his hair and his wrinkled flannel shirt. Murray had called him a ‘fucking unmade bed’ more than once, wasn’t far wrong. He leant across the table, scooped up the last of McCoy’s curry with a bit of naan bread. ‘And all your fault, I hear.’

      He turned to Wattie. ‘He been telling you his war stories, has he?’ Wattie shook his head. ‘What? Not even the one about the great bookies raid of 1969?’

      ‘Fuck off, Cowie. How’s Jackie?’

      ‘Okay. The same. Not getting any worse. I would say she’s been asking after you but she hasn’t.’ One waiter appeared with a tray of lagers, another with Cowie’s pakora. McCoy watched him tuck in, pinched one of the little deep fried bhajis for himself. Cowie pointedly moved the plate back towards himself.

      ‘No a great day for you. Blood everywhere. You okay?’

      McCoy nodded. Tried not to notice Wattie looking at him with interest.

      ‘You sure? You been back at the doctor lately?’

      McCoy shook his head. Changed the subject quick. ‘What do you know about girls working at Malmaison, Whitehall’s, places like that?’

      Cowie sat back, pretended to look pained. ‘And here was me thinking you’d asked me out because you liked me. Amateurs, you mean?’

      ‘Suppose so.’

      He shrugged. ‘Happens on and off in those kind of places, low level stuff. Businessmen in town for a night. Same as chambermaids. Nothing organised or official, mostly underpaid girls trying to make pin money.’

      He dipped a mushroom pakora into the wee silver dish of pink sauce and grinned. ‘I’m sure Lorna Skirving would have been able to tell you more about it.’

      ‘Smart arse. How come you know about her?’

      ‘Saw Gilroy at the station just before I came out. She was delivering the preliminary post-mortem report to Herr Führer Murray.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘And I earwigged on their conversation on your behalf, knowing full well that I’d have to sing for my supper. Cause of death was bullet in the aorta. It was the other stuff that was a bit more interesting. Funny I know more about your case than you do, isn’t it? I’m quite enjoying it.’ He waggled his empty pint glass. ‘Finding it hard to talk, though, throat’s awful dry.’

      McCoy waved over at the waiter by the bar, got him to bring over another three pints.

      ‘How kind,’ said Cowie, taking a sip. ‘Now I am replenished, I will continue.’

      ‘Christ, I’d be quicker going and getting the bloody report off Gilroy myself.’

      ‘Okay, here’s the big news. Lorna Skirving had some unusual injuries apparently. Lot of bruises, faded whip marks on her back, ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. Bruising inside her anus and vagina, seem to have been caused by some sort of wooden stick or pole.’

      Wattie let out a low whistle.

      ‘I know,’ said Cowie. ‘Grim. And to top it off she had two razor cuts across her left breast. Forming an X.’

      ‘Nasty,’ said McCoy. ‘How recent?’

      ‘Week, maybe two.’

      ‘Somebody

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