A pause. Then a fuzzy, vague voice sounded in his ear. Gotta give us them back, yeah?
It took a moment to place her. Trisha? Trisha Brown? That you?
They came to my mums house and everything. Broke her leg and that.
Deal still stands, Trisha: tell me who they were, and well get them locked up. Dont want them to get away with battering your mum, do you?
There was a big bag of Bacon Frazzles lurking behind a tub of Twiglets from last Christmas. Logan pulled them out and clunked the cupboard door shut again.
Trisha?
Shuggie says theyll kill us if they find us.
All the more reason to dob them in then, isnt it?
Silence.
Logan tucked the phone between his shoulder and his ear, picked up the tins of beer and the crisps. Im going to hang up now, Trisha.
He says you gotta give them back, or next time hes gonna use a Stanley knife, you know?
On your mum?
To write your name on my chest
Samantha appeared in the kitchen doorway. What, are you brewing the beer yourself? Arms folded across her ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE T-shirt, left hip jutting out. That line back between her eyebrows.
He held up a hand, mouthed, One minute
Im going for a pee youve got till the end of the adverts.
Trisha, you have to tell me where you are.
You gotta give them back.
Who is it? Whos going to cut you?
But shed hung up.
Chapter 22
An old man wheezed his way up the stairs, one hand on the black balustrade, the other clutching a rolled up, bright-pink Hello Kitty umbrella.
Morning, Doc. Logan leaned against the wall. Back again? Doc Fraser scowled from beneath hairy eyebrows. Water dripped from the point of his brolly. This is all your fault. I couldve stayed retired, at home, chasing Mildred around the conservatory in my pants, but nooooo The pathologist shook his shoulders, sending a little downpour pattering to the stairs at his feet. Your mate Hudsons called in sick again. So its either muggins here, or no one.
Toes?
Yes, toes. Its always bloody toes these days.
Erm Logan glanced up the stairs, then down. No one around. Fancy a coffee?
Logan clicked the button and set the video playing again.
Doc Fraser leant forward in his seat until his nose was almost touching the screen.
Dr Dave Goulding had the rooms only other chair. Hed turned it the wrong way around, straddling it and leaning his arms on the back. Head tilted to one side, watching the pathologist watching the video. Goulding had on his little rectangular glasses, and a brand-new 1960s-Beatles-style moustache to go with his pelt-like hair. He ran a finger along the bridge of his hooked nose. Its an interesting choice, dont you think? The voice was pure Liverpool.
Doc Fraser shrugged. They obviously know what theyre doing. The stitchings good not wonderful, but good Which button pauses it again?
Doc Fraser shrugged. They obviously know what theyre doing. The stitchings good not wonderful, but good Which button pauses it again?
Logan clicked it with the mouse. Thanks. Well, theyve definitely got access to proper medical supplies. The brown stuff theyve painted her feet with is Videne its an iodine-based disinfectant used to prep people for surgery. Shes on an IV drip, so Im assuming they dont have access to a PCA system-
PCA? Logan opened his notepad. Patient Controlled Analgesia. You know, one of those machines where you press a button and it gives you more morphine? Well, until it thinks youve had enough, then it cuts you off so you cant overdose.
I see. Goulding pointed at the screen. So they dont want to cause Jenny pain.
Logan tried not to laugh. They cut off her toes, Dave. So much for a psychology degree.
That got him a shrug. But that doesnt mean they want her to suffer. First they try to fob everyone off with a surrogate big toe from another child it doesnt work, so theyve got no choice, they have to amputate. It shows theyre serious about killing her.
Doc Fraser nodded. Aye.
And I think, if they do end up killing her, theyll do it so she doesnt have to suffer.
Logan settled back against the windowsill. Kidnappers with a conscience.
Make it play again.
He clicked the button.
This is not a hoax. You have four days left. If you raise enough money, they will live. If you do not, they will die. Do not let Jenny and Alison down.
A mobile phone rang.
Doc Fraser sighed. Thatll be Finnie. Probably having a wee strop because the post mortem was supposed to start Quick check. Ten minutes ago. The pathologist gave a big, pantomime stretch. Any more biscuits?
Logan pushed the packet over. Now what I find interesting, Goulding opened a pale blue folder and pulled out a half-dozen sheets of paper, placing them on the desk, is the language used. The voice on the videos is precise no contractions, no colloquialisms but the notes He read the latest one out. The police isnt taking this seriously. We gave them simple, clear, instructions, but they still was late. So we got no other choice: we had to cut off the wee girls toe. She got nine more. No more fucking about.
Goulding let his fingertips drift across the surface of the note. The police isnt., But they still was., So we got no other choice., She got nine more.
Different people? Doc Fraser helped himself to another Jammie Dodger.
Goulding shook his head. No different media. If they were slapdash, theyd use a voice-changer like you get in toy Iron Man or Dalek helmets but they dont. They know if we can get hold of the conversion algorithm we can decode their voice; and the pattern and rhythm of your speech stay the same anyway. So when they write the notes, theyre typing in a fake accent. Trying to put us off.
The psychologist held the note up. But even then they still use a colon to delineate two parts of the compound sentence, and all the apostrophes are in the right place given the idiom. Even the commas are correct.
Doc Frasers phone went again. Oh bloody hell. He gave a long sigh. I suppose I should really get down there and start the post mortem. But he didnt move.
I do wonder about the toes Goulding fiddled with the mouse, setting the video playing again.
Doc Frasers phone stopped ringing. Then started again almost immediately. All right, all right. Some people. He levered himself to his feet and stuck his hands in the pockets of his beige cardigan, pulling it all out of shape. Well, if you need me Ill be downstairs discovering traces of morphine, thiopental sodium, and Barbie-pink nail polish.
Thanks, Doc. The door clunked shut and Logan stood in front of the window, looking out at the grey city.
Rain hammered the glass, gusts of wind shivering the few straggly trees planted between FHQ and Marischal College, tiny green buds whipping back and forth. He couldnt see the crowd gathered outside the front doors from here, but he had a perfect view of the outside broadcast units, parked illegally on the other side of the road.
The media must be loving this the chance to whip up moral outrage, the chance to broadcast and print the most salacious and disturbing images and stories, all with the excuse that the kidnappers would kill Alison and Jenny McGregor if they didnt What about the toes?
How you getting on?
He looked around, saw the psychologist starting at him, then turned back to the window. Im fine.
Youve not turned up for a session for five weeks, Logan. Someone hurried across the road, passing in front of a grey Transit van with a satellite antenna on top of it, struggling to control an umbrella that looked hell bent on making a break for freedom.
Do you think its important theyre sending toes, not fingers?
Goulding sighed. The big toe thats a huge loss to a foot, isnt it? Its the point of balance cut it off and youre facing months and months of physical therapy learning to walk again. But the little toe A pause. Not just one, but both little toes
The umbrella broke free, tumbling end-over-end away down Queen Street. Its owner lumbered after it, right out into the path of a taxi. A blare of horn. Flashing lights. Probably a few choice swearwords as well.
Logan, therapy isnt a quick fix. You have-
I had meat yesterday.
You did? Really?
Lasagne. Not vegetarian: proper beef sauce. Well, if you couldnt lie to your therapist, who could you lie to?
The umbrella buried itself in a bush. And how did that make you feel?
Can we stick to the toes?
This is quite a breakthrough, Logan. Seriously, well done Im proud of you.
And there was the guilt. Toes?
I dont think theyre going to go through with it. I think however much money they get, they wont kill her.
Why would they kill her when shes worth a fortune on the paedophile livestock exchange?
Ah You think shed be better off dead than being passed around, sold on, abused?
Logan didnt look around. Dont you?
That artificial voice crackled out of the laptops speakers again.
This is not a hoax. You have four days left. If you raise enough money, they will live. If you do not, they will die. Do not let Jenny and Alison down.
The umbrellas owner dragged it out of the bush and struggled with the mechanism. It stayed resolutely inside-out.
He jammed the broken brolly back into the bush, stuck two fingers up to it, then marched off into the downpour.
Logan turned his back on the rain. The other trouble is: were setting a precedent here. Goulding sat back, arms crossed. They snatched two people everyone will recognize. They demand money from the public, but dont say how much itll take to keep their victims alive. Everyone chips in, and they walk away with what: four, five million by the time Thursday morning comes around?
I know, whats to stop someone else from doing the same thing next week?
How did your lasagne taste?
Yeah Logan bit his bottom lip. Good. Meaty. Like I remembered it.
Not like human flesh?
Warm saliva filled his mouth. Stomach lurching two steps to the right. A warm dizzy fog behind his eyes. Logan swallowed hard. Looked away. No. Nothing like human flesh.
Furry. Warm and furry. Shes lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling, watching it twist to the left a bit, then jump back to where it was and twist again, and again, and again, and again
Jenny McGregor blinks. It just sets the room spinning faster. Mummys face appears, big and pink above her. Nose all red at the end, like a cherry, eyes all pink. Mouth a wobbly line. There, there, shhhh Itll be all right, I promise Shhhh