Close to the Bone. Stuart MacBride

      ‘Don’t be daft.’ Sam sat up in the bed. She must’ve had her hair done since lunchtime, because it was a shocking shade of bright scarlet. The tattoos on her arms poked out from the short sleeves of her Skeleton Bob T-shirt. She threw the covers back, exposing a pair of red shorts and thigh-high black-and-white stripy stockings. ‘You bring me a present?’

      He stuck a bottle of Lucozade on the bedside cabinet, then followed it up with a copy of Skin Deep – ‘CYANIDE GIRLS GONE WILD’ and a Now – ‘NICHOLE SPEAKS: ACTING SAVED ME FROM A LIFE OF CRIME’. Then collapsed into the visitor’s chair, arms and legs hanging loose. ‘God, what a day.’

      ‘Did you get milk and Marmite?’

      ‘In the car.’ He slipped his shoes off and stuck his feet up on the bed. ‘Steel’s being an absolute … pain in the neck. You’d think I’d get some sympathy for getting punched in the nose, wouldn’t you?’

      Samantha poked his left foot. ‘You’ve got a hole in your sock.’

      ‘But no, all she does is moan and whinge.’

      ‘Honestly, it’s like going out with a hobo. Give it a decent burial and buy some new socks. Maybe even, shock horror, in a colour other than black?’

      He smiled at her. ‘Thought you goths loved black.’

      ‘Not when it comes to underwear.’ She bounced a couple of times. Then scooted forward, until she was kneeling on the edge of the bed, looming over him. ‘I want a new tattoo. Something spiky and swirly, with a cat.’

      ‘Of course, Steel’s only moaning because the ACC’s sandpapering her backside over this necklacing thing. Press are going mental after we caught the guy who killed him.’

      ‘Speaking of cats, I think we should get one. Well, a kitten.’

      Logan groaned. ‘Can’t we just—’

      ‘A little fuzzy kitten. We’ll call it Cthulhu!’

      ‘Cthulhu? Isn’t that a bit—’

      ‘Shh!’ Samantha froze. ‘They’re coming.’ Then she jumped back into place and wriggled under the sheets. Winked at him. ‘Not a word!’

      The door opened and Claire stuck her head in. ‘Fancy a cup of tea?’ She wheeled the trolley in, stacks of cups clinking against each other. Then filled one from a metal teapot the size of her head. ‘How’s herself doing today then?’

      Logan helped himself to a slosh of milk and a Jammy Dodger. ‘Wants another tattoo. And apparently we need to get a cat.’

      ‘That’s a lovely idea. Be company for you while she’s in here. Don’t know about the tattoo though…’ She looked down at him, her eyes softening around the edges. ‘Go on, take another biscuit, I won’t tell anyone.’

      He did – custard cream – dunking it in his tea as she lumbered the trolley out of the room. Then the door clunked shut behind her.

      ‘It’s OK, she’s gone.’

      Samantha sat back up again. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Claire’s OK, but if I have to sit through one more discourse on the philosophical nature of being, or her husband’s piles, I’m going to scream.’

      ‘Play nice with the nurses, they can put spiders in your mouth while you sleep, and then where will you be?’ He ate his biscuit. Drank his lukewarm tea.

      Samantha picked up the copy of Now, flipping through its glossy pages. ‘I’m serious about that cat, by the way.’

      ‘I think Rennie’s going to quit.’

      ‘Thought his wife was planning on turning into a baby factory. How’s that going to work if he’s got no job?’

      ‘Steel drew a knob in his notebook. Keeps riding him about finding those shoplifting tramps.’

      ‘Hmmm?’

      ‘You know what she’s like. Pick, nag, poke, sarcastic comment, arse-related threat…’

      ‘Yeah…’

      ‘It’s a bit of cheese, bacon, and vodka. That doesn’t need a detective sergeant, that needs a uniform PC who’s done something stupid and needs taught a lesson.’

      ‘Oh, for God’s sake.’

      ‘What?’ Frown. He looked up – she had her face buried in the copy of Now. ‘Are you even listening?’

      She peered at him over the top of her magazine, then turned it around, showing off the centre spread: a big photo of Nichole Fyfe in jeans and an oversized white shirt, laughing, with His Majesty’s Theatre in the background: ‘COMING HOME TO ABERDEEN ~ MY SECRET SHAME AT TROUBLED TEENAGE YEARS’. Samantha gave the thing a shake. ‘If you hire a publicist to tell the whole sodding world about it, it’s not a bloody secret!’

      ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was boring you.’

      ‘Anything to get their face in the gossip mags. “Oh look at me, I’m special and clever!” “Listen to some crap I made up to make myself sound interesting this week!” “Talk about me! I don’t exist otherwise!”’

      He wiggled his toe through the hole in his sock. ‘Then why do you keep buying the things?’

      ‘“Secret” my pale tattooed backside. She probably thinks we’ll read this rubbish and go, “Gosh, she’s such an inspirational figure! If she can go from a delinquent with a criminal record to a multimillionaire film star, maybe I can too!” When really she’s just boasting about how much better she is than the rest of us. I tell you, it’s—’

      Logan reached out and snatched the magazine.

      ‘Hey!’

      ‘If you hate this stuff so much, you shouldn’t be reading it. It’s bad for your blood pressure.’ He dumped Now on the floor beside his seat. ‘Call it an intervention.’

      Samantha thumped back into the pillows with her arms folded across her chest. ‘Spoilsport.’

      ‘That’s me.’ He dug into his pocket and pulled out a chunky boxed set of CDs. Then waggled it at her. ‘I got you the new Stephen King on audio book, but if you’re not interested…?’

      The scowl on her face faded to a smile. ‘You’re a rotten sod, Logan McRae.’

      ‘Thought so.’ He nipped out to the nearest vending machine for a Crunchie, an Irn-Bru, and a packet of prawn cocktail, and when he got back they just sat there, talking about everything and nothing: tattoos, Steel, kittens, necklaced bodies, holiday plans, being punched in the face… Until finally Logan checked his watch and groaned. ‘Right, got to go. Early start in the morning.’

      Samantha looked up at him, a little dent between her eyebrows. ‘See you tomorrow?’

      He put his empty tin on the bedside cabinet, next to three unopened bottles of Lucozade and the stack of unread magazines. Then stood. Took hold of her cold hand and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

Monday

       12

      ‘…unnngh…’ Logan rolled over and lay on his back, one arm covering his eyes. ‘Go away…’

      The doorbell’s ding-dong chime ripped through the caravan.

      He sat upright, stared at the clock. Six o’clock – fifteen minutes before the alarm was due to go off. Sodding hell, why did everyone…

      Wait