For The Death Of Me

37

I didn’t sleep that night: I knew that if I dropped off I’d dream of Jan, and that if I did, waking up would hurt, maybe more than I could handle at that time.

So instead I read a book, Lethal Intent, the latest Skinner novel, which Ellie had left for me in the guest room. Eventually the pages swam before my eyes, so I laid it down to be resumed later (I’d buy my own copy next chance I had: as an actor I have this secret belief that sharing books and DVDs is morally wrong) and picked up a notepad and pen from the bedside table.

I began to make notes, and to look for unanswered questions flowing from what had happened in Singapore. When I thought about it, there were only two. Had Sammy Goss’s meeting with us in the Crazy Elephant been sheer, blind coincidence? Since I only believe in coincidence when it doesn’t matter a damn, that led on to the second question. How the hell had he known that we’d be there?

I thought about that for a while, but I got nowhere near an answer.

After that I just thought, ready to make random notes about oddities as they occurred, but none did. . until around four thirty in the morning. I found myself looking at a mind picture, looking for something, and being unable to find it. I switched on my mobile, found the entry for Benny Luker, and hit the call key.

‘Yes,’ he shouted in my ear, over background music that sounded as if it was live.

‘It’s me,’ I said. ‘Where the hell are you?’

‘The Iridium Jazz Club, on Broadway; Mose Allison’s on. The set’s just winding up. Hold on and I’ll find somewhere quieter if that’s possible in here.’

I waited until the music stopped and the background buzz was cut off.

‘Okay, I’m in the gents’. What’s up? Has she been found?’

‘No, but she was in Vietnam on Tuesday. She called her brother from there, and she’s seriously pissed off at me, for some reason. He’s caused some local difficulty, but that’s been dealt with and he’ll be going away for a spell.’

‘Do you know where she headed from there?’

‘No, but Ricky and I have someone working on it, Ollie Coffey, Special Branch.’

‘I remember him.’

‘Yes, well, try and remember this. When we were in Tony Lee’s flat, in his office, we saw a docking station for a palmtop computer, a PDA.’

‘Yes, Hewlett Packard manufacture.’

‘Did you see the unit itself anywhere?’

As he thought about it, or as I thought he thought about it, I heard a toilet flush. ‘Sorry. I took a piss while I’m here. The answer is no, I definitely did not.’

‘No, me neither. So, possibilities: maybe Tony had it and Sammy took it after he’d killed him.’

‘Maybe, or maybe it was in his car, or in his office.’

‘Or maybe Madeleine took it with her. They had a scanner, okay, mostly she used film for photography, but there was an empty folder called “Maddy’s pics” on the computer. What can you store on a PDA?’

‘Quite a lot: they take standard SD cards. I see where you’re going. You think she might have taken some bargaining power along with her.’

‘My, my, we do work well as a team. I’ll keep you informed if Coffey comes up with anything.’

‘Coffey might get his arse kicked, getting involved with this.’

‘Knowingly or not, Maddy incited an attack on Scotland’s newest judge. He can dress that up as possible terrorism.’

‘She’s really in bother now, isn’t she?’

‘Indeed. Go on, get back to old man Mose. Are you on your own, or are you trying to gain ground with your lovely editor?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘Just a friend. Hey, what time is it with you?’

‘Going on five.’

I heard his sigh, all the way from the crapper in the Iridium Jazz Club. ‘Pal, when this is over, you really must get yourself a life.’

And then he was gone, and I was left to wonder.