could tell from the expressions on their faces. This was no cheerful reunion of friends. This was no blithe gathering to celebrate the return from the hospital of Gilbey's daughter. These two had something to hide, something that drew them together in this time of crisis. Fear had brought them into each other's orbit. They were terrified that whatever nemesis had caught up with their fellow killers was about to visit them. And they were huddling together for safety.
Macfadyen smiled grimly. The cold hand of the past was reaching inexorably for Gilbey and Mackie. They wouldn't sleep easy in their beds tonight. And that was how it should be. He had plans for them. And the more afraid they were now, the better it would be when those plans came to fruition.
They'd had twenty-five years of peace, which was more, far more than his mother had enjoyed. Now, it was over.
Chapter 36
Morning dawned dreich and gray, the view from North Queensferry obscured by a dismal haar. Somewhere in the distance a foghorn boomed its miserable warning like a cow mourning a dead calf. Unshaven and dazed with broken sleep, Alex leaned his elbows on the breakfast table and watched Lynn feeding Davina. "Was that a good night or a bad one?" he asked.
"I think it was about average," Lynn said through a yawn. "They need to feed every few hours at this age."
"One o'clock, half-past three, half-past six. Are you sure that's a baby and not a gannet?"
Lynn grinned. "How quickly the first bloom of love fades," she teased.
"If that was true, I'd have pulled the pillow over my head and gone back to sleep instead of getting up to make you tea and change her nappy," Alex said defensively.
"If Weird wasn't here, you could sleep in the spare room."
Alex shook his head. "I don't want to do that. We'll see how we go."
"You need your sleep. You've got a business to run."
Alex snorted. "That would be when I'm not running about the country talking to forensic scientists, right?"
"Right. Are you OK about Weird being here?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I just wondered. I've got a naturally suspicious nature. You know I always thought he was the only one of the four of you who could possibly have killed Rosie. So I suppose I'm a bit uneasy about him turning up like this."
Alex looked uncomfortable. "Surely that's the very thing that absolutely lets him off the hook over Rosie? What possible motive could he have for killing the rest of us after twenty-five years?"
"Maybe he heard about the cold case review and was afraid that, after all this time, one of the four of you might point the finger."
"You always push things to the limit, don't you? He didn't kill her, Lynn. He's not got it in him."
"People do terrible things when they're on drugs. As I recall, Weird was always up for anything in that department. He had the Land Rover; she probably knew him well enough to take a lift off him. And then there was that sudden dramatic conversion. Could have been about guilt, Alex."
He shook his head. "He's my friend. I'd have known."
Lynn sighed. "You're probably right. I do get carried away with myself. I'm really edgy just now. Sorry."
As she spoke, Weird walked in. Showered and shaved, he looked the picture of health and strength. Alex took one look and groaned. "Oh God, it's Tigger."
"That's a great bed," Weird said, looking round the room and clocking the coffeemaker. He crossed the kitchen and started opening cupboards until he found the mugs. "I slept like a baby."
"I don't think so," Lynn said. "Not unless you woke up crying every three hours. Aren't you supposed to have jet lag?"
"Never suffered from it in my life," Weird said cheerfully, pouring out his coffee. "So, Alex, when are we leaving for Dundee?"
Alex stirred himself. "I'll have to ring up and make an appointment."
"Are you crazy? Give the guy the chance to say no?" Weird said, rooting around in the breadbin. He took out a triangular farl and smacked his lips. "Mmm. I've not had one of these for years."
"Make yourself at home," Alex said.
"I am," Weird said, raiding the fridge for butter and cheese. "No, Alex. No phone calls. We just turn up and make it clear we're not going anywhere until Professor Soanes finds a window."
"What? So he can jump?" Alex couldn't resist the chance to poke fun at Weird's adoption of American idiom. It sounded so bizarre delivered in