‘No, there won’t. Your place is one thing, but here I wouldn’t feel comfortable. . and at my age, honey, that’s a must. There’s something else too,’ Bob admitted. ‘As long as Sarah’s still here, well, call me inhibited if you will, but it wouldn’t feel right.’
‘I know. If we’re truth-telling, I’m sort of glad that the opportunity’s never presented itself. Call me old fashioned if you will, but I’ve never slept with a man who’s gone home to his wife afterwards, even if they are estranged, and even if they will be divorced in a couple of months.’
He stepped up behind her and slid his arms round her waist, holding her lightly as she cored and sliced peppers. ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘I’ll make you a promise. Next Easter, the kids should be with Sarah in America, as long as she has somewhere for them to stay by then. I assume that the parliament will be in recess too. If that’s the case, you and I will fly out to my place in Spain, where we will be completely and utterly alone.’
‘A promise, you said? Just the two of us?’
‘Well, apart from your protection officers. .’
She turned in his embrace, her eyes widening. ‘You’re joking. I won’t have. .’
He grinned. ‘Not in Spain. I’ll be all the protection you need there.’
‘And here, I hope.’
‘No. We’ve discussed this already: once you’re confirmed in office you should have personal security on an official basis.’
‘Can’t you just do it yourself, when we’re together at least?’
‘I’m talking twenty-four hours a day here. It’s a professional job. Would you want me looking over your shoulder all the time, and never directly at you? Would you feel comfortable, bumping into my Glock in its holster?’
‘You mean they’ll be armed?’
‘We don’t give them catapults, babe. It comes with the territory you’ll be taking over.’
She raised herself up on her toes, kissed him lightly and turned back to the peppers. ‘If it’ll keep you happy,’ she said, ‘I’ll put up with it.’
‘Thanks, it will.’
‘In which case, there’s the matter of keeping me happy in return. Now that you’ve engineered that horrible man Jay’s resignation as the First Minister’s security adviser, there’s a vacancy to be filled. If, and I’ll keep saying “if” till it happens, I do get the leadership, I’d like you to take it on. I don’t mean I want you to give up your present job: it would be part-time, on a consultancy basis.’
‘God, no, love! Please don’t ask me. I’ve done that job already, before the parliament was set up and when the Secretary of State for Scotland was the main man. It didn’t work out welclass="underline" in fact it ended with me telling him to shove it. What if I gave you some advice that turned out to be wrong? What if I gave you some advice, you didn’t take it, and the situation went sour?’
‘You’d forgive me and I’d forgive you, because we’d each of us know that the other was doing their level best.’
‘Aileen, it’s too close, too personal.’
‘That’s exactly why it’s got to be you.’ She slid the sliced vegetables into a colander, picked up two chicken breasts and laid them on the chopping board. ‘There is nobody in this land that I trust more than you. You agreed to be my counsellor on police matters when I became justice minister, didn’t you?’
‘But this would be different.’
‘No, it wouldn’t. Look at it this way: let’s say that in six months’ time I’m First Minister, you’re divorced, and if we’re not living together, we’re at the very least spending as much time as we can with each other. Suppose I appoint someone else? The first time he gives me advice, I come home and tell you about it and you disagree, bang goes my confidence in that person.’
‘So don’t tell me about it.’
‘Do you mean that? Do you really want me keeping secrets from you?’
He smiled wryly. ‘No, I don’t suppose that’s the ideal basis for any relationship. In that case, appoint Andy Martin, the DCC in Tayside.’
‘You mean the same Andy Martin that was your right-hand man until he moved? And what would he do if I appointed him? Every time something big came up, he’d call you to ask what you thought before he advised me.’
‘Andy’s his own man, I promise you.’
‘He’s also a human being. Look, I wouldn’t be against him touching base with a trusted colleague. My point is that if that trusted colleague is you, you might as well be doing the job yourself, and calling on DCC Martin when you think it necessary. Go on, my darling, do it for me. After all, it’s not as if we’re talking about an appointment that’s going to be public property.’
Bob picked a wok from a hook on the kitchen wall, then poured olive oil, soy sauce and a little balsamic vinegar into it, running them around the surface of the wide pan before putting it on a gas burner. ‘If it’s what you want,’ he said, ‘I’ll do it. But there will be no formal appointment, no consultancy, and absolutely no remuneration: that would be hugely improper, and could bring you down. I’ll be your security adviser, but it’ll be strictly between you and me.’
She kissed him again, for longer this time. ‘Thanks, Bob,’ she murmured. ‘I promise it won’t be a burden to you. As far as privacy is concerned, our friendship is a matter of record, so once people find out, as they will eventually, how close we really are, they’ll assume you’re doing the job anyway.’
Twenty
Bandit Mackenzie had been expecting a phone call from Ray Wilding, updating him on the investigation. What he had not expected was a heavy knock on his front door. He had no doubt that the caller was a police officer, since a civilian would have rung the bell; from the weight of the thump, it was a man.
Cheryl looked at him. ‘Are you not going to answer it?’ she asked.
‘You get it.’
She tutted, but did as he asked: as she left the room he found himself hoping that it was not Mario McGuire who was standing on his doorstep. Neil McIlhenney, he could handle: he was an amiable big bloke, easy to kid, but the new chief superintendent had a touch of the evil about him. He tried not to let his relief show when his wife ushered McIlhenney into the room.
‘How are you feeling, Bandit?’ the superintendent asked, as he took a seat facing him, hearing the door close as Cheryl headed for the kitchen.
‘A bit better now, thanks. I’ve felt the flu coming on for a couple of days: it just seemed to come to a head this morning.’
‘You do look a bit puffy about the eyes, I have to say. I know the feeling.’
‘Yeah. That was probably why I threw up yesterday.’
‘It happens.’
‘You heard about it? Did that bastard Dorward complain? If he did I’ll have him.’
‘No, he didn’t, so forget it. Arthur’s well out of your reach anyway. There were other people there, including uniforms: that’s probably how the tale got passed on.’
‘As long as it was none of my people. Anyway, after that, the way I felt when I woke up I thought I’d be more use to the investigation advising from a distance than cooped up in the van infecting everyone else.’
‘That’s your call to make. However,’ McIlhenney paused, ‘it’s for me to decide whether the investigation can handle your absence, or whether I need to draft in someone else, or even take over myself. So in the unlikely event of you ever needing another sickie at the start of a major inquiry, I’d be grateful if your first phone call is to me. Fair enough?’
Mackenzie nodded. ‘Point taken: sorry, sir.’
‘Are you taking the piss, Bandit? What’s with the “sir”? I was Neil a week ago and I still am.’
‘That’s good to hear. You can never be sure how a friend’s going to handle promotion: I’ve seen some let it go right to their head. So, have you drafted someone in?’
‘Not yet. Will you be fit tomorrow?’
‘I reckon so.’
‘Then I won’t; Ray Wilding’s handled things fine today in your absence. We’re no nearer a solution, but Ray’s got a plan for taking things forward, and I want you to run with it. He’s a good cop. I’m sure the two of you are going to get along.’