‘Before then,’ I asked him. ‘Did you see anyone?’
‘Just an old man and an old woman, but they were on the other side of that green bit. I didn’t see anybody else.’
‘But you’re sure someone pushed you?’
‘Yes,’ he said, firmly. I gave him back the Game Boy.
‘You might have to tell this to the police, wee man. I’m going to see them as soon as we get back to St Andrews. I promise you, when we catch this character, he’ll be for a dungeon himself — for a lot longer than you.’
Chapter 29
Mac the Dentist is a formidable sight on the very rare occasions when he gets angry. Prim and I had called in at Anstruther after leaving Ellie and Jonathan in St Andrews. He had listened with mounting fury as I had told him Colin’s story.
‘What sort of animal would shove a wee boy down a twelve-foot drop?’ he barked. ‘If I could get my hands on the bastard, I’d give him a free root canal job — no anaesthetic, though.
‘What did the police say?’
‘Just about what I expected, Dad. I blew out the sergeant; I insisted on dealing with CID, and made a formal complaint to a Detective Inspector. He took it seriously — by which I mean that he didn’t just write it off as Colin’s imagination — but he was honest with me too. He took a look at the original report, then he told me straight out that unless the janitor turns out to have been lying about being on his break, they’ve got bugger all to go on.
‘There are no witnesses, none of the other visitors reported anything, and they’ve lost contact with them now; no one thought to take their names and addresses. The guy promised me that he’d put out appeals on Radio Tay, Kingdom Radio, and in the local papers for anyone who was in the Castle at the time and who might have seen something, but he didn’t hold out any hope.’
‘Okay,’ said my Dad. ‘Don’t you worry about it any more. You get off to Glasgow; I’ll keep on top of the police. The Head of CID’s a patient of mine and he’s coming in on Thursday. I’ll make bloody sure he pulls out all the stops.’
He turned as Prim came into the room carrying a tray laden with four mugs and a plate of biscuits. ‘Hello lass,’ he boomed, ‘and how are you? Bloody silly question though. I can see damn well how you are; you’re looking great.
‘How are the wedding plans coming along?’
She grinned. ‘They’re taking shape. Oz has a quiet week ahead, before he goes to London to finish his part in the movie, so I’m trusting him to go up to Gleneagles and make the final arrangements — taking my mother with him, of course.’
I looked at my father. ‘Did you know that “Mother in law” is an anagram of “Woman Hitler”?’ I asked him.
‘No, I did not; but I’ll grant you that it’s an interesting concept. A bit like, “Ascend in Paris” being an anagram of “Princess Diana”. Coincidence can be remarkable sometimes. Look at you, for example; everywhere you’ve gone lately, disaster seems to dog your footsteps.
‘Anyway, what about the date of this union of yours? Christ, here you are planning it, and I don’t even know whether Mary and I’ll be free or not.’
‘We’ll give you a clue,’ Primavera laughed. ‘It’ll be within the next two months and it’ll be on a Saturday.’
‘That’s fine,’ said Mary, coming into the room after tidying up in the kitchen. ‘I’ll keep them all free. Give us enough notice so that I can shop for a new outfit. Gleneagles demands it, I think. Don’t you agree, Mac?’
If my Dad had been wearing glasses he’d have peered over them at her. ‘Frankly, my dear,’ he answered, disdainfully, ‘I doubt if Gleneagles gives a stuff. But if I’ve learned one thing in this life, it’s never to get in the way of a woman when she’s set course for a frock shop — not unless, as sure as twelve plus one is an anagram of eleven plus two — you want to end up with footprints on your chest.’
Chapter 30
We were back in Glasgow for six o’clock, having been invited to dinner by Everett and Diane Davis, in their big, comfortable villa in Cleveden Drive, in Glasgow’s West End. The house could have been custom-built for them; it dates from a time when high ceilings and wide doors were a standard feature of domestic architecture. In most modern houses, Everett would have difficulty standing up straight.
Liam Matthews was there when we arrived, with his steady girlfriend, Erin Doyle, an Aer Lingus hostess who tried to fit her schedule round his. In its early days, the relationship between Liam and the Boss had been difficult — even I had had trouble with the Irishman then — and it was only his exceptional talent that had kept him in a job. But since Erin had come on the scene the mercurial Mick had straightened out his attitude, and had become one of the most popular members of the troupe.
‘How has your quiet weekend gone, you guys?’ Diane asked, as she handed us a drink. The Princess, as they call her on the show, is an absolute stunner. Her own relationship with Everett had known its problems too; there had been one huge crisis, but somehow it had served to bring them closer together, and to strengthen them as a team.
‘Not so quietly, I’m afraid,’ Prim answered. ‘Oz’s nephew managed to get himself dropped into a hole in the ground, up in the Castle in St Andrews. We’ve spent a good chunk of the last two days in and out of hospital.’
‘Is that one of the little lads you’ve had at some of the shows?’ Liam asked.
‘That’s right.’
‘Careless of him, then.’
‘Careless of me, maybe, to let it happen,’ I told him. ‘But it wasn’t Colin’s fault. The poor wee chap had help; he was dazed after it, but he’s dead certain that someone shoved him in.’
‘Oh no,’ said Erin. ‘Who would do that?’
‘That’s the big question. The police are investigating, but there are no definite leads yet. We did have a call from them though, just before we came out tonight. They’ve found a local resident who says she saw a couple of kids horsing about in the area at the time. St Andrews isn’t all that big a place, so they have a fair chance of tracing them; that is if they’re locals, and not tourists.’
Liam whistled. ‘The curse of Oz strikes again,’ he proclaimed. ‘First, those two guys down in London try to beat you up, and wind up in hospital. Now it’s your nephew ends up in an ambulance. Are you safe to be around, I asks myself?’
I frowned at him. ‘You’re the second person today to make a crack like that. I’ve got to tell you, chum; my sense of humour’s wearing thin.’
Chapter 31
Outside, Glasgow moved slowly through the night, gearing itself up for the start of a new week. Our apartment sits high above the city, looking south towards and beyond the River Clyde. No one can see in, and the view from the big windows, which reach down to floor level, is too interesting and too beautiful for us to think of closing the curtains.
Sat up in bed with my back against the high wooden headboard, I could see the traffic as it made its way across the Kingston Bridge. The main Clyde crossing is never quiet, not even in the middle of the night. A steady stream of cars, vans and heavier vehicles flowed in either direction on business legitimate, and no doubt in a few cases, slightly dodgy.
Prim stirred beside me; she sort of snuffled in her sleep, then mumbled, ‘G’roff. .’ I couldn’t help smiling at her as she lay there. It’s the only time she ever looks vulnerable, like a kid. Awake, she’s always in control, always in charge of herself; at times, I confess, I look at her with a sort of private awe.
I love her for all of it, though, and I respect her. Most of all I like her. I’m a lucky man, blessed with a host of interesting, intelligent and amusing friends, but above them all is Primavera Phillips. When she came into my life the effect was explosive; at first I was overwhelmed by it but when the shock waves died away the landscape of my life was different, and I could see things more clearly than ever before.