Less than a quarter of an hour later, Brogan was whistling as he walked down the path that led away from the little village, pack on his back, feeling like a real adventurer.
It would be hours before he came to the next sign of civilisation, foot-sore and weary, but Brogan had no notion that he was on the coast of northern Algeria, nor of the immense distance that separated him from the western tip of this great continent.
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 30
Come in, Fathy, sit down,' Lorimer beckoned the young man who had knocked on his door and now hovered on the threshold.
'Any news of Marianne Scott?'
Fathy shook his head. Not yet, sir, but there are still a few departments we have to visit.' He cleared his throat nervously. 'It was on a personal matter that I wanted to see you, sir.'
Lorimer sat up a little straighter, looking quizzically at the detective constable. The thought came to him that Fathy had been a bit quieter than usual during team meetings. And now, seeing the younger man twisting his fingers together on his lap, Lorimer realised that there was something seriously amiss.
'I wanted to tell you why I left Grampian for Strathclyde,'
Fathy began. He looked down at his hands and clasped them together as though to keep them still and calm himself. 'I was the target of some racist incidents,' he mumbled.
'That doesn't sound so good,' Lorimer frowned. 'I suppose the persons responsible were properly dealt with?'
Fathy looked up, his eyes full of appeal. 'That's just it, sir. I never told anybody about what was going on. I just asked for a transfer and came down here.'
'Well you should have,' Lorimer insisted. 'Grampian would want to make an example of whoever targeted you.' His eyes narrowed.
'Do you want me to do something about it now?'
Fathy looked embarrassed. 'That's not what I came to say, sir.
You see,' he took a deep breath before continuing, 'it's begun to happen again.'
'What d'you mean?'
Fathy drew out the notes and laid them on Lorimer's desk. 'I found that first one in my locker here,' he said, pointing to the note. 'Then I had a series of letters through the post, all saying the same thing, see.' He lifted them one after the other, displaying the similar words.
'Good Lord,' Lorimer sat back exhaling as though he had been winded. 'I find it hard to believe that someone in this police office would do such a thing.'
'It's true, though, sir,' Fathy's mouth trembled for a moment as he met Lorimer's eyes. 'And I think it must be linked to what happened up in Aberdeen. Same sort of notes, same kind of messages.'
'Well,'
Lorimer shook his head as though finding the man's words hard to fathom, 'I'll need you to complete a proper statement about this. You do realise that, don't you?'
Fathy nodded, his shoulders slumped in what Lorimer recognised as plain misery. 'If we ever find out who was responsible for this then it'll be a matter for the procurator fiscal.' He leaned forward.
'Do you have any idea who is behind this?'
Fathy shook his head, still looking down at his hands as though he were the guilty party in this affair. Lorimer knew the signs; the man was feeling tainted by it all, dirtied.
'I don't know who would do anything like this, sir,' he said at last, looking up to meet that familiar blue gaze. 'I did try to find out up there..' he tailed off with a tired shrug that spoke more than all the words he had yet uttered.
It was hopeless to think that anyone in Grampian might be able to help Fathy now, Lorimer thought. But it was not too late to set up some sort of surveillance to catch someone at this end.
'Look, leave this with me,' Lorimer told him. 'Write me that statement but keep this completely to yourself for now. If we are to find out who's been up to this… this nonsense,' he spat out the word as though it was a bad taste in his mouth, 'then you can be sure it'll result in a disciplinary hearing for them at the very least. Okay?'
Annie Irvine stole a glance at her sidekick as he sat back at his desk. His dark face was flushed and there was something about the tilt of his head that made her continue to stare until he turned to catch her looking at him.
'What?' Fathy asked.
Annie grinned at him. 'Nothing. Just that you seem more your old self today, that's all. And here's me thinking that you were getting all worked up about not finding Marianne Brogan.'
Fathy grinned back at her. 'Well, I don't share the boss's opinion, you know that.' His smile slipped as his expression became more thoughtful. 'I think she's alive.' He turned towards Annie.
'Don't you?'
It was Annie Irvine's turn to become reticent and she mumbled an unconvincing dunno as she turned back to her computer screen.
In truth, Annie knew that she was becoming more and more engrossed in the background to this case. And she desperately wanted Marianne Brogan to be somewhere in the world, still warm and upright.
'You know about stalkers, don't you?' Fathy continued softly. 'I saw your face when these photographs came back.'
Annie gave a non-committal shrug, not daring to turn and face him.
'What do you know about stalkers, Annie?' Omar Fathy whispered gently.
There was a silence between them for several minutes as Fathy waited for a reply.
Then the policewoman turned towards him. 'That's why I joined the force,' she said, her face darkening. 'And if you knew what I'd been through, you'd understand a lot more about that poor woman,' she nodded towards a blown-up photo of Marianne.
Omar slipped his hand across their desks, covering Annie's fingers and giving her an enigmatic smile.
'Maybe I understand more than you realise,' he said, squeezing her hand gently before releasing his grip.
Marianne felt the wind on her face as the car breezed down the dual carriageway towards Loch Lomond. She had let down the window a few centimetres and now she smelled a freshness in the air as they passed green fields on either side. Sheep and fat lambs grazed amiably and for a moment Marianne envied them their simple lives of feeding, growth and reproduction, so different from the complexities of human existence. The landscape changed to overhanging cliffs on one side and soon they were slowing down at the signs for Loch Lomond Shores. She leaned back as they circled the roundabout that went on to Balloch and Gartocharn, smiling at Max as he continued to drive north.
She had suggested Duck Bay Marina for no other reason than it was scenic, a lovely day and they could be guaranteed something nice to eat. Earlier Max had asked her for directions and she saw that he had a good memory since he hadn't needed to enquire again. He was a bright man as well as good company, Marianne thought to herself. Older than he had sounded on the phone, but then she had expected someone of Billy's age, hadn't she? He had short hair, thinning a little, but his features were regular and strong, something Marianne found reassuring.
Suddenly the woman found herself thinking about the slight, dark Asian and a pang of guilt coursed through her. Should she have run out on Amit like that? Had these latest dreams been no more than fantastic shapes whirling around her brain? Shaking her head, Marianne tried to put all such things out of her mind. Lines from last year's English class flitted into her brain.
These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad.
And surely that was true? She had to put her night-time thoughts away from her. Doctor Brightman had shown her the way out of these dark places. Now, Marianne told herself, as the sunlight streamed through the windscreen, it was time to begin somewhere new. And perhaps Max Whittaker was the man to lead her there.