“Am I dropping him or what?” Hoon asked. He was standing on the wall, too, leaning back a little to anchor Frankie’s weight. His closeness to the edge, and the possibility of a sudden plunge to a messy end, didn’t seem to bother him.

“No, man! Don’t!” Frankie’s body shook in big, silent sobs. “Don’t fuckin’ drop me, please!”

Logan tore his gaze away from the view. “I’m sure this gentleman—whoever he may be—isn’t going to drop you, Frankie,” he said. “Not if you give him what he wants, anyway.”

“What does he want?” Frankie whimpered.

Hoon tightened his grip. “Your eyes!”

Frankie convulsed. “What?!”

“Jesus. Calm the fuck down, you teary-eyed wee jeb-end,” Hoon spat. “Course I don’t want your eyes. The fuck would I do with a pair of human eyes?”

“Necklace, maybe?” Logan suggested.

“No’ really my style,” Hoon said. “Now, can we hurry this up? My arm’s getting tired.”

Frankie let out a whimper at that, but tried to stay very still. Unfortunately, his condition made this difficult, and he almost jerked himself right out of Hoon’s grip.

“I’d cut that out, if I were you,” Hoon advised.

“Piss-piss! Fuck!” Frankie wailed. He shook his head, growled like a dog, then scrunched up his face. “I’m trying. Fuck. Piss!”

Logan joined them at the edge, but stayed down on the flat of the roof. There was no need for them all to be balanced up there on the edge.

Besides, it really was a very long drop.

“Information, Frankie. I bet that’s what this gentleman is after. Answers to a few questions. Nothing too strenuous.”

“Fine! Fine! What? I’ll tell you,” Frankie babbled. “What do you want to know?”

“Archie Sutherland’s family,” Logan began. “Did you kill them?”

“No! No, I didn’t!”

Logan shrugged. “Right. Drop him.”

Hoon jerked his arm, drawing a scream from the squirming wee bastard he was holding.

“No, please, no! I mean it! I mean it! I didn’t!”

“He stole money from you,” Logan said. “How much?”

“A lot! I don’t know! Quarter of a mill, we think!”

Logan breathed in through his teeth. “Ouch. That must’ve stung. I mean… young man like you, just starting out in life, that’s a lot of money. You must’ve worked hard to build up a nest egg like that.” He shrugged. “And yet, you didn’t report the theft, Frankie. Why might that be? Someone nicks quarter of a million from me, I’m straight on the phone to the polis. Yet, you didn’t do that. Why is that?”

Frankie had no answer to that. None that wouldn’t incriminate him in something, anyway.

Logan sniffed and looked out over the city. Blue lights and sirens went tearing through several different streets, but none of them headed this way.

Plenty of time, then.