But when all was said and done, the lad was still in his teens. There were hard lessons he had not yet learned. Mistakes would be made, along with enemies. No one was untouchable.

No one.

Which was why Cafferty rose from his chair and checked that both front and back doors were bolted…

65

65

On Saturday morning, Rebus called Magrath again. This time, the phone did not ring. Instead, a different automated voice told him the number he had dialed had not been recognized and he should try again. He took more care the second time, but got the selfsame message.

“Changed your number, Gregor?” he asked quietly. Then he nodded to himself and went to take a shower.

By late lunchtime, he was parked on the seafront at Rosemarkie, directly opposite the cottage. He sounded his horn a few times, keeping watch on the windows for signs of life. All the curtains were closed. When he eventually went to check, brushing past the Land Rover, there was mail lying on the mat inside the porch. He went next door and the neighbor answered.

“Remember me?” Rebus asked. “I was here before.”

The elderly woman agreed that yes, Rebus was not a stranger.

“Just wondering if you’ve seen hide or hair of Gregor.”

“He was at the shop yesterday, collecting his paper.”

“He’s all right, then? It’s just that he’s not answering his door and the place looks deserted.”

“He’s had reporters turning up at all hours,” the woman explained. “And the phone, too—I can hear it ringing and ringing.” She paused, leaning in towards Rebus and lowering her voice. “You heard what happened?”

Rebus nodded, as he felt was expected.

“Awful business, just awful. You never think these things will…Well, you know what I mean.”

“Plenty of talk in the village, I suppose.”

The woman tilted her head back. “You wouldn’t credit it.”

“Is everybody agreed it’s beyond belief?” Rebus was doing his best to sound like a local himself. He had relaxed his stance and was resting his weight against the door frame, arms folded—just two old cronies having a chinwag.

“Beyond belief,” the woman echoed.

“No doubters?” Rebus raised an eyebrow. “It’s just that there usually are.”

“There’s hardly a family around here Kenny Magrath hasn’t helped out at one time or another.”

“I’m sure that’s true, but all the same…”

But the woman was shaking her head in a resolute fashion.

“So you’re all sticking together, looking after your own?” Rebus’s tone had hardened. She frowned, took a step back and started to close the door on him.

“Has Gregor given you his new number, by any chance?”

The click of the door as it locked was his only reply. “Nice speaking to you,” he muttered, returning to Magrath’s cottage and hammering on the door.