‘The electricity went when I arrived,’ he said. ‘Jack’s checking the fuse box. Hope none of the customers are using the opportunity to make off with the kitty.’
‘The electricity has gone in over half the town,’ she said, leaning back and resting her head on his shoulder. ‘I can see from here. What have you got in the shoebox?’
‘What do you normally have in a shoebox?’
‘You’re carrying it as if it were a bomb.’
At that moment a huge streak of lightning flashed like a white luminous vein across the sky, and they caught a glimpse of the town. Then it was dark again and thunder rolled in.
‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ he said, inhaling the scent of her hair.
‘I don’t know what it is, you know.’
‘I meant the town. And it will be more beautiful. When Duff’s no longer in it.’
‘It will still have a mayor who makes it ugly. Won’t you tell me what’s in the box?’ Her voice was thick, as though she had just woken up.
‘Just something I have to burn. I’ll ask Jack to take it up to the furnaces at Estex tomorrow.’
‘I want to be burned too, darling.’
Macbeth stiffened. What had she said? Was she sleepwalking? But sleepwalkers couldn’t hold conversations, could they?
‘So you haven’t found Duff yet?’ she said.
‘Not yet, but we’re looking everywhere.’
‘Poor man. Losing his children and now he’s all alone.’
‘Someone’s helping him. Otherwise we’d have found him. I don’t trust Lennox.’
‘Because you know he serves Hecate and brew?’
‘Because Lennox is basically weak. He might be getting soft and conspiratorial, the way Banquo became. Perhaps he’s hiding Duff. I should arrest him. Seyton tells me that under Kenneth they used to give arrestees an electric shock in the groin if they didn’t talk. And another one to stop them talking.’
‘No.’
‘No?’
‘No. Arresting one of your own unit commanders would look bad now. For the time being the general impression is that you’ve nabbed two rotten apples in Duff and Malcolm. Three would make it look like a purge. Purges raise questions not only about the unpurged but also the leader, and we don’t want to give Tourtell any reason to hesitate in appointing you. And as for electric shocks, right now there’s no electricity in this part of town.’
‘So what do I do?’
‘You wake the electrician and ask him to fix it.’
‘You’re difficult this evening, my love. This evening you should be uniting with me, acclaiming me as a hero.’
‘And you me as a heroine, Macbeth. Have you checked out Caithness?’
‘Caithness? What makes you think she’s involved?’
‘During the dinner that night Duff said he was staying with a cousin.’
‘Yes, he mentioned that.’
‘And you weren’t surprised that an orphanage boy had an uncle in town?’
‘Not all uncles can take on...’ Macbeth frowned as he stood behind her. ‘You mean Duff and Caithness...?’
‘Dear Macbeth, my hero, you are and will always be a simple man without a woman’s eye for how two secretly enamoured people look at each other.’
Macbeth blinked into the darkness. Then he put his arms around her, closed his eyes and pulled her to him. How would he have survived without her? ‘Only when we two stand in front of the mirror,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Thank you, darling. Go to bed now and I’ll tell Lennox to go to Caithness’s at once.’
‘It’s back,’ she said.
‘What is?’
‘The electricity. Look. Our town is lit up again.’
Macbeth opened his eyes and looked at her illuminated face. Looked down at both of their bodies. They glowed red from the neon Bacardi lights on the building across Thrift Street.
‘Lennox?’ Caithness was already so frozen that her teeth were chattering as she stood with her arms crossed in the doorway to her flat. ‘Police Officer Seyton?’
‘Inspector Seyton,’ the lean policeman said, pushed her aside and went in.
‘What’s this about?’ she asked.
‘I’m sorry, Caithness,’ Lennox said. ‘Orders. Is Duff here?’
‘Duff? Why on earth would he be here?’
‘And why on earth would you say yes?’ Seyton said, directing the four machine-gun-toting men in SWAT uniforms to the four rooms in the flat. ‘If he’s here it’s because you’re hiding him. You know very well he’s a wanted man.’
‘Feel free,’ she said.
‘Thank you so much for your permission,’ Seyton said acidly. Studying her in a way that made her wish she had more on than her thin nightdress. Then he smiled. Caithness shuddered. His mouth arced up behind his slightly slanting eyes, making him look like a snake.
‘Are you trying to hold us up?’ he said.
‘Hold you up?’ she said, hoping he didn’t notice the fear in her voice.
‘Sir?’ It was one of the men. ‘There’s a door to a fire escape here.’
‘Oh, is there?’ Seyton intoned without taking his eyes off Caithness. ‘Interesting. So when we rang your doorbell down on the street you let the cat out through the flap, did you?’
‘Not at all,’ she said.
‘You are of course familiar with the penalty for lying to the police — in addition to that for hiding a criminal?’
‘I am not lying, Police Officer Seyton.’
‘Inspec—’ He paused, regained his smile. ‘This is SWAT you’re dealing with, Miss Caithness. We know our job. Such as examining the drawings of buildings before we enter.’ He lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth. ‘Alpha to Charlie. Any sign of Duff by the fire escape door? Over.’
The brief sibilance when he pressed the button of the walkie-talkie made her think of waves lapping on a beach somewhere far far away.
‘Not yet, Alpha,’ came the answer. ‘Conditions for a controlled arrest are good here, so can we confirm that the object should be shot on sight? Over.’
Caithness saw Seyton’s eyes harden and heard his voice sharpen. ‘Duff’s dangerous. The order comes straight from the chief commissioner and must be followed to the letter.’
‘Roger. Over and out.’
The four men came back into the sitting room. ‘He’s not here, sir.’
‘Nothing?’
‘I found this lying on the bedroom floor by the door to the fire escape.’ One of them held up a tennis racket and jewellery.
Seyton took the racket and leaned over the hand holding the jewellery. To Caithness it looked as if he was sniffing them. Then he turned back to her holding the handle of the racket in an obscene way.
‘Big racket for a little hand like yours, Miss Caithness. And do you make a habit of throwing your earrings on the floor?’
Caithness straightened. Breathed in. ‘I think it’s a common habit, Police Officer. Casting pearls before swine. But in time one learns, hopefully. If you’ve finished looking and the cat on the stairs has been executed, I’d like to go back to sleep. Goodnight, gentlemen.’
She saw Seyton’s eyes go black and his mouth open, but he held his tongue when Lennox placed a hand on his shoulder.
‘We apologise for the disturbance, Caithness. But as a colleague you will understand that absolutely no stone must be left unturned in this case.’
Lennox and the rest headed towards the front door, but Seyton stood his ground. ‘Even if we don’t always like the filth we find under them,’ he said. ‘So he didn’t buy you a wedding ring then, I suppose?’
‘What do you want, Seyton?’
His repulsive smile returned. ‘Yes, what do we want?’
Then he turned and left.