And a lot more besides.
It couldn’t be the most comforting of feelings — waking up naked, gagged, and tied to a dining chair that had been positioned in the middle of a large plastic dustsheet, beneath the harsh glare of a single bare lightbulb, in a cold dark garage. Nice and roomy, now that the Bedford Rascal was out on the driveway.
Dr Meldrum’s eyes creaked open, then snapped wide. ‘MmmmmnnnNgngnnnnnPhhhh!’ Struggling against her bonds as Lucy dragged another chair over and clunked it down in front of her. ‘MmmmmmmMmmmmGhggggghhhhhh!’ Tears welling up as the pain kicked in.
It was quite the role reversaclass="underline" Lucy in black jeans, a black Foo Fighters’ hoodie, black gilet, and old black trainers; Meldrum stripped bare — her clothes rolled up and laid in a circle around the chair. The only concession she had to modesty was the bloodstained bandage wrapped around her right knee. Which had to be really sore.
The Bloodsmith stepped onto the plastic sheet, walking behind Meldrum and placing his hands on her shoulders. ‘It’s OK, Lucy, you can do this.’
‘I... I don’t know if...’ Deep breath. ‘I don’t want to hurt her.’
‘Mmmmmffggnnnn!’
‘You need to know who sent her to kill you.’ A wink. ‘Come on, we’ll make a game of it, it’ll be fun.’
‘Can’t we just call it in?’
‘Mmmmnnn! Mmmmngh ggg nnnn!’ Meldrum’s eyes flashed from side to side, as if she was trying to spot who Lucy was talking to.
‘Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. When your colleagues get here, what are they going to think about...’ Pointing upwards, in the vague direction of the bathroom. ‘Battering one man to death is unfortunate; two begins to look a bit like a pattern. And while they’re questioning you about what happened, the clock’s ticking. Your little friend’s going to find out about the chandler’s warehouse, and then where will you be?’
Lucy sagged. ‘I really don’t want to do this.’
‘Mnnnggggnnnh!’
‘You’ve got no choice, Kiddo. It’s her or you.’ He gave Lucy a warm, paternal smile. ‘Now, remember, it’s important to set the scene before you start. Helps put our guest in a cooperative frame of mind.’
‘OK...’ Lucy pulled on her dad’s old butcher’s apron, then a pair of blue nitrile gloves. She pointed at the circle of clothing, arranged around the plastic sheeting. ‘It stops the blood from spreading.’
Meldrum’s struggles got a lot more pronounced.
‘Excellent.’ The Bloodsmith nodded. ‘Now show her your tools.’
Lucy untied the canvas bundle and unrolled it on the garage floor. ‘My father was a butcher. He was very good at it. I used to watch him taking carcases apart.’ Dad’s knives sparkled in the artificial light. ‘I know it looks like a lot, but they all do different things, and it’s important to pick the right one.’
At which point, Dr Meldrum went dead still. Eyes wide. Air hissing through her nose in short sharp panicky breaths.
‘That’s my girl. You’ve got her attention now.’
Lucy selected a long, curved blade from the set and sank into the empty chair. ‘Before we get started, I want to tell you a few things. First: I know you and your friend came here to kill me tonight, so don’t insult my intelligence by pretending otherwise, OK? Two: you’re going to answer all my questions, honestly, and truthfully, because if you don’t I’m going to start removing bits of you. Three: feel free to scream and shout all you want. You’ve seen where I live. We’re in the middle of nowhere and all my neighbours will be in bed with a mug of Horlicks and their hearing aids switched off by now.’ She held up the cimeter knife. ‘Any questions?’
‘Mmmmnnnngph.’
‘Good.’
She undid the gag, and sat back as Meldrum coughed and spluttered.
‘We... we didn’t come here to kill you, I swear! We’re doctors, we genuinely are doctors. Call Castle Hill Infirmary and ask! They’ll tell you!’
‘Who sent you?’
‘Ms McVeigh, you’re not well, OK? You’ve had a serious head trauma and you didn’t get treatment for it. This, all this, thinking we’re here to kill you, talking to people who aren’t there, it’s a sign something’s gone very, very wrong.’
‘She’s not cooperating, Kiddo. There have to be consequences for that.’ He leaned forward and patted Meldrum on her bandaged knee. ‘But start off small. If you go in cutting and stabbing, you’ve got nothing to escalate to. Even a tiny bit of pressure can focus the mind wonderfully, if you know where to exert it.’
‘Ms McVeigh, please, ask yourself why would anyone try to kill you? It makes no sense. But swelling on the brain can cause paranoia that—’
Lucy slapped her hand down on Meldrum’s knee, fingers curling around the joint, nails digging into the bandages as she squeezed.
A bellowing scream ripped through the air.
She let go and Meldrum slumped against the ropes, sobbing.
‘Good girl! That wasn’t so bad now, was it? You’re a natural.’
It took a bit of doing — swallowing down the knot in her throat — but she managed. ‘Who sent you? Was it Sarah Black?’
‘I’m a... I’m a doctor... at Castle... Castle Hill Infirmary... Please, I’m only here to help you. Please...’
‘This isn’t The Thirty-Nine Steps; you can’t just keep pretending to be someone you’re not and suddenly everyone will believe it. Now: who — sent — you?’
‘Please, I’m a doctor...! I swear, I’m a— AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!’
The Bloodsmith stalked around the outside of the plastic sheeting. ‘You know what I think? I think Sarah Black had nothing to do with this, Kiddo. I think they came here because you were asking awkward questions about St Nicholas College.’
‘Is that true?’ Lucy let go of the bandaged knee. Fresh blood darkening the fabric. ‘Did Argyll send you? He said he had friends at CHI, are you one of them?’
‘I... I don’t know anyone... anyone called Argyll, I promise! I swear on my mother’s grave, I’m a doctor and I came here to help you and you killed Sandy and it’s all horrible and I wish I’d stayed at home...’ Naked body jerking and wobbling as she sobbed and wailed. ‘I didn’t do anything...’
Why did everyone always say that?
The Bloodsmith shook his head. ‘She’s lying, but it doesn’t matter — we worked it out anyway. Argyll McCaskill sent her and her friend to kill you, because you found out he’d faked Benedict Strachan’s entrance exam. And for some reason, that’s an exceedingly big deal... You know, I’ll bet they’ve still got the real one on file. A place like that never throws anything out. We could find out why it matters so much?’
Lucy pulled off the bloody nitrile glove and dropped it on the plastic dustsheet. ‘We’re done here.’
‘Oh, thank God.’ Meldrum hung forward against the ropes. ‘Please, I need... I need to go to the hospital! Please...’ Tears falling into her lap.
‘The only trouble, Kiddo, is now we’ve got three bodies to get rid of, instead of one: Christianson, Lockerby, and her.’
Lucy unfurled an old tarpaulin on the bathroom floor. It was a bit paint-stained and manky, but it would do. She rolled Dr Lockerby onto it, then scrambled away from him as he groaned. He was still alive...
She grabbed the whisky bottle, ready to batter it down again, but he didn’t move. Didn’t even breathe. Lucy lowered her makeshift weapon and reached out two fingers, pressing them against his neck, just below the jawline, where the jugular would be. Holding them there. And feeling nothing.