Chapter 37

Unable to sleep for thinking about her dad and the way she’d messed it up with Jess, Narey was sitting up in bed with her laptop in front of her. She was deep in OtherWorld, a notepad at her side.

She considered joining the forum under some dumb user name and fishing for the information she wanted. If she dropped the right bait then maybe she’d pull up the person that found Hepburn and called the cops or find out that Hepburn himself had used the site. And maybe she’d catch a killer.

It was a long shot but she was sure she was fishing in the right pool. She signed up, called herself WeegieGirl and posted.

Have any of you ever walked the Molendinar Burn? I’ve been thinking of exploring it but not sure how doable it is.

It probably wouldn’t get any points for subtlety but she was in a hurry and it just might flush someone out.

She looked at it, not at all convinced it was a good idea, but closed her eyes and pressed enter.

Well there it was. Up for everyone to see. No going back from that and she just hoped someone would tell her something useful.

She flipped from section to section through the forum, bringing up all the Glasgow posts again. She’d read through most of them the previous time but knew it had to be done again. There was so much of it. Asgarten Youth Hostel, the cathedral, the subway, the West End tunnels, Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Gartloch Asylum, Holmlea Primary School. So much to get lost in.

She jotted down all the names, counted up how many posts they’d made and where they’d been. It was a slog but she didn’t know any other way. Astronut. LilytbePink. CardboardCowboy. Digger9. Magellan93. Hermit. Spook. JobnDivney. Bloody Metinides again. PencilPusber. NigbtLigbt. BigTomDog. Ectoplasm. Crow.

The forum had a search function and she put in the names in turn and brought up every post they’d made. It varied hugely. With Divney, it wasn’t much at all. He’d made only three posts and those were all just remarks on other people’s photographs.

However she immediately saw that CardboardCowboy was a different story altogether. Fifty-two hits in a little under a year. Eleven of those were posts that he’d started, each of them a report of an explore he’d done along with photographs. The guy was prolific.

He was a regular commenter too, enthusiastic about explores that others had done. He’d talk up people’s photographs, remarking on their reports. She jotted down dates and ticked off posts. The Cowboy had been active online every day or two.

Until it suddenly stopped.

Just over six weeks ago, he’d posted a compliment about a photograph from inside an office block that was to be flattened. And then nothing. His posts just dried up completely without explanation. As if he’d disappeared. As if he was dead.

It was him. It had to be.

Something bothered her though and she went back and re-checked the posts by the user who called himself JohnDivney. Sure enough, he’d only ever commented on three posts. All three were about six weeks earlier. And all three had been originally posted by CardboardCowboy.

She was simmering with that thought when the buzzer went at the front door and it made her jump. She stepped naked from bed and pressed the intercom.

‘It’s me.’

‘Hey, me. Come on up.’

Walking to the front door, she took it off the latch and left it slightly ajar. She padded back through to the bedroom, closed the laptop and slid it under the bed. The computer and everything on it was business and she didn’t want to mix it with pleasure.

Winter was up the stairs in a minute and she heard him close the front door behind him. By the time he had walked through the living room and the hall, he was as naked as she was. He slid in beside her and she flinched at the cold chill he’d brought in with him.

‘Sorry.’

‘That’s okay. I can warm you up pretty quickly. How was your night with these mysterious old friends?’

He slipped his arms round her and kissed her. ‘It was fine. I went home first and picked up a change of clothes for the morning and then headed over.’

‘Beer,’ she told him as her lips slid from his.

‘I did brush my teeth.’

‘I can still taste it. It’s okay though, you know I like it. Kiss me again. In fact, don’t stop.’

‘Bad day? I know I still owe you that hug.’

‘Bad day, shitty night. I’m afraid a hug isn’t going to cut it now.’

‘More?’

‘More. Much more, please.’

He pulled her closer and ran his hands down her body. ‘How much more?’

‘As much as you’ve got.’

He released her from his arms, letting her go enough for him to catch her by the shoulder and arse and flip her over onto her front. She lay beneath him, her body pushed into the bed as he began to kiss her neck then work his way down.

He squeezed and licked, teased and probed, making her move to his touch and forget the day she’d endured. This would last as long as they wanted but he had a feeling it was going to be urgent and swift, needs fulfilled and bodies sated. Her hips were writhing below him and he pressed against her, matching her movements. She arched her back, pushing up at him, inflaming him, welcoming him, encouraging him.

He slipped a hand between her legs, found her more than ready and knew neither of them wanted to wait any longer. A moment later, he was inside her and they were moving together. He had one hand on the small of her back and one entwined through her hair. Hers were pressed against the bed, bracing back against him.

She urged him on and he did as he was asked, losing himself in the moment and the act, letting everything go. When the end came it was together and breathless.

He lay on top of her, bearing what weight he could on his elbows and kissing her neck. She managed to twist a hand back and stroke where she could.

‘I needed that.’

She’d said it but it could have been either of them.

‘Want to talk about it?’

A long pause for thought then a heavy sigh. ‘No. Just hold me and kiss me. Tell me about your night if you want though.’

‘No. I’d rather kiss you.’

‘Suits me fine.’

Chapter 38

Friday morning

The incident room was buzzing in a way it only could when everyone was under pressure yet secretly enjoying it. You couldn’t go around admitting that you got a high when there was a murder, better still more than one. But it was why they did what they did. No one signed on to find lost cats or give road-safety talks to schoolkids.

The phones were ringing off the wall, detectives were running in and out, keyboards were being hammered, the humour was black and rife and there wasn’t a single moment of silence. Narey loved it. Even under all the pressure she’d managed to create for herself, she revelled in it.

She’d spoken to Hepburn’s sister who told her that a DNA test was being done that afternoon. No one doubted that it was him but everyone needed the final confirmation. Rico Giannandrea had been in and out like a fiddler’s elbow, working with Johnny Jackson and turning over every stone to see if Saturn Property might be hiding underneath it. They were also forensically examining other companies to see if Saturn had morphed again.