SHARP CURVES

by elfin

Jimmy looked up from his coffee when Sandy put his head around the office door. �There's been a stabbing at The Lounge. The ambulance is on it's way.' He checked his watch, it was only just gone eight, a Tuesday night. Probably a fight taken too far. �Okay.� So much for a quiet evening and an early night home. �You and Tosh come with me.' It was a five minute walk, a one minute drive. They took the car, the engine still cold when Sandy parked on the harbour front. The bar was a little way up the hill on the opposite side of the road, on a narrow street that the ambulance driver had skilfully reversed down. A small crowd had gathered outside, which the three of them pushed through to get in. It was crowded, people had stayed, something Jimmy was grateful for. He could see the medics - three men in high-vis jackets, two kneeling on the sticky carpet, one standing over them - and was about to identify himself and his team, when he saw Duncan, standing off to the left, ever so still and staring at his hands which, when Jimmy got closer, he could see were covered in blood. 'Duncan?' His head snapped up. �I... tried to help him, Jimmy, but there was so much blood, I couldn't stop it.' He was in shock, that much was clear. His hands were shaking, there was blood on his shirt front and sleeves, his face was white as a sheet. Jimmy flashed his warrant card to anyone who tried to block his way and finally got close enough to get a hand on Duncan's shoulder and lead him away from the immediate scene. �Do you know him?� He nodded. �Bob Williams.� 'What happened?' 'I don't know. He just got up to get another round and then he... collapsed. Someone must have stabbed him but I didn't see anyone. It was busy. I tried to stop the bleeding but it wouldn't stop.' 'Are you hurt?' Duncan stared at him like he'd asked a difficult question and the answer was beyond him. Then he seemed to come back to himself and shook his head. 'No. I'm... I'm fine. Christ, Jimmy.....' �It�s okay.' He wanted to hug him but he dared not contaminate what might be evidence. 'Sandy. Take him back to the station. Swab his hands, take photos, then bag his shirt and let him clean up, okay? Keep him there.' 'Is he under arrest?' �No, he�s a witness. Just... give him a coffee. Don't let him out of your sight until I get there.' 'Okay.' It was difficult to watch the uncertain way Duncan left with Sandy, but Jimmy needed to do his job. Their victim, Bob Williams, had already been pronounced dead. Everyone inside the bar had been moved into the room at the back, the one the landlord rented out for weddings and parties. Tosh had taken photos of the body and the immediate scene, and once he was certain there was nothing more they could do, Jimmy released the body for the ambulance crew to take away to the morgue. Then he joined Tosh in the back room where she'd progressed to taking witness names and statements, putting together a quick sketch of where everyone had been standing or sitting, starting to build up a timeline which would map the killer�s path in and out of the bar. The witnesses who�d been sitting or standing closest to the incident backed up Duncan's version of events. A couple of people near the entrance had seen a man in a dark coat enter the bar. A couple more said they were pushed out of the way by someone in a hurry to get across the narrow, crowded space. The party of four at the table next to Duncan's said they saw the victim stand up, then one thought he saw a flash of silver before he collapsed. The man in the dark coat had gone back the way he'd come in before anyone knew to stop him. With so many witnesses, every description would be slightly different. The Lounge had CCTV behind the bar, which might have captured something, and cameras in the street outside should have caught their man going in. Jimmy asked the barman to get him copies of the recordings, which he did in a couple of minutes. Long gone were the days of copying video tapes. A couple of uniforms arrived to help Tosh with the statements. There wasn't much point in collecting forensics from the scene; enough people had seen the attack and it was unlikely that there would be anything of use on the carpet, a patch of which had been soaked through with the victim�s blood, but likely also the blood from punch-ups gone by, a hundred spilt pints and dirt from a thousand pairs of shoes. Thinking about blood brought Duncan back to mind, that split second when Jimmy had caught sight of him and thought, just for a single moment, that the blood on his hands was his own. 'Tosh, I have to talk to Duncan.' He needed to interview him, take a proper statement. But more than that, he just wanted to see him. She didn't question that, just nodded and assured him she could deal with things there. He had faith in her, and he had the CCTV footage, so he left the crime scene and walked the five minutes up through the town to the station. It was a cold spring night, but the days were starting to get lighter. And while the air was damp, at least it wasn�t raining. Duncan was sitting on the sofa in the front room where the major case boards were clear for the first time in a while. He was wearing one of Jimmy's backup shirts that he kept in his desk drawer, his hands were wrapped around a mug of coffee which was untouched; he was just holding it, leaning forward with his wrists on his knees, staring into space. 'Duncan.' Jimmy perched on the arm of the sofa next to him and put a hand on his back, hoping to anchor him. He looked more shaken than Jimmy could remember seeing him and the sight was unnerving. 'Are you okay?' 'Honestly?' He turned his head and looked up at Jimmy. He still looked pale and he looked scared. 'No. I'm not.' �I�m sorry about your friend.� Jimmy glanced up when Sandy appeared in the doorway, notepad in hand, and nodded to the chair. He knew he should make this at least semi-official. �We just need to clear up a few details. You said his name was Bob Williams? �That�s right.� Duncan sounded far away. Usually he�d be on his guard, being questioned by the police, but it was as if he didn't realise where he was or what was actually happening. Or maybe he just trusted Jimmy. 'I didn�t know him well. I hadn�t seen him in months. I was supposed to meet someone who didn't turn up. Bob was there and we got to talking. When he asked me if I wanted another, I said aye, why not. He stood up and turned towards the bar. Then he collapsed. I thought he'd mebbe had a heart attack. I was trying to remember how to do CPR. But when I knelt down I saw the blood, coming from just above his belt, like it was being... pumped out.� His voice was close to cracking and Jimmy rubbed his back, between his shoulders, hoping he could bring some reassurance. It was making Sandy look slightly uncomfortable but Jimmy didn't care. He could still see their victim�s blood under Duncan's fingernails. 'What did Bob do for a living?' Duncan took a deep breath, pulling himself together a little. 'He worked at the ferry terminal. Security. As far as I know.' 'Married?' 'No. I don't know about a girlfriend. Like I said, I hadn't seen him in months.' That was enough for the time being. Billy was checking on next of kin, Tosh would contact him if someone else in the bar turned out to know him better than Duncan did. 'Okay. I'm gonna be a while here, are you okay to stay?' Duncan nodded like he really didn't have any plans to move from where he was sitting. Jimmy squeezed the back of his neck, then left him alone, Sandy following him through into the office. 'Are you sure you should be investigating this one, sir?' he asked, and Jimmy had to remind himself that Sandy was new to this, newly qualified as a detective, only a couple of months out of uniform. He would soon learn. 'He was trying to save his life, Sandy. Witness statements corroborate that. Duncan can be impetuous and stupid sometimes, but even he wouldn't stab a man in the middle of a crowded bar with a hundred witnesses looking on.' He stopped, turned, and poked the man gently in the chest with his finger. 'And the next time you accuse my partner of murder, you'd better not do it when I�m within earshot. Got that?' 'Aye, Sir. Sorry.' 'CCTV footage is on your desk. Go through it, find the man we're looking for.' Jimmy's phone stared to ring, it was Cora. He answered it. 'I hear you've been trying to reach me.' �Not me.' 'One of you lot. It's my wedding anniversary, so, can it wait?' Bob Williams was dead, and they knew how he'd died. Jimmy wanted to know what he was stabbed with, because they needed to know what they were looking for if the uniform fingertip search didn't find anything concrete in the immediate area. But yes, it could wait. The morgue would already have called a pathologist over from Aberdeen anyway. 'Aye. Enjoy your night. I'll see you in the morning.' �Thanks, Jimmy.� He called Cassie and told her he�d be late home, asked her if she was all right - which she assured him she was - and if she�d eaten - which she assured him she had. She was a better cook than he was, she�d probably whipped up a cheese souffl� or something, not the usual pasta with something he would have made. It was gone one when they packed it in the for the night. The bar had been issued with a twenty-four hour closure order, just in case. The body was safely at the morgue awaiting Cora�s morning visit, Billy had informed them that Bob Williams had no living relatives that he could find and that he lived alone, so there didn't seem to be anyone who needed to be immediately informed of his death. That struck Jimmy as incredibly sad. Tosh had written up a number of the witness statements, but she couldn�t do them all in one night. No one had seen everything, but put together they gave what Jimmy could only hope was a fairly accurate account of what had happened. A man, most likely, in a dark coat with his hood pulled up, had walked into The Lounge bar at seven fifty-five and stabbed Bob Williams once in the stomach while he�d been having a drink with an old acquaintance. The CCTV gave them little more. His hood covered his face. Medium build, medium height, he�d walked to the bar down the narrow, steep hill. Sandy said he would go through the town�s CCTV in the morning to see if he could track him back to where he started, with luck to a vehicle with a numberplate they could trace. Duncan was an old acquaintance of lots of islanders. There wasn�t anything strange in that. Jimmy was constantly surprised his name didn�t come up more often in the course of their various investigations. Still, it did cut close to home, and he was relieved to be leaving with him. He drove them to his place, just outside Lerwick, to Duncan�s obvious surprise. �It�s late,� he said by way of an explanation. �And you shouldn�t be on your own tonight.� �Isn't Cassie home?� �I�ll talk to to her.� Jimmy poured Duncan a whisky and left him sitting on the sofa while he went up to Cassie�s room, knocked on the door and peered inside. She was still up, predictably, sitting cross-legged on her bed, laptop in front of her. �Is everything all right?� she asked. �Aye. Duncan witnessed a stabbing in The Lounge earlier. He�s fine, just in shock, but is it okay if he stays over? I�ll sleep on the sofa.� She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh. �Of course it�s okay, and you don�t need to sleep on the sofa. I�m seventeen! I don�t mind the two of you sleeping in the same bed.� Jimmy hesitated. 'Are you sure?' 'I'm sure.'  He nodded. �Okay.� �Dad? Is that why he�s never stays over when I�m home?� He shrugged. �We thought�.� �Don�t think. Ask. He can stay over whenever he likes. We�ll all be living under the same roof by Christmas. I don�t mind if he moves in.� She was shaking her head, gazing at him with love and affection and a little like he was mad. He didn't know what to say to that, it seemed like something they should talk about more, and not in the wee hours of the morning after a long day and an even longer night. 'Good night, love. Don't stay up too long.' 'Good night, Dad.' He ignored the pointed tone. Duncan was half-asleep when Jimmy went back down stairs. He took the glass from him, turned off the lights and led him upstairs to bed. By the time Jimmy came out of the bathroom, Duncan was under the duvet, curled on to his side, fast asleep. Jimmy murmured that he loved him, then turned over and tried to think about nothing until the alarm woke him five hours later. ~ The press were circling the station like vultures when Jimmy turned up. He�d left Duncan in bed, taken Cassie to Jemma�s on the promise that she�d eat a proper breakfast before they went to school. He�d wanted to get in early but Tosh and Sandy had both beaten him to it. �I�m sorry, about what I said last night,� Sandy said the first moment he caught sight of him. �Aye, that�s okay. I know it�s a mental shift not to think of Duncan as the devil but he�s not. He�s a good man. If he wasn�t, I wouldn�t be with him.� �I know.� �Anything more on the Lerwick CCTV?� �The recordings are still downloading. On the bar�s CCTV we can see a man in a dark coat go in at about the right time, but his hood hides his face and the bar was too crowded to get a good view of him once he�s inside.� �Okay. Tosh, anything?� She looked up from inputting the statements. �Nothing new since last night. Is Duncan okay?� �Aye. Just shock. Thanks for asking.� �He makes you happy.� She shrugged. �That�s what matters.� Before he could work out what to say to that, Billy�s head was around the door. �A body�s been found at the house at the end of Sea Road.� Cora arrived at the same time they did. Jimmy had called her. He also knew as soon as he saw the scene that Rhona would want him to bring in forensics from Aberdeen. He made the call so that Reeves could fly over with her pathologist colleague. He didn�t envy her the job - he didn�t want to stay in the house for long. �What was his name?� he asked Tosh once she�d extracted herself from the hysterical cleaning lady  who�d had the misfortune to discover the scene. �Andrew Maitland. Local property developer.� Jimmy rubbed his face with his hands. He hated coincidences, even small ones. He watched as Cora took one step through the door and came straight back out. �This is beyond my field of expertise,� she told him, �Although I�m fairly certain I know what the cause of death was.� �So do I, and I�m not a doctor. Canon shot to the chest.� �I don�t think people shoot one another with canons these days.� �There�s a hole in him big enough to put my head through.� She didn�t comment. �I�ve called Aberdeen.� �Two violent deaths in twelve hours within a few miles of one another does suggest a connection. And I�m not a policeman.� It was the same conclusion Jimmy had reached. Shetland wasn�t a large place. They didn�t get too many deaths, even fewer pre-meditated ones. There had to be a connection between Maitland and Williams, they just needed to find it. He called Duncan from the car. �Jimmy, hey. I was going to call but I didn�t want to disturb you.� �Disturb me anytime. How are you feeling?� �Like I�ve been hit by a train. I�ve never seen anyone� die before.� He fell silent and Jimmy wondered for a second if he needed to drive back to the house. But the next time Duncan spoke he sounded more like himself. �Thanks for last night. And this morning.� �Don�t mention it. You�re welcome to stay put if you�re still there.� He paused. �Listen, I hate to do this to you but do you know a man called Andrew Maitland?� �Aye. We�ve done some business and we play poker together. Why? I don�t think he knew Bob.� �When did you last see him?� �Monday night, a poker game, invitation only. What�s wrong?� He hesitated. But he didn�t want Duncan finding out from someone else. �I�m sorry. He was shot in his home, sometime last night.� �What? Christ, Jimmy, what the hell�s going on?� Willow Reeves and a colleague, Jeremy Allen, arrived at lunchtime. Sandy drove Reeves out to the house on Sea Road while Jimmy took Allen to the morgue. Not that he was avoiding Reeves. But she�d definitely been coming on to him that last time she�d been on the island. He hadn�t been interested then because he�d thought he wasn�t over Fran, and because honestly he hadn�t been attracted to her, hadn�t felt any kind of draw to her, almost the opposite at times. Strange the way things worked out, the direction attraction had led him in. He waited for the prelim results, sat in the hospital�s canteen drinking the brown murky stuff the vending machine had dripped out into a plastic cup when he�d pressed the �coffee, black� button. �He was stabbed with a thin blade,� Allen reported back within an hour. �Serrated along one edge, smooth along the other, curving to a sharp tip. Like� a steak knife.� �The Lounge serves food, he might have picked it up in the bar.� �Reeves told me you�d got a gunshot victim too?� �Aye.� �Two suspicious deaths�.?� �We�re working on the assumption that they�re linked until we prove that they�re not. A stabbing and a shooting.� He shook his head and thought, both friends of Duncan�s. But it wasn�t that big a coincidence. Duncan knew everyone. �I�ll give you a report later this afternoon, full report tomorrow.� �Thanks.� He started for the door. �Inspector Perez?� �Aye?� �Willow Reeves� likes you. She talks about you.� The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile, flattered. But he already knew that. �Sorry. It�s none of my business.� It wasn�t, but Jimmy didn�t mind. �That�s okay. But I�m seeing someone.� �Right. Again, sorry. She didn�t mention that.� �I don�t think she knows. It started after she left the last time.� Allen nodded. �Her loss then.� Jimmy smiled, took that on board and left. ~ At four that afternoon, Jimmy had his team gathered in the front room at the station, major incident boards now covered in photographs and yellow Post It notes with names and dates and times jotted down in capitals. �Bob Williams worked as a security guard at the Fair Head terminal. He lived alone. There�s no evidence that he gambled or drank excessively. His boss said he was reliable and well liked. No one we�ve spoken to can think of any reason someone would want to kill him. Andrew Maitland was involved in property development, here, and on the mainland. He too lived alone, but we know he was a gambler because he was at an all night poker game, invite only, on Monday night. There doesn�t seem to be a single reason for the two men to know one another but I seriously doubt their deaths aren�t connected.� His phone rang, and he pulled it from the pocket of his jeans. He glanced at the caller name and answered. �Hey, Dun-� �Jimmy!� Duncan was shouting, sounded terrified, and Jimmy was on his feet in a second. �Someone�s trying to kill me!� �Where are you?� He could hear noises in the back of the call that sounded frighteningly like gun fire. He ran to his desk, grabbed his keys, Tosh and Sandy at his back. �Duncan! Tell me where you are?� �On the 970, towards Mill Brae. Christ, Jimmy. What the hell-� The line went dead. �Duncan?! Shit!� Out in the car park, he stopped Tosh and Sandy from getting in his car. �Absolutely not. He was being shot it. It�s a Volvo, not a tank!� �Sir, you need backup!� �Who? It�s not like we�ve got an armed response unit!� He started the engine and wound down the window. �Get a couple of marked cars out to the 970 towards Mill Brae, okay? Lots of light, lots of noise.� Then he floored it as he drove out of the car park, trying not to think about what he was doing - driving straight into the path of a gunman. But the idea of Duncan, out there, being shot at scared him to death. He couldn�t imagine what he�d done to bring this down on him. As frightened as he was, he could feel the anger building too. Duncan had always been such a selfish bastard, didn�t seem to understand that the things he got involved in had consequences and those consequences didn't just affect him now, they affected Cassie too. And Jimmy himself, in more ways than one. If he was alive and okay, Jimmy thought he was probably going to want to kill him himself. He turned on the emergency lights, taking his own advice, driving as quickly as he dared through Lerwick, speeding up once he was on the open road. The few miles felt like a hundred but eventually he turned onto the road that crossed to Mill Brae. He didn�t have to search for Duncan�s new BMW 4x4. It was pulled up on the side of the road, parked haphazardly, driver�s door open. As he got closer, he could see the holes in the side of it, windows broken. His heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of his ribcage.  He pulled the Volvo up next to the 4x4. There was no immediate sign of Duncan, no sign of the man who�d fired at this car. It was peaceful, quiet. He got out of the car slowly and carefully, keeping low. �Duncan?� He didn�t want to shout too loud just in case the gunman was still around, but the thought of Duncan lying dead or dying somewhere close was unbearable. �Duncan?� �Jimmy?� He heard his name called from behind the 4x4 and was able to breathe again. �Oh, thank Christ.� Duncan was peering out, crouched down, and Jimmy crouched beside him, looking him over for a wound. �Are you hurt?� �No. I�m okay.� �You�re bleeding.� There was blood on his jeans, and he held out his hands, palms red with it. �Duncan�.� �Just scratches, from the glass.� He pointed at the broken windows above his head. Jimmy made the call for an ambulance. �What the hell is going on?� �Why don�t you tell me?� �Hey, I�m not into anything that would provoke this. I hope you don�t think I�d do that to Cassie, or to you.� That made him feel like a shit. He sat down on the grass next to Duncan and dropped his head to his shoulder, feeling Duncan�s cheek coming to rest in his hair. He dropped a hand to Duncan�s leg and squeezed tight, waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal. �I think, maybe, whoever killed Bob Williams might have been after you. Maybe when he worked out that he wasn�t good with a knife, he switched to a shotgun and he killed Andrew Maitland in his home.� �A shotgun?� �Aye. Sorry. But judging by the size of the holes in your car, it was the same weapon.� �Fuck.� He sat up and Jimmy felt him take a deep, shaky breath. �I don�t understand. I know I don�t always get on with people but no one�s ever tried to kill me before.� Jimmy sat up too, turning to look at his lover. �I think you should tell me about the poker game on Monday night.� The landscape was painted blue and red by the lights on the police cars and the ambulance. Sandy had driven Willow Reeves over from the Sea Road house and she�d greeted Jimmy with a peck on the cheek, which had pushed Duncan�s eyebrows into his forehead. He was going to have some explaining to do later, an explanation that would probably have Duncan laughing his ass off. For the time being, Jimmy had more pressing things to worry about. He�d asked Tosh to go and pick up Cassie from school, to take her home and stay with her. Chances were she wasn�t in any danger but if whoever was doing this had tried to get to Duncan twice and missed, Jimmy thought he might start considering other ways to hurt him. It was unlikely, because trying to stab him in the middle of a crowded bar felt like a desperate move, not the actions of someone who was good at thinking things through. Still, he made sure Duncan was out of earshot when he asked her. As soon as the ambulance had turned up, Jimmy had helped Duncan into the back to get his wounds treated. He hadn�t been far into explaining the Monday night poker game, one arranged regularly by a local businessman, Ted Graham, and attended by a small group by invitation only. On the previous Monday night there were four of them - Graham, Maitland, Duncan and a man called Guy Croft. It was only the second time Duncan had been invited, Maitland�s third time, Croft�s first. The medic put two stitches in Duncan�s left hand, three in his right, cut away his jeans and cleaned and dressed the shallower cuts on his knees. Sandy joined them, standing in the open door of the ambulance while Jimmy sat inside. �It�s a high stakes game, for Shetland,� Duncan carried on, once all that was left was paperwork. He�d already had a grumble at the sacrifice of his favourite pair of jeans. �I won a couple of grand, Andrew about the same. Ted though�. Ted cleared Guy out. Guy wouldn�t back down, kept betting higher and higher, too high for us.� Jimmy wasn�t sure if he was making the point to placate him. To say he didn�t care what Duncan did when he wasn�t with him sounded callous, but he didn�t. For a start, Duncan was a good card player, Jimmy knew that from experience, he knew when to bet and he knew when to quit. He liked money too much to gamble it away frivolously and, despite what people thought and the reputation he�d built for himself, he was responsible when it came to anything that might have an impact on Cassie. But that wasn�t the reason. The reason was that part of him still liked to think of he and Duncan as an affair. It wasn�t that he didn�t have the right to comment, but that he didn�t want it. �Guy lost� maybe thirty grand. Got to the stage that Ted refused to play another hand. Then Guy got angry, accused Ted of cheating, accused us all of being involved in a conspiracy to bankrupt him, some such nonsense. We were drinking, but not heavily. I think Guy�s marriage might have been in trouble. If it wasn�t when he left that evening it certainly was when he got home.� �How angry did he get?� Jimmy asked. Duncan looked at him. �You think Guy�s the one trying to kill me.� �Maitland was shot dead in his home and now someone�s tried to shoot you. There�s a connection and unless you and he have been involved in some shady business deal recently, it�s the best we�ve got.� Duncan shook his head. �I haven�t done business with Andrew in a year or so.� �Then until we�ve got Guy in custody, let�s go with the theory he�s still pissed off about Monday night. Sandy - find Ted Graham.� He glanced at Duncan for pointers. �He�s got a house at the top of Ladies Drive.� Jimmy nodded. �When you find him, take him in to protective custody at the station. Don�t go to the house on your own, take a couple of uniforms, make a lot of noise and be careful.� Sandy nodded, but he hesitated. �Will you be all right, Sir?� Jimmy nodded, resisting the eye roll. �I�ll be fine.� �He�s got a point,� Duncan started once Sandy was out of the way. �If Guy�s after me you�re not safe either.� �Don�t worry, you�re going into protective custody too. If we�ve got you both in one place, Guy will have to come to us eventually.� �And if he doesn�t?� �We�ll find him. He�s not a serial killer, he�s just a man who�s lost a lot of money and is out to take revenge on the low-lives he thinks robbed him of it.� �Hey!� Jimmy smiled at him. �No offence. If you�re all patched up, we�ll off to the station.� He nodded at the Volvo. �Get in the back of the car and keep your head down.� �Are you serious?� Duncan was actually looking at him like he wasn�t sure and he was tempted to say yes. He could still feel the adrenaline in his blood stream; sickly sticky, turning his stomach, making him glad he hadn�t had time to eat yet. �When were you going to tell me about the forensics expert from Aberdeen?� �There�s nothing to tell.� �I don�t think that�s what she thinks.� Jimmy pointed at the car with an exasperated sigh. �Can we do this later, when there isn�t a man with a shotgun trying to kill you?� �Fine.� �It�s nothing.� �Whatever you say.� �Get in the car.� They were half-way back to the station when Jimmy�s phone rang and he pulled onto the side of the road to answer it. Glancing around the empty scenery as he did, on edge in case someone should start shooting at them which was ridiculous. This was Shetland, for Christ�s sake! There was a reason they didn�t have an armed response unit - they�d never needed one before. �Perez.� �Sir.� It was Sandy. �We�ve found Ted Graham and Guy Croft at Graham�s home on Ladies Drive.� �Oh, thank God for that.� He took a deep breath and finally let himself relax, glanced over at Duncan. �They�ve found Ted and Guy.� He watched him close his eyes and drop his head back against the headrest, obviously, understandably relieved. �Are they alive?� �Aye, Sir. But you should get over here.� He didn�t sound sombre, if anything, he sounded amused, which meant the scene probably wasn�t anything like what they�d found at Maitland�s house. �I�m on my way.� �And Sir? If Duncan�s finished with that ambulance�.� Croft and Graham were sitting on the floor of Croft�s living room getting blood on his laminate flooring, Graham had a gunshot wound to his foot, and Croft had a knife wound to his hand. Jimmy stared at them both for half a minute, made a call to Tosh to give her the all-clear and to ask her to join them, then went to sit outside on the low stone wall at the front of the house, where Duncan was sitting. The medics had given him a couple of Codine tablets which had apparently kicked in because he was tapping his heels against the stone, staring at his feet as he moved them, oblivious to the cold on his injured knees and bare legs. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he wanted a cigarette. He asked a couple of the uniformed officers if they had one and got lucky. He stuck it between his lips and Duncan plucked it away. �What are you doing?� Jimmy took it back. �I want a smoke.� �You haven�t smoked in forty years.� �Thirty. What about you?� �Ten. More or less. Did you get a light?� It had been a very long time since they�d shared a smoke. Duncan took the first drag, handed it over, and Jimmy let the poison sooth his jangling nerves. He passed it back and stared at Duncan�s mouth, trying not to think inappropriate thoughts. �Cassie can�t find out,� Duncan warned him, and Jimmy nodded. �Agreed. Tosh carries strong mints on her. Remind me to grab a couple.� �You remember the night after you were stabbed, you told me about your seeing your friend, after he was killed in his car?� Jimmy nodded. �This afternoon, when I was being shot at, all I could think was how I didn�t want you finding me dead in my car.� Jimmy shifted a couple of inches to his left on the wall, so that his arm and leg pressed against Duncan�s, then he found Duncan�s hand, let his fingers slide over the pulse point in his wrist, and rested them there for a few strong beats of his heart. �I love you,� he murmured softly; the first time he�d said it straight, not as part of an off-hand comment or a joke or a text. Duncan stared at him, and was still staring at him when Tosh arrived. �Cassie�s waiting for the pair of you at home. She�s worried. If you want to go, I can look after things here.� Jimmy nodded. �Thanks. Sandy�s inside.� She nodded and jogged up the steps to the front door. They sat together in silence, smoking in the cold, until she came back out with Sandy in tow. �It seems that Croft had already threatened Graham after the poker game, so he�d armed himself,� Sandy explained. �When Croft broke into his house, Graham stabbed him in the hand at about the same time as Croft shot him in the foot. The sequence of events is a bit uncertain. But we�ve arrested them both and as soon as they get the all clear from the medics we�ll take them to the station.� Jimmy nodded. �Let Ted Graham off with an official warning. Charge Guy Croft with two murders and two attempted murders. Contact Inverness, let them know the situation. I�m going to take Duncan home and reassure Cassie. Call if you need me, otherwise I�ll be in first thing.� ~ They made love that night, after Cassie had re-iterated that she was happy with Duncan staying over. They needed to be together, Jimmy needed to feel Duncan alive around him. Duncan�s legs were wrapped around Jimmy�s waist as he fucked into him, rhythm slow and sure. Since the first time at Duncan�s place, they�d broadened their repertoire. Trial and error had made for a few interesting experiments, a broken lamp and a cracked wrist, but they�d worked out several positions without the need for medical intervention. Jimmy felt his lover�s fingers in his hair and he was pulled him down into a filthy, open kiss. He laughed, breathless and happy, turning his head, biting then sucking at Duncan�s wrist gently. He loved hearing Duncan moan with pleasure. The sensation, the feeling of being inside him was perfect, something he couldn�t put into words. He loved watching Duncan�s face as they did this, loved the taste of sweat on his skin and the feel of the shudders that ran across his shoulders. Duncan lifted his head from the pillow and bit into the soft flesh at the side of Jimmy�s throat, licked at the mark he�d made, and murmured Jimmy�s name on a breath. Jimmy came inside him, sudden and surprising, muffling his cry in Duncan�s shoulder, feeling Duncan coming too, his cock trapped between them, against skin slick with sweat. Jimmy was about to move but tight arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him in place. �Stay,� Duncan whispered. �Just for a minute. I want to feel you go soft inside me.� Jimmy felt his sated cock twitch. �I won�t go soft at all if you say things like that.� But he stayed put, head on Duncan�s shoulder, pressing little kisses to his throat and nipping at the hairs of his beard, finally making Duncan laugh. �Okay, you can move,� he murmured eventually, and Jimmy eased out of him, reaching for the box of tissues on the side and handing him a fistful. �Do me a favour,� Jimmy asked him sleepily. �Warn me the next time someone at one of your poker games loses a lot of money.� �If you want me to stop playing -� �- I want you to stop talking. Right now.� He sighed softly. He didn't know how to make it any clearer that he didn't want any more say in Duncan's life than he had in Sandy's or Tosh's. It was just that, slowly and without him really noticing, he was finding it less and less possible to maintain that distance. ~ Jimmy stared out of the window at the beautiful, bleak island scenery. 'Do we have to tell them?' Duncan glanced at him from behind the wheel. He could feel the warmth of his gaze but it didn't make him feel any better. 'We're moving in together in a few months. If you don't tell them, they're going to find out and how would they feel then?' He shrugged. 'They might not.' 'You have to tell your own parents, Cassie's grandparents, that you've changed your address!' 'I'll set up mail forwarding. And call forwarding.' There was a pause. 'Are you ashamed of me?' Jimmy snapped his head around. 'No, of course not.� He saw Duncan wink and rolled his eyes. �It�s just that I'm not sure my Dad's going to be happy finding out his son's moving in with the kid who used to steal his lunch money at school.' Cassie leaned forward from the back seat of the hired Land Rover. 'You stole Dad's lunch money?' Duncan held up a hand. 'Once! And it was only to pay back Gretta McDonald or she would have had my testicles for earrings.' She shook her head with a sigh. 'You two are ridiculous.' Sitting back in her seat, she said, 'We've come all the way over here. You're telling them, Dad.' By the time he knocked on the door of his parent's house, the sick feeling that had been crawling around in Jimmy's stomach for the entire flight was threatening to regurgitate what little he'd managed to eat that day. He could feel Duncan's hand, warm and anchoring, at the small of his back, and Cassie gave his hand a quick squeeze of reassurance and solidarity, letting go half a minute later when Mary Perez opened it and actually squealed at the unexpected sight of her granddaughter and her son. �Oh Lord, this is such a surprise!� She hugged Cassie, then hugged Jimmy as he stepped forward. �Mum, do you remember Duncan Hunter?� She looked Duncan up and down appraisingly then the smile burst again on to her face. �Yes! Of course!� And she hugged him too. �Come in! What are you doing here? I don�t have anything in. You should have called!� Jimmy hadn�t wanted to call. They would have worried, because he never visited. They would have assumed there was something wrong, which wasn�t exactly right. James got back twenty minutes after they�d arrived, when they were ensconced at the kitchen table drinking tea and eating fruit cake. He was as surprised and pleased to see them as Mary had been, and they sat for another half an hour, talking about nothing, until - right on schedule - Cassie asked for a lift to the Tullochs� to visit Angus, Jimmy�s God son, her friend, and Duncan volunteered as planned. Pushing her chair in under the table, Cassie gave her Dad a peck on the cheek and whispered, �Good luck,� in his ear. Duncan didn�t risk so much as a hand on his shoulder but Jimmy knew he wanted to. Out of the both of them, he thought Duncan was the more terrified. He knew that as much as Duncan wanted out of the house - and he had been wonderful with Mary and James, friendly and genuine - he was scared of what was going to happen once he�d left, how they were going to react to what Jimmy had to tell them. Jimmy was scared too. Or maybe scared was a bit strong because they'd been through a lot with him and they were still and would always be his parents. But he knew he was going to be telling them something else they didn't want to hear. He listened to the two putting on their coats out in the hall, to Mary saying goodbye, to the engine of the 4x4 revving up and thirty seconds later fading away. The front door closed, and almost as soon as she sat back down, Mary leaned across the table and reached for her son�s arm. �What�s wrong, Jimmy? Is Cassie� ill?� That threw him. �No. There�s nothing wrong, Mum.� He covered her hands with his own and smiled. �I promise.� �So why is her father here with you?� �For that matter,� James put in, �why are you here? You're not working are you?' Jimmy shook his head. �It�s nothing like that. But I do have something I need to tell you, and I wanted to do it in person.� �Something about Cassie?� �Something about me, that affects Cassie.� He took a deep breath but he realised he had no idea how to tell them that their hitherto straight son was about to move in with another man, an old school friend, his dead wife�s ex-husband. �Jimmy?� He was scaring his mum. �Whatever it is, son, we�ll get through it. We�re your family.� And his dad. He hoped they would still be his family after he�d told them. �Cassie, Duncan and I�. We�re moving in together. We�re having a house built just outside Gremista, on a piece of land Duncan bought last year.� They both looked at him, confused, and he knew he was going to have the same problem they had with Cassie. They weren�t just going to jump to the right conclusion. �Why?� Mary asked when he didn�t elaborate, and for the first time since making this decision, he couldn�t say the words. ~ �Of course we remember you!� Michael Tulloch told Duncan as he shook his hand. He turned as his wife came to the door to see who was visiting. �Isobel, you remember Duncan Hunter?� Duncan smiled at her expression. �Oh, yes. I remember Duncan Hunter.� He really wished he hadn�t built himself such a disreputable reputation. It wasn�t going to be making Jimmy�s life easier right at that moment. She grinned, and put her arms around his neck, hugging him in welcome. �It is so good to see you! It�s been too long.� �Angus�s up in his room, Cassie,� Isobel told her, and she gave him a supportive little wave before climbing the stairs up from the kitchen. Not that he needed it. Jimmy had the tough job, he was just along for the ride. He took a seat at the large wooden table as invited but rather than the tea he�d been offered at the Perez�s, Michael offered him a beer, which he gratefully accepted even if a bottle of whisky wouldn�t have been enough to settle his nerves. �What brings you to Fair Isle?� Isobel asked. �Is Jimmy here?� �Aye, at his parents. Joint visit with Cassie.� �Oh, aye.� If they wanted to know anything more, they didn�t ask, turning the conversation to old school friends and �where are they now�. Upstairs, Angus handed Cassie his iPad and the headphones, showing her the new game he�d written. �So what are you doing all the way over here?� he asked afterwards, and Cassie replied, �Dad�s telling Grandma and Grandpa that he�s sleeping with Duncan, and we�re all moving in together.� Angus stared at her until he realised she was telling him the truth, then his mouth fell open and she smiled. �Makes your life seem simple, doesn't it?� ~ �I know he�s always been a friend of yours,� James was saying, �but didn�t you say that Fran specifically requested that you take care of Cassie?� Jimmy nodded. This wasn�t a bridge they�d had to cross before, because between the three of them they�d already worked it all out when he�d first moved them back to Shetland. �He�s never been a good influence,� Mary added, careful of how she said it. Jimmy rubbed his face with his hand. �I don�t understand why you would need to share a house. Is it money?� �No.� He shook his head. �It�s nothing like that. We want to live together.� He stressed his words, looking from his Dad to his Mum and back, hoping they would understand. �We are together.� Mary was the first one to join the dots. He saw it in her eyes the moment she made the connection, the way her face went blank before her expression changed to one of utter confusion. �You�re� you�re telling us, you and Duncan Hunter�.� He nodded slowly. �Oh.� Mary had worked it out, so he looked to his Dad, waiting for him to catch on. James� eyes widened. �Oh.� He waited, but nothing more was forthcoming. �Can you say something other than �oh�, either of you?� Mary shrugged, and he could see her defences coming down in the way she sat back in her chair, arms folding across her body. �Well, what do want us to say?� �I don�t know. But your only, and previously straight, son has just told you he�s moving in with another man. I think I deserve more than �oh�.� �It�s just a bit of a shock,� his Dad told him. �I know.� He nodded. �I�m sorry. I didn�t know how else to tell you, but I did have to tell you and I wanted to do it face to face.� �How does Cassie feel about this?� Mary asked, and he could hear in her voice that she was upset. �If she wasn�t happy, we wouldn�t be doing this,� he reassured with absolute conviction. �She comes first in our lives, mine and Duncan�s, she�s always been our top priority and that won�t ever change. But she�s fine with it. You can ask her when they get back.� �Are you sure about this?� Mary went on, and he wasn�t sure she�d heard him. �Duncan always did lead you astray.� �Mum, I�m a grown man! And I was the one to start this.� �You�re Cassie�s Dad! You have to keep her best interests in mind. Fran didn�t want Duncan involved in her life.� �That�s not what she said. She said she wanted me to bring her up. Duncan�s her father. He has every right to be a part of her life. More right than I do.� He could feel himself getting angry. �He never contested Fran�s express wishes, he never once demanded access to Cassie when we were living in London. When we moved back to Shetland it made sense to let him see her, to let her get to know him. And for me to reconnect. He was a good friend.� �But to be living with him, Jimmy.� The stark disapproval in her tone made him suddenly furious, and he got up from the table before he could say anything he would regret, calmly removing himself from the situation, stepping outside to get some fresh, cold air. �Why Duncan Hunter, of all people?� James asked him, coming to lean on the fence next to him. He didn�t sound disappointed or disgusted, just confused and faintly amused. Jimmy shrugged. �It just happened.� �The heart wants what the heart wants,� his Dad quoted, and he turned to look at him. �You�re taking this well.� �When you were last here you seemed more� contented than you had since Fran died. And today, you�re happy, son. I�ll admit, for a while I�m going to wish it was another lovely lady who�d made you smile again, but life takes unexpected turns now and again.� �Can you tell Mum that?� �She�ll come round. Jimmy� you know, she�s right in that Duncan always had a reputation when you were kids�.�  �Dad, Duncan wouldn�t hurt a fly. Not intentionally.� James sighed. �You�re really doing this.� �I�m� in love with him.� It still surprised him slightly to hear himself say it. �In which case, you just need to give your mum time. It�s a big change, you have to admit, otherwise you wouldn�t have come all the way out here and been so nervous about telling us.� Jimmy watched Duncan pull the Land Rover up to the front of the house and waved. He and James had graduated to beer, but they were still outside and Mary was still inside. Duncan stopped halfway between the car and the house, despite having brought Cassie back as a safety net. �Is it safe or do I need to get off the island as soon as possible?� �You�re fine, son.� James beckoned him in. Jimmy smiled at Duncan�s nervous laugh, at Cassie�s roll of her eyes as she asked, �So why are you two outside?� �Your Grandma just needed some time to herself,� James told her. �So if you�re willing to run the gauntlet into the kitchen, would you mind fetching three beers?� She shook her head in what Jimmy recognised instantly as 'disappointment with the so-called adults' around her. He saw it a lot. Duncan stayed on the other side of the fence, but he leaned on it close to Jimmy without actually touching. �How are Angus, Michael and Isobel?� �They seemed well. I said we'd try to go over again before we left.� Jimmy nodded. �It was good to see them, it�s been years!' 'Didn't you and Isobel have a thing at one time?' Duncan nudged his elbow. 'You can talk. Weren't you the first boy to kiss her?' Jimmy couldn't help smiling at the memory. 'Seems we always had the same taste in women.' He could almost hear the comment his Dad was trying so hard not to make. Luckily Duncan carried on, 'I didn�t see Angus but Cass said he was happy, enjoying university.' 'Thats because he's discovered his freedom.' James nodded his agreement. 'Thats because he's discovered freedom. And boys.' Jimmy would have been content to wonder if that had been a dig at them and never to find out, but Duncan straightened and turned to face him. 'Mr Perez -� �I didn�t mean anything by that, and it�s James, please.� �I know, Jimmy and I, we�re not what you�d hoped for him, not what you ever expected -� But he was silenced with the wave of a hand. �You might not be my idea of a� child-in-law, and no, I never expected to have a son-in-law, but you�re obviously who Jimmy wants. And once he makes up his mind, far be it for us to try to change it.� Cassie was inside for ten minutes, maybe less, before she came out with three open beers and Mary in her wake. �You!� She was pointing at Duncan, who immediately took a step back. �You better take care of my son, Duncan Hunter.� Jimmy actually wished the island would open up and swallow him. 'Mum!' �I promise, Mrs Perez.� He didn�t think he�d ever heard Duncan sound so entirely sincere. Still, he wasn't beyond being embarrassed. �Mum, please?� �Come inside, all of you. I�ll cook us some dinner.� Cassie stayed with her grandparents. Jimmy and Duncan had a room booked at the one Bed & Breakfast on Fair Isle. Of course, the fact they were sharing a room would be around the entire island before dawn, but now that Jimmy had told his parents, he didn�t care. He couldn�t care. Some secrets couldn�t be kept. He took in the view from the window of their upstairs room while Duncan was in the bathroom. It was so dark out here, darker than Lerwick. He loved Fair Isle but at the same time the idea of living so very far from civilisation didn�t appeal to him. Right at that moment, he was strangely homesick. He heard the toilet flush and half a minute later, Duncan nudged his shoulder. �Are you all right?� �I want to go home,� he murmured. �Okay. Is the morning soon enough?� Jimmy turned to look at him and chuckled at his own childishness, nodded. �Sorry.� �For what?�� �For� subjecting you to this.� Duncan�s turn to laugh. He settled his hands at Jimmy�s waist, leaned in, and kissed him. �If this is as bad as it gets,� he murmured against Jimmy�s mouth, �it�s going to be easy.� �You always say it isn�t going to be easy.� �I talk a lot of shite.� �Aye, tell me about it.� Enough talking. Jimmy slipped his tongue between Duncan�s lips and his hand into his open jeans. Duncan moaned into the kiss and thrust awkwardly through his loose fist. Jimmy used his free hand to push his jeans the rest of the way off his hips, followed them with his boxers to give himself better access and palmed his balls, drawing a groan from Duncan�s throat. He broke off from the kiss, opened his eyes and looked at him, glanced down at his hands and back to Duncan�s face. �I want you to come for me,� he murmured, voice low. �From my hand on your cock. I want to watch you, to know that I did that. I love making you come, love knowing that I can do this to you, pull you apart like this and put you back together. I love you, Duncan, but never more than when you look like this, when my hands are on you, when you come over my fingers, or on my tongue or inside me.� Duncan shuddered in his grip and came hard, jerking in his hand. �Christ, Jimmy!' He hoped he looked as smug as he felt. Half an hour later, naked and sated and lying on top of the duvet in the over-heated room, jimmy asked, 'Are you going to tell Mary?' 'I have done. I called her.' 'You called her? You told her over the phone?' 'Last time I went to see her you got yourself stabbed.' �You've seen her plenty since then.' 'Okay. So I didn't have the nerve to do it face to face. I'm not as brave as you.' 'What did she say?' 'She laughed. Said she wasn't in the last bit surprised and that she knew there was something between us, even when there wasn't. She said that people on the island called you a hard ass, that you'd ended people's careers because they'd pissed you off, but that whenever you caught me doing something illegal you just told me to stop and I stopped. She said the fact I'd never spent a single night in the cells proved preferential treatment. That you liked me.' Jimmy snorted, but he thought she might have had a point. 'You know, I only let you off for Cassie's sake.' 'I told Mary that. She just said men were blind when it came to that sort of thing. Is it true about you ending people's careers?' 'Once, maybe twice. There was a lecturer who was sleeping with his students. I might not have bothered except that one of his students he'd had an affair with was murdered and he didn't care. I'd never met anyone so callous before, so... inhuman.' Duncan found his hand on the bed between them and squeezed his fingers. 'I'm sorry.' 'What for?' 'The things you see, the things you have to find out, have to know. Things that must be impossible to forget.' 'You find a way of at least putting them away, in the recesses. Otherwise I'd go insane, I'd have gone insane years ago. And the things I see here on Shetland aren't anywhere near as bad as the things I saw in London.' 'You know if you ever see something you need to share... you don't have to worry about offending my sensibilities.' 'Strangely, that's not something I've ever worried about.' 'Really? Not even once?' Jimmy found the pillow on the floor next to the bed, the one they'd kicked off the bed earlier trying to get into a position that hadn't really worked but at least they'd tried. Getting a hold of the corner of it, he lifted it and swung it at Duncan's chest. 'Oh, aye, if it's a pillow fight you're after, you're messing with a champion.' Jimmy let go of the pillow and rolled on top of Duncan, pinning him to mattress. �I�ve said it before and I'll say it again,' he murmured as Jimmy began a trail of kisses down his throat, 'insatiable.' ~ They drove back to the house the following morning to pick up Cassie. She, James and Mary were having breakfast so Duncan and Jimmy joined them, made to feel welcome, with no hint of the tension from the day before. Before they left, while Cassie was saying goodbye to her grandpa, Mary corned the two of them by the car. �I won�t pretend I�m overjoyed at the idea of the two of you shacking up together,' she told them frankly. 'But you've both done a wonderful job of bringing up that wee girl. You were right, Jimmy, when you said she needs and deserves you both. She certainly loves you both. Don't think the idea doesn't make me squirm. But I'll get used to it. And I don't want to make the stupid mistake of pushing away my son and my granddaughter. So you both look after her, and you look after one another.' Once they were on the road, Duncan asked, 'Do you want to drop in to see Michael and Isobel?' And Jimmy replied, 'Some other time, ay? Just, get us to the airport. I want to go home. And I want you to move in.�