Beggars Banquet (41 page)

‘Damon Mee, Inspector. You wanted us to keep an eye on any transactions.’

Rebus leaned forward in his chair. ‘That’s right.’

‘There’ve been two withdrawals from cash machines, both in central London.’

Rebus grabbed a pen. ‘Where exactly?’

‘Tottenham Court Road was three days ago: fifty pounds. Next day, it was Finsbury Park, same amount.’

Fifty pounds a day: enough to live on, enough to pay for a cheap bed and breakfast and two extra meals.

‘How much is left in the account, Mr Bain?’

‘A little under six hundred pounds.’

Enough for twelve days. There were several ways it could go. Damon could get himself a job. Or when the money ran out he could try begging. Or he could return home. Rebus thanked Bain and telephoned Janis.

‘John,’ she said, ‘we got a postcard this morning.’

A postcard saying Damon was in London and doing fine. A postcard of apology for any fright he’d given them. A postcard saying he needed some time to ‘get my head straight’. A postcard which ended ‘See you soon.’ The picture on the front was of a pair of breasts painted with Union Jacks.

‘Brian thinks we should go down there,’ Janis said. ‘Try to find him.’

Rebus thought of how many B&Bs there’d be in Finsbury Park. ‘You might just chase him away,’ he warned. ‘He’s doing OK, Janis.’

‘But why did he do it, John? I mean, is it something
we
did?’

New questions and fears had replaced the old ones. Rebus didn’t know what to tell her. He wasn’t family and couldn’t begin to answer her question. Didn’t
want
to begin to answer it.

‘He’s doing OK,’ he repeated. ‘Just give him some time.’ She was crying now, softly. He imagined her with head bowed, hair falling over the telephone receiver.

‘We did everything, John. You can’t know how much we’ve given him. We always put ourselves second, never a minute’s thought for anything but him . . . ’

‘Janis . . . ’ he began.

She took a deep breath. ‘Will you come and see me, John?’

Rebus looked around the office, eyes resting eventually on his own desk and the paperwork stacked there.

‘I can’t, Janis. I’d like to, but I just can’t. See, it’s not as if I . . . ’

He didn’t know how he was going to finish the sentence, but it didn’t matter. She’d put her phone down. He sat back in his chair and remembered dancing with her, how brittle her body had seemed. But that had been half a lifetime ago. They’d made so many choices since. It was time to let the past go. Siobhan Clarke was at her desk. She was looking at him. Then she mimed the drinking of a cup of coffee, and he nodded and got to his feet.

Did a little dance as he shuffled towards her.

‘Someone Got to Eddie’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
3rd Culprit
by Chatto & Windus, 1994).

‘A Deep Hole’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
London Noir
by Serpent’s Tail, 1994).

‘Natural Selection’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Fresh Blood
by The Do-Not Press, 1996).

‘Facing the Music’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Midwinter Mysteries 4
by Little, Brown and Company, 1994).

‘Principles of Accounts’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine,
August 1995).

‘The Only True Comedian’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine,
February 2000).

‘Herbert in Motion’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Perfectly Criminal
by Severn House, 1996, republished in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, September/October 1997).

‘Glimmer’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Blue Lightning
by Slow Dancer Press, 1998).

‘Unlucky in Love, Unlucky at Cards’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, March 2000).

‘Video, Nasty’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Constable New Crime 2
by Constable, 1993).

‘Talk Show’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Winter’s Crimes 23
by Macmillan, 1991).

‘Castle Dangerous’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, October 1993).

‘The Wider Scheme’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, August 1996).

‘Unknown Pleasures’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Mean Time
by The Do-Not Press, 1998).

‘In the Frame’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Winter’s Crimes 24
by Macmillan, 1992).

‘The Confession’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, June 2000).

‘The Hanged Man’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, September/October 1999, reprinted in
Something Wicked
by Polygon, 1999).

‘Window of Opportunity’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, December 1995). ‘The Serpent’s Back’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in
Midwinter Mysteries 5
by Little, Brown and Company, 1995, reprinted in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
, April 1998).

‘No Sanity Clause’ Copyright © Ian Rankin (first published in the
Daily Telegraph
, December 2000).

‘Death Is Not The End’ Copyright © Ian Rankin 1998.