Page 5 of Better the Devil

‘Basically, aye,’ Shona said. ‘It’s Mr Livingstone.’

‘Turd Fingers,’ Olivia added.

Logan blinked. ‘Why’s he called Turd Fingers?’

Olivia shrugged. ‘Dunno. Does it matter?’

Logan stepped aside to let the next family through. He met the dead-eyed gaze of a dad in his fifties, and felt a fleeting moment of kinship.

‘I was just wondering how you end up saddled with a nickname like that,’ Logan said, once the door was shut.

‘I told you, I don’t know!’ Olivia snapped.

Shona slid between them. ‘Maybe he’s just got shit on his fingers,’ she suggested, in an attempt to defuse the argument before it could fully flare up.

‘I fucking hope not!’ Logan replied. ‘And what do you mean “just”?’

‘Jack…’

‘I’ll tell you now, if he thinks he’s shaking my hand, he can forget it.’

There was a vibration inside Logan’s coat pocket, and he remembered the notification he’d ignored during the meeting.

As Shona set off along the corridor, back in the direction of the main hall, Jack took out his phone and checked the screen.

His face lit up. Never before had he been so pleased to see the name DC Tyler Neish.

‘Aw, ya beauty!’ The words came tumbling out before he could stop them.

Shona and Olivia both stopped and turned back to look at him. He wiped the smile from his face just in the nick of time.

‘Did you say something?’ Shona asked.

‘Aye. Aye, I did,’ Logan replied. He sighed wearily. He really hoped he wasn’t overselling it. ‘I’m going to have to miss out on these last three appointments.’

He held up his phone so Shona could see the messages for herself. So she couldn’t blame him for tapping out early.

‘There’s been a murder.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘You think she’ll be OK?’Shona asked.

The overhead light blinked on as Jack cut the engine of his SUV. Outside, lining the grass verge at the side of the A95, half a dozen police vehicles sat with their lights flashing—a rhythmic pulsing blue that licked across the trees, and across the fronts of the whitewashed houses further up the hillside.

‘Olivia? Aye. She’ll be fine. She walks home from school all the time,’ Logan assured her.

‘Yeah, but that’s during daytime.’

‘She’s got Taggart with her,’ Logan countered. ‘He’ll look after her.’

‘What’s he going to do if someone attacks her? Slobber on them?’

Through the window, Logan caught the eye of DC Neish, who gave him a wave of acknowledgement.

‘Nobody’s going to attack Olivia,’ Logan said. ‘Not if they know what’s good for them, anyway. She can handle herself.’

Shona nodded. ‘Aye. No. I suppose you’re right,’ she conceded.