Autographs In The Rain Part 24

'Yes, but only very briefly. We were able to let everyone return to their rooms almost at once.'

'Are the firemen still here?' asked Martin.

'Yes. They're up in two-ten.'

'That was a daft question,' the detective murmured to himself as an afterthought, 'with a f.u.c.king big fire appliance parked outside.'

Bronte led the way up to the second floor, using the stairs rather than the lift, even though the firefighters had declared the emergency officially over.

A bulky figure in a fire suit and white helmet stood outside the door; for all his armour the chief superintendent recognised him at once.

'h.e.l.lo Matt,' he called out. 'You're a bit over-dressed for this one.'

That's the way I like them, son,' said the veteran Divisional Officer Matthew Grogan. 'There's nothing nicer than turning up at a fire to find that it's out.

106.AUTOGRAPHS IN THE RAIN.'No' that this one really was a fire, mind you.'

'What do you mean?'

'It was the smoke alarm in the room that went off. But there was nae flame.'

'So what was it?'

'A pair of smoke canisters, hidden in a laundry basket, with a timer on it that must have been set for two in the morning or thereabouts. Together they'd have generated a h.e.l.l of an amount of smoke. It was non-toxic, the sort of stuff that we use in our training exercises, but you wouldn't know that if you were in the middle of the stuff. It's b.l.o.o.d.y realistic and if you inhale enough of it, you'll still have a right bad cough.

'The woman in this room must have had a h.e.l.l of a fright. What was her name, anyway?' Grogan nodded in the direction of Bronte, who was heading towards the stairs. 'She had an oxygen mask on when the paramedics wheeled her out of the room they transferred her into. That fella got all coy when I asked him who she was. He said that he wisnae at liberty to say. Ah nearly told him that I was at liberty to close his f.u.c.king hotel, but what the h.e.l.l.

'So who is she?'

'She's a friend of Bob Skinner,' Martin told him. 'I asked Guy to keep the name quiet, because, to be frank, I didn't want any of your boys to be tempted to make a few quid by phoning a tip to one of the tabloids. Don't take it personally, though, Matt.'

'Don't worry, son,' the big fireman a.s.sured him. 'I live in the real world.

You were right.'

'Where's the device?'

'In here. I had a good look at it, but I didn't touch it. The ignition blew the lid off the basket, so it got soaked like everything else.'

Martin looked into the suite. It was in fact a single large room, with a seating area and a double bed against the far wall. Every item in it - carpets, furniture, bedding - was drenched with water.

The basket's in the bathroom,' said Grogan. There was a towel in it, over the canisters. Maybe the woman chucked it in herself, or maybe someone put it in there so she wouldn't see them if she looked in.'

That's quite likely,' the detective concurred. 'We'll find out soon enough.' He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket for his mobile.

'Meantime, I'd better get a CID team along here.''Twenty-five years on,' Bob Skinner grinned, 'and you still look just as good in bed.'

'I promise you I don't feel as good,' Louise replied, in a hoa.r.s.e whisper.

She lay in a blue-covered bed in a well-appointed private room. 'In fact,'

she said, 'I feel as if I've had something large, rough and hard down my throat.'

'Just like old times then,' he muttered, wickedly.

She started to laugh, then broke into a coughing fit; quickly, he poured her a gla.s.s of water from a jug by the bedside and handed it to her.

'No more funnies, please,' she entreated him, when the paroxysm had pa.s.sed. 'I really am b.l.o.o.d.y sore.'

'No more, I promise. You fed me that one, though, you have to admit.

You always had an earthy sense of humour, Ms Bankier.'

He paused, and the smile left his face. 'The problem is that someone out there isn't seeing the joke any more.'

'What do you mean?' she whispered, frowning back at him.

He sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand in his. 'I mean, my dear, that what happened in your room tonight wasn't an accident.'

She gasped, and he felt her grip tighten. 'What...?' Her question tailed off.

'Someone planted a smoke-bomb in the linen basket in your suite, timed to go off during the night.'

She stared at him, astonished. 'You mean someone tried to kill me?'

'I don't think so. The smoke itself was harmless; there was just a h.e.l.l of a lot of it. Someone did want to give you a fright, though, at the very least.'

He looked at her, as if he was choosing his words very carefully. 'Which raises a clear and obvious probability, one that should have occurred to me before, but didn't, maybe because I've fallen victim to my own legend.

Conversely, maybe it didn't occur to you because you haven't.

108.

AUTOGRAPHS IN THE RAIN.'Last Friday night's incident might well have had nothing to do with me; it might not have been random. Given what's just happened, I'm b.l.o.o.d.y near certain that it was aimed at you.'

Her eyes widened; her mouth opened as if to speak, then her throat constricted and she started to cough. She sipped more water, until she was settled.

'Lou,' he asked her quietly. 'Have you ever suspected that you might have a stalker?'

She stared at him, then at the wall, then out of the window. Suddenly, outside, a lion roared. She started, eyes widening still further.

Bob smiled at her surprise. 'Don't be alarmed. Edinburgh Zoo's right next door.'

'What is this place?'

'It's a private hospital. I thought it would be better for you if you came here. Listen, we can talk about this in the morning; I'll have the staff give you a knock-out pill for tonight. But when you waken, I want you to think about what I've just asked you.

'You' 11 be okay to leave here in the morning. But do you have to go back to London?'

She shrugged her shoulders, wincing at the movement. 'My schedule for next week was learning the script for my new movie, that's all; that and packing for a longer stay up here. But other than that, no, I don't have to.'

'You have an a.s.sistant, don't you?'

'I have a secretary. She's based at my agent's office.'

'Would you trust her to pack for you, and to courier the cases up here?'