Blood Lines Part 3

Chapter Four.

My Fat Boy roared past Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and I took my time making sure that all the punters saw us my Harley Davidson motorbike was my greatest marketing tool.

Slowly, I did a U-turn past the pompous statue of William Chambers before coming to a regal stop directly outside the gates to the Sheriff Court. There was a parking place for solo motorcycles further up the street, but I always parked Awesome where he could be seen.

Riding my bike was my greatest source of joy, a pretty sad indictment on my life. Awesome was eight years old, and I can't pretend that the one lady owner was careful. Oil dripped onto the road where I parked, but I wouldn't part with the Fat Boy for anything. The bike had been a twenty-first birthday gift from the one man who truly loved me. Unfortunately, I had an easier relationship with the bike than I had with my benefactor, Glasgow Joe.

The upside of riding a motorbike was that you could get through Edinburgh's congested streets and find a parking s.p.a.ce in relative safety from the parking wardens. The downside was that I had to arrive early to change out of my leathers.

As I dismounted, I remembered another drawback. Helmet hair.

It was 9.30 a.m. and the usual suspects were beginning to gather at the court entrance. Polyester suits were in abundance, and teenage girls with p.u.s.s.y pelmet skirts clung to the arms of aged Lotharios.

My eyes drank in the scene, looking for my clients. At least I didn't have to make them up any more. When I had first started building my practice, I noticed that the successful lawyers carried lots of files. They then made a great show of standing in the atrium of the court before the call-over of cases where they shouted out their clients' names. The more successful you were, the more names you hollered.

In the beginning I had one slim file. It was embarra.s.sing. To keep myself amused I took old, fat files out of storage, stood next to the busiest lawyers and barked out fict.i.tious names. The number of clients I called for, naturally, was always greater than my rivals.

Mary McLennan, the woman I would always think of as my mother, used to tell me, 'Be nice to those you meet on the way up, as you never know who you might need on the way down.' Feeling alone today, as usual, I wished that I had listened to her.

'Brodie!'

Panic ran through my veins. I wasn't expecting him to be at court today. Had I missed a date?

Moses Tierney sauntered out of the shadows. The leader of the Dark Angels and my most important client looked his customary picture of sartorial elegance. His peroxide hair was spiked and gelled with military precision, and kohl enhanced his grey, wolf-like eyes, making his skin seem even whiter.

The Dark Angels were rarely seen in daylight. Rather dramatically, they prided themselves upon being creatures of the darkness which is difficult in Scotland during the summer months. Recently I suspected that Moses was trying to model himself on the London gangsters of the Fifties. Moses had made it known that he was now a legitimate businessman, flashing his money about and being a bit more careful about who he was dealing with which would have been bad news for me if it had been the truth. In fact, his few legitimate ventures required the services of commercial lawyers so I was able to refer him to my partners.

'What the f.u.c.k are you up to, Brodie?'

Moses grabbed me by the collar of my leather jacket, and pulled me into the corner, away from the gathering crowds.

'What do mean?' I genuinely had no idea why he was so upset.

'Look at that radge there.' Moses pointed into the opposite corner where a Dark Angel stood looking shame-faced. I would have placed him in his late twenties, so he was quite old to be a member of Moses' gang.

'Who is it?'

'See? That's my point, Brodie. You should know who he is.'

I had a good memory for faces and I definitely hadn't met this one.

'See, Brodie, when you let yourself down, you let me down. Know what I mean?'

Frankly, I didn't know what he meant, and it must have shown on my face.

'Do I have to spell it out for you? That gadge works for me and the a.r.s.ehole got himself lifted by the polis.'

I saw Moses' point now. I knew that I had never met this gang member, but it was customary that if a Dark Angel was arrested by the police, then they asked for me to represent them. I had never seen him before so he must have another lawyer representing him today. One of us was slipping, and there was no way even I could suggest it was Moses.

'Who is he?' I asked again.

'That a.r.s.ehole calls himself "The Alchemist". f.u.c.ker.'

'What's he into, Dungeons and Dragons? You the Dragon Master now, Moses?'

'Don't push it this is serious. The Alchemist's my chemist. Smart boy not smart enough, though. He's got a degree from Aberdeen University, he makes the legal drugs that I sell through my Internet business.'

'What's he up for? Possession? Intent to supply?'

'Naw, nothing like that. Big a.r.s.ehole just got himself done for breaking and entering.'

The surprise must have shown on my face as Moses proffered an unasked-for explanation.

'That t.w.a.t ...' he threw his head in the direction of the Alchemist, 'went to a private school, but he's got this romantic notion of being a criminal. Butch f.u.c.king Ca.s.sidy and the f.u.c.king Sundance Kid don't have a look-in with him. Of course, he's been fitted up on the present charge so he's pleading not guilty,' Moses hastily added.

No Dark Angel was ever found guilty of an offence it was more a question of what they knew rather than who they knew. Moses might be slinging mud at me today, but we both knew he was slipping if the Crown Office had decided to prosecute.

'Bring him across,' I said.

I was p.i.s.sed off. I was busy enough today without having to deal with a public-school t.o.s.s.e.r who had been given enough privileges in life to know better. I had to get him to sign a mandate saying that I was now representing him and then I'd have the aggro of handing the piece of paper over to the now-redundant lawyer in person. This would all be done in full view of the Edinburgh lawyers, compounding their belief that I was lining my own pockets at the cost of theirs.

Could this day get worse?

My mobile vibrated softly in my pocket. Five missed calls. Four from Glasgow Joe and one from Jack.

'Welcome to h.e.l.l,' I muttered under my breath.

'Sorry? I didn't catch what you said?'

The Alchemist had a soft, cultured voice, and the s.p.a.ced-out look that comes from permanent brain damage. Brain damage caused by handling too many hallucinogenic drugs with a hole in your rubber gloves.

'Sign this.'

I shoved the mandate under his nose. I could take the details later. Right now I had to find the lawyer who was supposed to be representing him and get the doc.u.ment to them.

'Who was supposed to be representing you?' I asked.

'Bridget Nicholson.'

s.h.i.t. With the way my day was going I should have guessed it would be her.

As always, when I entered the agents' room I was struck by how bland it was. Not to mention the fact that there was absolutely no privacy.

Bridget Nicholson brushed her peroxide-blonde hair. She caught me looking distastefully at the hairs that were landing on her black court gown and falling on the floor.

She deliberately swung her s.k.a.n.ky mane at me and I jerked backwards. Her lips were bright red, which made her teeth look yellow. I tried to remember those makeover television shows. I'm sure they would advise her to use a lipstick with more blue in it.

I couldn't deny some men found her attractive, but then again, there's no accounting for taste. At thirty-nine, Nicholson looked years older than Kailash I didn't want to imagine what she'd been doing to make herself look so haggard. I put my scuffed bike helmet down on the carpet, beside her well-polished stilettos.

As I straightened myself up, I became uncomfortably aware of the hush that had settled on the agents' room. No one was making any pretence of not listening. Reaching into my trouser pocket, I pulled out the crumpled mandate and handed it to her. She looked at it as if it were a steaming pile of s.h.i.t.

The hordes cl.u.s.tered round, waiting for a scene. They looked like a gang in pristine black gowns all except Eddie Gibb in his funny-coloured green gown. Still, at least he had a gown on. I was the outsider and felt that they were all willing Bridget to rip me apart.

'How much did you pay him?' Nicholson asked.

'Pardon?'

'You heard me, Brodie. How much are you paying your clients?'

I ignored her and pointed to the appropriately signed mandate.

'Come on, Brodie,' she went on. 'You must be making some kind of profit out of this so what incentives are you giving these young men? Maybe it's not financial? You handing out b.l.o.w. .j.o.bs like your mother?'

I wanted to hit her, but Eddie Gibb showed previously hidden speed, and his surprisingly steady hand held mine as he spoke to Nicholson.

'Brodie has a legitimate mandate failure to furnish her with the papers will result in a complaint to the Law Society.'

I was surprised by the gravitas in Eddie's voice.

'Speaking of the Law Society have you been interviewed yet about Cattanach's disappearance, Miss McLennan?' Nicholson shouted loudly so that her public could hear every word. 'Don't look so surprised; everyone here knows you're being investigated that's why we're not bothered by these.'

She threw the mandate back in my face. Eddie pulled me close and whispered in my ear.

'Stay calm you know that she and Cattanach were an item.'

I followed his advice because I knew it was the right thing to do and I couldn't think of a smart retort. I took the file from Nicholson and ripped out the complaint the piece of paper that stated what the Alchemist had been charged with then handed the file back to her. As I walked out of the agents' room to change for court, I heard her shout.

'Cat got your tongue, Brodie? Or are you just upset that you can't s.h.a.g your way out of this one?'

Chapter Five.

'You look as if someone is squeezing your b.a.l.l.s, Brodie!'

Robert Girvan shouted at me as we scurried between courts like black rats trying to find their way round a maze.

The weight of the files was hurting my arm. I was struggling just to be in the right place at the right time, without even considering how good my performance was. This morning's work was purely administrative, a chimpanzee could have done it, in fact there was one ugly b.a.s.t.a.r.d at the Bar doing a grand impression of an orang-utan.

I missed the easy camaraderie of my early years, when all the old letches were falling over themselves to help me. Either I had lost my charms or I was even more unpopular than I wanted to know. I didn't know which was worse. No one had stood up for me earlier except Eddie, and I wasn't daft enough to think that was for any other reason than the fact that I paid him.

I had finished my morning's work except for the Alchemist's intermediate diet meaning I would have to tell the court whether or not we were ready to go to trial and a probation hearing for Tanya Hayder. I'd won the battle of wills with Lavender stubbornness usually does win the game, and it was always a foregone conclusion given the history between Tanya and myself. Both cases were in different courts at different ends of the building. Eddie, Robert and Laura were in trials that were about to start. I had intended to cover one of the trials, but the Alchemist situation was one which definitely required 'delectus personae', not just because he was an important client, but because the courtroom would be filled with spectators hoping to see another fight. Tanya Hayder would have to go on the backburner and I prayed that everything would run smoothly.

The gla.s.s and marble halls of the new Edinburgh Sheriff Court are sharp and clean, easily wiped-down surfaces to erase the mistakes of humanity that appear there on a daily basis the lawyers, not the clients. There is obviously a large police presence at the Sheriff Court, but the court cops are a different breed. Whether by accident or design, the powers-that-be have rea.s.signed the best negotiators to work there; they are so skilled they should be in the diplomatic corps sorting out the Middle East.

The Alchemist lounged against the gla.s.s balcony outside Court Seven. Moses wasn't there. Instead, the Alchemist's entourage consisted of two sixteen-year-old schoolgirls, who were definitely not Dark Angels. This was very unusual because the gang were a clannish bunch once you were in the inner circle, which this boy obviously was, you didn't taint yourself with outsiders.

I don't know why I called him a boy probably more due to thinking he must have made some daft choices to end up here rather than his looks. As I studied him more closely I would have placed him in his early thirties: tall, about six foot three, and I guessed he'd weigh about nine and a half stone soaking wet. His Adam's apple was the largest I'd ever seen and it bobbed about nervously in his scrawny neck. I sensed that he was nervous because he was having difficulty swallowing. One of the first signs of fear is a dry mouth.

He had all the trademarks of a Dark Angel but there was something different about him, more than just his age. The peroxide-white hair was gelled to perfection, but it was spa.r.s.e and I just wasn't used to seeing a balding Angel. It didn't fit. The Dark Angels were beautiful, in their own unorthodox way.

His skin was pale, except for an angry shaving rash around his chin and a cold sore dominating his thin blue lips I knew that Malcolm would give an alternative reason for this, nothing as boring as a virus but the consequences of 'angry words not spoken'. Maybe Malcolm was right in this case. The Alchemist looked the type of coward to keep all his rage inside.

'Georgia, Alice, this is my lawyer Brodie MacGregor.'

'McLennan. It's Brodie McLennan.'

Had he done that on purpose? And what was the deal between posh girls and criminals? Judging by their customised uniforms, these girls went to St Charles', Edinburgh's most exclusive girls' school. They were beautiful in the way only the daughters of the very rich can be, as an ageing pop casanova once said. Their skin was creamy and blemish-free, their confidence was overwhelming so why were they hanging around this loser?

The Alchemist was clearly much more interested in them than me, and I sensed my time for getting information out of him was fading. I needed the details and I needed them fast.

'What's your name?' I asked.

'The Alchemist,' he replied instantly, turning round and grinning at his harem.

'Well, unless you want to do six months for perverting the course of justice or contempt of court, you'll stop being a smart-a.r.s.e and tell me your given name ... now.'

He stared at me to check I was serious. I didn't blink.

'Bernard Carpenter.'

I'd call myself 'The Alchemist' with a name like that too, but the girls' adoration wasn't dented.

'It says here,' I wiggled the complaint under his nose, 'that on the fifteenth of May, you were caught breaking into a house in Morningside Road. I spoke to the Procurator Fiscal earlier because today is an intermediate diet. I have to say that I have all the prosecution statements and any defence witnesses are ready. Now, the Fiscal told me that you've been caught with your d.i.c.k flapping in the wind. The Crown have productions namely the jewellery that was taken from the house, and they say that it was found in your possession.'

'No way that lying b.a.s.t.a.r.d DI Bancho is just out to get me. There is no way that was on me when I was taken to the police station. As a matter of fact, I threw that jewellery away.'

I sighed.

'Thanks, Bernard you don't even have the courtesy or common sense to keep your mouth shut. Now that you've told me you did it, I can't argue in court that you didn't.'

I was really getting angry with this idiot. He must be a pretty spectacular chemist for Moses to put up with his amateurish att.i.tude. I had a duty as an officer of the court that if a client told me they were guilty then I couldn't argue that they were innocent. Sweet Jesus, most of the prisoners in Scottish jails were still protesting their innocence.

Georgia or was it Alice? lifted his heavy leather coat and put her arm around his waist. At least she had the sense to know that we were in deep s.h.i.t.

'I'm going ahead with this trial they can't prove it,' he protested weakly.

'I'm telling you that they can prove this they have the jewellery, and the DI who says he found it on you.'

'Bancho is lying, I've said that already and it's up to you to prove it. Moses says you're the dog's b.o.l.l.o.c.ks well, he doesn't want me sent down, it's bad for his business, so you'd better do it if you want to stay in his good books.'