The Devil's Due: A Cooper and McCall Scottish Crime Thriller by Ramsay Sinclair (good inspirational books .TXT) 📗

“Aha!” I rejoiced, retrieving the folder full of Gavin’s pictures.

That broke the pair from their popular culture discussion, and they stared at me as though an alien had landed in my office and replaced me. I systematically laid out Gavin’s glossy prints one by one and stared at them analytically. It took time, but eventually, I whittled the selection down to two photographs only. One of Gavin’s clothes. One of his arms.

“Guns and Roses, Appetite for Destruction shirt,” I circled Gavin’s stained top with a biro, grabbing their full attention. “I’d recognise it anywhere, big fan back in the day. Then, if we look closely. Gavin had a tattoo of a cross--”

“And a halo inked flush above,” McCall finished, peering in.

“It’s symbolism. The power of a single symbol. It’s the only thing linking these two murders together is the ideologies of the religious cross and their interpretations which go hand in hand.” My animated body language mounted to a new extreme.

“You’re suggesting our killer has a social trigger? A cue which sets him or them off?” DCI Campbell asked as he got to grips with my out-there idea.

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” I threw my biro triumphantly.

“It may be so, but we still don’t have any real leads,” DCI Campbell shattered our high with grim reality.

McCall didn’t speak much, considering our viable options. She poked her head outside into the main office. “Ben?”

Her sudden call frightened him, and he spilt drops of tea all over his desk. “Sarge?”

“Where could you find those rings, shopwise? Anywhere local, or nearby?” McCall prodded, in the hopes she could jolt Ben’s memory.

His face screwed up attentively as he tried his best. “Hippie shops mainly. They sell a load of witchcraft nonsense too. My niece kept forcing me into the one in town. Wouldn’t let me escape.”

“Looks like we’ve found our first lead.” McCall spun around on her heel in victory, smirking in delight. “You coming, or not?”

“I’ve had my fun.” Campbell shook his head. “You two come back with something decent, or don’t bother returning,” he warned as he wagged his finger.

I grabbed my black winter coat from its strategically placed hook and swung it around my shoulder, all whilst on the move. We made sure to allocate time to pick up a much-deserved bacon sandwich from the station canteen for breakfast, oily and dripping with juices. McCall opted instead for a slice of toast and jam. A splatter of ketchup dropped onto my thumb, much to McCall’s horror at my messy eating. You can’t expect a hungry man to be delicate when eating his first piece of food in hours.

“You eat like a pig, Finlay,” McCall complained, chomping next to me. She wiped her hands down on a napkin and chucked it away into a nearby bin.

“Thank you.” I accepted her twisted compliment, too busy enjoying my food to care. I had always been a foodie, right from birth. “I sucked the nipple bone dry, during my toddler years,” I added for good measure.

“Yeah, well,” McCall stopped in her tracks to display her disgust, “I wouldn’t go boasting about that. You haven’t had that much action in years.” She tilted her head slyly at that. I was at a loss for words, so I displayed my reply with my fingers instead.

We were messing around like the good old times when we had fewer responsibilities. Good fun.

“Someone for you, Finlay,” McCall’s voice woke me from my inner thoughts, and I looked up.

In exactly the same place as the other night, Abbey Aston stood waiting by the fence. That vividly dyed hair could be seen from miles away, a homing beacon for my eyes. Having nowhere to put the rubbish, I diverted to shoving it into my pocket.

“Hey,” Abbey called out, wrapped up snug in a brown leather coat this time. I admired her curves as I walked up.

“Hullo,” I answered. Abbey waited for me to say something else, but nothing else would come out of my throat in time.

“Sorry, are you busy?” she asked, nodding towards where McCall watched us from the parking lot. I followed Abbey's gaze to see McCall sat on the car bonnet, gesturing at me to talk to the girl.

“Uh, yeah. A bit.” I stepped in front of Abbey to block her view of McCall.

“Oh. Right. Well, uh, I can go, if you would like? I only came to see if you fancied a catch-up, but it doesn’t matter.” Abbey’s rosebud lips smiled sullenly, and she decided to start walking away.

“No,” I called out and grabbed her arm to stop her. Abbey was shocked at my reaction. “I mean, no.”

From a short distance away, I heard McCall chuckling to herself.

“I usually finish work at five,” I told Abbey. “Well, call it six by the time I am out of the office and cleared away. Sometimes seven because of work that comes in. All-nighters are common too. We were supposed to have one last night but—” I heard McCall cough helpfully in the background. “Would you like to meet me after that?” I secretly crossed my fingers in my coat pocket.

Abbey stayed still and stared directly at me. I awaited an answer under her intense gaze whilst inside my soul slowly died. She clicked her tongue distractedly and swivelled on the spot.

“No.”

My heart sunk. The air dissipated from my lungs, and it felt worse than a slap in the face.

“I’m kidding!” Abbey laughed out loud and all her facial features scrunched up in amusement. She held onto my arm for stability, as her slight heeled boots would have caused her to lose balance otherwise.

What? I was easily confused when it came to women, and Abbey didn’t help that.

“What?” I managed to speak aloud, but Abbey laughed even louder. I had to wait until she was quite finished.

“I’m only messing about, grumpy.” She pouted at my expression as she teased me. “Yes, I’ll meet you afterwards. You’ve got my number.” Abbey raised her neatly plucked and shaped eyebrows in my direction as