Driftnet by Lin Anderson Page B

minute.’ Bill’s voice shook with anger.
    ‘My job is to
print the truth.’
    ‘The truth...’
Bill paused. ‘The truth is you’ve screwed this investigation.’
    When Bill
reached the office, the story had got there before him. The woman
from the university had already phoned wanting to know who had
given out confidential information painstakingly gathered over
three months. She had been incandescent, Janice said. Whatever
they’d found out was useless now.
    He spread the
paper out masochistically on his desk.
    Glasgow
Paedophile Ring Nets the Innocent.
    Jim Connelly
could certainly write a headline.
     
     

Chapter
14
    Chrissy missed
Rhona. Tony was alright but after a while you got bored by his
tales of holiday conquests and drinking sprees in Mexico,
especially if the nearest you would ever get to Mexico was the
Mexican restaurant Amigos.
    The change in
the weather made her restless. The park below was full of students
lounging on the grass in the sunshine, playing music or studying
for the year end exams. It made her want to go back to when your
only worry was where the next meal was coming from and whether the
fifty per cent of the work you’d revised would appear in the exam
paper.
    Neil had phoned
that morning. He hadn’t spent all her money yet, he told her, and
he had found out a wee bit about her problem. She laughed because
she couldn’t believe the money wasn’t all gone and because she was
nervous talking to him. His voice sounded younger on the phone and
he had put on a posh accent and missed out the swear words. He
asked her if she would meet him in the park when she got off for
lunch.
    Chrissy looked
at the clock. It was already one o’clock and she hadn’t got much
done that morning, even less than Tony who was already away
lunching with a waitress from Amigos. He was taking this Mexican
thing seriously.
    Chrissy told
reception she was going out and would be back in an hour.
    Neil was
waiting for her, sitting on a bench at the bandstand. He waved two
paper pokes with a Mackays the Bakers logo on the side.
    ‘Scotch pies
and doughnuts,’ he said grinning.
    ‘Fine.’
    ‘And...’ he
produced the bottle from his pocket. ‘Vodka and orange. Fresh
orange, mind. None of that diluting stuff,’ and he laughed.
    His skin was
brown, his eyes dark blue with black lashes. It wasn’t surprising
the old guys fancied him. Anyone would fancy him.
    He munched his
way through his pie, handing Chrissy the bottle now and again after
wiping it on his sleeve. He had on a white tee-shirt and she could
see his neck had healed.
    ‘I’ve been away
for a couple of days,’ he said. ‘A geezer with a holiday home in
the middle of nowhere.’ A bleak look crossed his face. ‘Not that I
got a chance to view the scenery.’
    Chrissy said
nothing.
    ‘Here.’ He took
some money out of his pocket and handed it to her. ‘This is
yours.’
    ‘Did you find
out who sent the letter?’
    ‘Aye.’ He’d
started on the doughnut now and it seemed to make him thirstier
than the pie. ‘It’s fixed.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘Your brother
picked up a guy who recognised him. He thought Patrick was an easy
way to get his dope money. Patrick told him to get lost so he
thought he’d try blackmail.’ His face hardened. ‘I changed his mind
for him.’
    Relief swept
over her. ‘Thanks, Neil.’
    ‘Right.’
    He looked at
her and she suddenly wondered what it would be like if he kissed
her.
    He caught her
eye and stopped eating. ‘Are you sure about that shag?’ he
asked.
    ‘Neil...’
    ‘Aye, right,’
he smiled again and stood up. ‘I’d better get back to work
then.’
    ‘I was going to
the cinema tonight,’ she found herself saying.
    ‘With your
mates?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Look Chrissy.’
He sat down again. ‘Why don’t we just cut the crap. I’ll meet you
after work, we’ll go to my place, have a drink, go to bed and then
go to the pictures, with maybe a curry in between?’
    ‘Alright,’ she
said.
    He