Mortal Causes

Rebus was not convinced. 'How many skinheads are there, Mr McStay?’

McStay thought about it, grinding his teeth together as though he were chewing tobacco or a particularly tough piece of phlegm. 'Well,' he said, 'there's Alec Tunnock's son for a start. His hair's cropped awful short and he wears those boots wi' the laces.’

'Boots with laces, eh?’

'He hasna had a job since he left school.’

Rebus was shaking his head. 'We're not here about the headstones, Mr McStay. We were wondering about that house.’

He pointed towards it.

'The manse?’

'Who lives there, Mr McStay?’

'The minister, Reverend McKay.’

'How long has he lived there?’

'Gracious, I don't know. Fifteen years maybe. Before him it was Reverend Bothwell, and the Bothwells were here for a quarter century or more.’

Rebus looked to Siobhan Clarke. A waste of time.

'We're looking for a man called Francis Lee,' she said.

McStay chomped on the name, jaw chewing from side to side, cheekbones working. He reminded Rebus of a sheep. The old man shook his head. 'Nobody I know of,' he said.

'Well, thanks anyway,' said Rebus.

'A minute,' McStay ordered. Meaning that he wanted to think about it for a minute more. Finally he nodded. 'You've got it the wrong way round.’

He leant a hand against the mower's black rubber grip. 'The Bothwells were a lovely couple, Douglas and Ina. Couldn't do enough for this town. When they died, their son sold the house straight off. He wasn't supposed to, Reverend Bothwell told me that often enough. He was supposed to keep it in the family.’

'But it's a manse,' Clarke said. 'Church of Scotland property. How could he sell it?’

'The Bothwells loved the house so much, they bought it off the Church. They were going to live there when Reverend Bothwell retired. The thing is, the son sold it back to the Church. He was a wastrel, that one, took the money and ran. Nobody'd look after their grave if it wasn't for me and a few other old folk here who remember them fondly.’

He shook his head. 'Young people, they've no sense of history or commitment.’

'What's this got to do with Francis Lee?’

Siobhan Clarke asked. McStay looked at her like she was a child who'd spoken out of turn, and addressed his answer to Rebus.

'Their son was called Lee. I think his middle name was Francis.’

Lee Francis Bothwell: Francis Lee. It was too close to be mere coincidence. Rebus nodded slowly.

'I don't suppose you've any idea,' he said, 'where we might find-‘ He broke off: 'Frankie Bothwell? Thanks, Mr McStay, thanks for your help.’

And he walked towards the gate. It took Siobhan Clarke a moment to catch up with him.

'So are you going to tell me?’

`You don't know Frankie Bothwell?’

He watched her try out the name in her mind. She shook her head furiously. `He owns the Crazy Hose Saloon.’

Now she nodded. `That Fringe programme in Billy Cunningham's room.’

'Yes, with a show at the Crazy Hose circled. Nice coincidence, eh?’

They were at the car now. Rebus opened the passenger door but didn't get in. Instead he rested his elbow on the roof and looked across at her. 'If you believe in coincidence.’

She'd driven them twenty or thirty yards when Rebus ordered her to stop. He'd been looking in his wing mirror, and now got out of the car and started back towards the gates. Siobhan cursed under her breath, drew the car in to the kerb, and followed him. Idling by the gates was a red estate car she'd seen parked further away when they were leaving. Rebus had stopped two men who'd been walking towards Willie McStay.

Neither of the two would have looked out of place in the back of a scrum. Siobhan was in time to catch the end of her superior's argument.

`- and if you don't lay off, so help me, I'll drop you so far in it you'll wish you'd brought a diving bell.’

To reinforce this point, Rebus jabbed his finger into the larger man's gut, all the way up to the second joint. The man didn't look like he was enjoying it. His face was a huge ripe plum. But he kept his hands clasped behind his back throughout. He was showing such self control, Siobhan might have taken him for a Buddhist.

Only she'd yet to come across a Buddhist with razor scars carved down both cheeks.

'And what's more,' Rebus was saying, `you can tell Cafferty we know all about him and the UVF, so he needn't go on acting the innocent about terrorism.’

The bigger of the two men spoke. 'Mr Cafferty's getting very impatient. He wants a result.’

`I don't care if he wants world peace. Now get out of here, and if I hear you've been back asking questions, I'll see you both put away, and I don't care what I've got to do, understood?’

They didn't look overly impressed, but the two men walked away anyway, back to the gates and through them.

`Your fan club?’ Siobhan Clarke guessed.

'Ach, they only want me for my body.’

Which, in a sense, was true.

It was late afternoon, and the Crazy Hose was doing no trade at all.

Those in the know just called it the Hose; those not in the know would say, 'Shouldn't it be Horse?’