Bryant & May - The Burning Man (35 page)

‘We’re writing code.’

‘I can write in code. So you were in your dad’s flat.’

‘Yes.’

‘And your dad was there.’

‘Yes.’

‘He didn’t go out the whole time you were there.’

The boy looked at him blankly, clearly struggling.

‘Do you know where he went?’

‘I’m not supposed to say.’

‘All right, how long was he gone?’

‘I don’t know. I was watching
The Hobbit.
’

‘Which part?’

‘The second one.’

‘The director’s cut or the cinema version?’

‘Director’s cut.’

‘Did your father leave before it started?’

‘No, just after.’

‘When did he come back?’

‘Just after Smaug turned gold. He told me not to move while he was out.’

‘So, he was gone for well over two hours. And of course you don’t know where he went. Or you wouldn’t tell me if you did. I respect that.’

‘We’re here,’ announced the boy. Bryant looked up at the apartment building, a repurposed warehouse with a glass-and-steel frame bolted to its original Edwardian façade. ‘Very smart,’ said Bryant, checking the boy over. ‘I’m sure you have a lot of online businesses to run, so I’ll leave you now. Lay off the M&M’s, try to get some walking in occasionally and maybe we’ll see each other again.’ He turned to the Mercedes. ‘There you go, Bratling, safely home without any police brutality.’

‘Wait.’ Augustine called back to him. Bryant held up a finger, slowly pointing to himself in theatrical surprise.

‘Do you really know a lot of weird stuff about London?’

‘Do I—? Is Kim Jong-un having a bad hair day? I know stuff you wouldn’t believe.’

The boy scrunched one eye. ‘Like what?’

‘Oh, ghosts, beheadings, bombings, tortures, mad killers. I could take you to a spot in the East End where they put prisoners in chains and let the river slowly drown them. They say you can still hear the chains rattling at high tide when it gets dark. Obviously if we did something like that we couldn’t tell your father, and I’d have to bribe Bratling, but I’m a copper, we know all about bribes. What do you think?’

‘OK – deal.’

‘Shake.’ Bryant spat in his hand and held it out.

Augustine looked disgusted. ‘Do I have to?’

‘It’s that or blood.’

Grimacing, the boy shook the elderly detective’s hand.

Got him
, thought Bryant.

Meera Mangeshkar arrived at St Thomas’ Hospital on her Kawasaki an hour after the ambulance bearing Colin Bimsley had pulled into the emergency admittance bay.
Why did they have to bring him here of all places?
she thought.
At least the chances of running into him are—

And by thinking that, she brought down the curse upon herself, because here was Ryan Malhotra, glossy black hair swept back, handsome in his hospital whites, striding down the corridor towards her with a puzzled look on his face.

‘Meera, what are you doing here? What are you wearing?’

She glanced down at her black padded PCU jacket and boots. ‘Oh, work clothes. I’m on duty. Are you doing the private clinic today?’

‘Always on a Friday. It’s going crazy on the public wards. There are as many police coming in as rioters.’

‘You’ve just admitted a colleague of mine, Colin Bimsley. I need to find him.’

‘Hang on.’ He strode over to one of the registrars and exchanged a few words. ‘He was one of two admittances. The other was a female, unconscious; sounds like there’s some confusion about her. A witness says they dived off Blackfriars Bridge?’

‘That sounds like Colin.’

‘Come on, I’ll walk with you.’ Ryan looked her over. ‘It’s great to see you, Meera. I thought we were going to get together on Tuesday night.’

‘I’m sorry; it was all kicking off at work. Everyone’s flat out.’

‘That’s what I figured. There’s another big clash going on right now,’ said Malhotra, pointing up at the Sky News footage on the screen they were passing: an overhead shot of the area surrounding the Bank of England. Police were baton-charging an angry crowd amid pockets of dense black smoke. A rolling caption read: ‘London under siege: West End to be evacuated until further notice’.

‘The mayor wants to bring in a second water cannon, but human-rights activists are trying to have them banned. We’re all on standby. I’m surprised there haven’t been more casualties. What’s this case you’re on – the burnings? It’s all over the news. Is that why your colleague is in here?’

‘I think he was trying to prevent another death.’

‘Don’t you people have back-up looking after you?’

‘We’re an independent unit, Ryan. If we call out backup, we have to pay for it.’

‘Meera, I was talking to your mother last night, and she’s very worried about you.’

Meera stopped in the middle of the corridor. ‘What were you doing talking to my mother?’

‘She couldn’t get hold of you so she called me. She wants you to switch to an administrative job, get a placement where you don’t stand a chance of being hurt.’

‘There are no admin jobs at the PCU. Everyone gets out there; that’s the way it’s structured. Besides, I would hate it.’

‘I knew you’d say that, so I tried explaining to her, but she’s not happy. I fought for you, I really did. She wants you to visit her.’

‘Ryan, I don’t want you to be the go-between,’ said Meera angrily. ‘Whose side are you on?’

He took her hand and patted it. ‘I’m not taking sides, sweetie, but you can understand her point of view. After all, if we’re going to be married … She was asking about the plans.’

‘We haven’t made any plans.’

‘Yes, we have. I agreed with her that the wedding will probably have to take place in Mumbai.’

‘What, just to please her crazy family? I’ve never even been to India, Ryan. I’m an Anglo and all my friends are here. They’d have to pay for their flights; it would make no sense.’

‘It will work out cheaper for us, and if we’re saving for a house we’ll need the money.’

A look of horror crossed Meera’s features. ‘Wait, wait, who mentioned a
house
? When did we have these conversations?’

‘I can’t find you half the time; I have to have them with someone. Your mother thinks—’

‘Who are you seeing, Ryan, me or my bloody mother? Look, I can’t do this right now, OK? I know you mean well but your timing is lousy. I’ve got a colleague down and there’s just too much going on.’

Malhotra smoothed his hair back into place. ‘OK, I respect that. But it seems like you never have time to talk about the future. That’s why I always end up having to talk to your mother.’

‘Why do we have to
talk
about everything? Why can’t we just get on with it?’ she snapped.

‘It’s important to discuss our feelings. We need to know what we’re getting into.’

‘What, you think I’m not good enough for you?’

‘No, of course I don’t. It’s just that you haven’t met any of my work colleagues yet and—’

‘They have to approve of me?’

Ryan was flustered. ‘I didn’t mean that at all. It’s just that you’re hardly ever around and, well … sometimes I think you only do what you want to do. And being married, it means sometimes you have to do things you don’t like.’ He held open the door for her. ‘Your friend will be in this ward. I’ll call you later, OK, sweetie?’

She ducked off before he could kiss her, thinking,
If he calls me sweetie one more time I’m going to punch him in the face.

First she checked on Papis, who had received a cocktail of antibiotic inoculations to protect her against the pestilential properties of the Thames water she had swallowed. Joanna was expected to remain asleep for some hours, but was otherwise fine.

Bimsley was curtained off and hooked to monitors at the far end of the public ward. A dark bruise had blossomed across his right cheekbone and jaw. Meera tapped him awake and waited impatiently while he focused on her. He had been sedated into lugubrious slow motion.

‘Hey, you.’ He raised a hand, careful not to dislodge the drip in his arm.

‘Hey. What happened?’

‘I failed her, Meera.’ His voice dragged. ‘Joanna Papis. I gave her our number but she never called. We should have put surveillance on her.’

‘You didn’t fail her,’ she told him. ‘She’s a bit bashed up and has torn the ligaments in her left wrist, but she’s expected to make a full recovery. You did good, you nutter. What happened back there?’

‘He poured petrol into her flat. She barely got out in time. I tried to get there.’ Colin licked his lips. Meera gave him a sip of water. ‘She headed to the bridge and went up on to the roof. There was no way back down, and he got to her. I saw her hit the water and went in after her but the current—’ He started coughing.

‘Don’t try to talk.’ She put the beaker back to his lips. ‘Let me find out about your status, see if we can’t get you moved to UCH.’

He tried to lift himself. ‘I’ve already talked to the paramedics. There’s nothing broken but I twisted my spine when I hit the water, so I have to be X-rayed before I can get checked out. I thought she’d drowned, Meera, a beautiful, bright young woman. What the hell is wrong with someone that they would try to do something like that?’

‘There’s a team at her flat,’ Meera told him, ‘but it’s completely gutted. The fire spread to the second floor and nearly killed a kid. We’ll get this guy. We have to.’

‘Mr Bryant said there would be more deaths. That means he’ll try again tomorrow, on Guy Fawkes Night. The Old Man says if we don’t stop him by then he’ll have finished whatever he set out to do and will disappear forever.’

‘Then maybe we can find him first. Let’s get you out of here.’

‘What are you doing over this way, anyhow?’ he asked. ‘It’s off your beat.’

‘What do you think I’m doing? I came to see you.’

‘You could have brought me something to eat.’

‘Yeah, like I want to sit here watching you eat a chicken jalfrezi with a spork. How come you were so near the scene?’

‘I’d been to the gym. Papis’s call came through just as I was trying to get breakfast. Someone has to phone her parents.’

‘Janice is doing it,’ said Meera, rising. ‘I’ll go and have a word with the nurse.’

Colin’s hand stayed her. ‘Hang on here a minute longer.’

‘Why?’

‘Just because.’

‘Look at you. You’re a right madman, you know that?’

‘I had to do it. You’d have done the same thing.’

Meera grunted. ‘I’m not so sure I would have. You know how many people go into the Thames and never come out.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Colin. ‘Why did he pick her?’

‘She knew two of the victims,’ said Meera.

‘Maybe he thought they told her something.’

‘If they did, she certainly didn’t know what it was. Bryant’s gone missing again, by the way.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘John has been trying to call him but his phone’s switched off. His landlady says he left their flat early this morning. There’s something strange going on that they’re not telling us.’

‘Meera, get this thing off me.’ Colin plucked at the needle taped in the back of his hand. ‘I can’t wait around for a sign-off.’

‘I can’t do that, Colin. Let me get someone. Besides, you’d have to go on the back of my bike.’

‘Fine, I get to put my arms around you.’ He gave her an innocent look. ‘Just so I don’t fall off. Obviously.’

‘Obviously. You’re not a sparrow with a broken wing, OK? I don’t feel sorry for you, so don’t even try it.’ But as she went to find a nurse she caught herself smiling.

‘Why am I always the last to know what’s going on around here?’ cried Raymond Land, hurtling out from behind his desk to poke his finger at the TV screen. ‘Bryant’s vanished again, the press are all over the street asking anyone in a uniform why the case hasn’t been turned over to the CID, and the CoL are on the phone threatening to put the building into lockdown because they think we’re behind the leak. I turn on the news and see one half of London trying to smash open the doors to the Bank of England and the other half panicking because they’ve just realized there’s a serial killer on the loose. Questions are going to be asked in Parliament. People are terrified. I’ve got heartburn, tinnitus and blurred vision. Why did nobody show up for this morning’s briefing?’