Eye for an Eye

fingers up and down my body to imitate the rain falling. And do you know what she would say as she did that?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Pitter patter, pitter patter.’
    The Stabber stared at him.
    ‘It got me thinking,’ he said, ‘about a little group.’
    The Stabber frowned.
    ‘Pitter. Patter. The connection,’ he said. ‘Now. And way back then.’ He almost smiled. ‘It got me thinking about cats. Or one in particular.’
    Gilchrist could see the meaning of his words shift across her features. She slipped one hand inside her anorak and he realized how foolish he had been to confront her unarmed.
    With calculated finality, she said, ‘The photograph.’
    Gilchrist nodded. ‘You held the camera. You took the photograph. I had it digitally enhanced to find out what caused the scar.’ He stepped through the gateway. He was closer, but not close enough.
    ‘What scar?’ roared Patterson. ‘Would someone tell me what in the name of God is going on?’
    Gilchrist kept his eyes on the Stabber. ‘We’re talking about cats.’
    ‘Cats?’
    ‘Cats.’
    ‘Have you been drinking again?’
    ‘One’s called Pitter. The other, Patter.’
    ‘Lord above us. Now I’ve heard it all.’
    The Stabber pushed her hand deeper inside her anorak.
    Ice tickled Gilchrist’s neck. He stood still.
    ‘You’re wasted as a detective,’ she said to him.
    ‘I take that as a compliment.’
    ‘You’re far too clever.’
    ‘Which is why you fabricated the complaint against me,’ he said. ‘To get me out of circulation.’
    ‘Among other things.’
    ‘But you made a mistake choosing Maggie as a witness.’
    ‘Maggie wouldn’t have said a word to you,’ she snapped. ‘I won’t believe you if you say she has.’
    ‘She did better than that. She left Lafferty’s.’
    The Stabber shook her head. ‘Not for another month.’
    ‘She’s gone.’
    ‘I don’t believe you.’
    ‘She couldn’t wait to leave for the south of England with all that money you gave her.’ He saw from her eyes that his words were hurting. ‘How much?’ he asked.
    ‘Too much, it seems.’ Her hand pulled out.
    ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ said Gilchrist.
    The Stabber froze.
    ‘I found the plastic wrapping under the floorboards.’
    ‘Good Lord. How many different ways do I have to say it, Gilchrist? You are suspended. Do you hear?’
    Gilchrist was so focused on the Stabber’s eyes that it seemed as if Patterson was no longer there in physical form, but in voice only, like the verbal remnants of a fading dream.
    The Stabber narrowed her eyes. ‘I knew when you started snooping around it would only be a matter of time. What gave it away?’
    ‘A cricket bat.’
    ‘Now you’ve lost me.’
    ‘It’s a long story.’
    ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
    ‘Don’t bank on it.’ Gilchrist thought if the Stabber was going to make a move, she would do so at that moment. But she stood still.
    ‘That’s it,’ shouted Patterson. ‘Cats. Cricket bats. I’ve heard enough. I’m ordering you off my property, right now, Gilchrist.’
    ‘Ask her why she shortened her name.’
    ‘Her name?’ spluttered Patterson.
    ‘Humour me.’
    As if to pre-empt Patterson’s question, the Stabber said, ‘Timmy had a stutter—’
    ‘Timmy? Who in heaven’s name is Timmy?’
    ‘My older brother,’ said the Stabber, keeping her eyes on Gilchrist. ‘Timmy witnessed our father beat our mother. The attacks shocked him so severely that he developed a stutter.’ Then her eyes flickered at Gilchrist. ‘How did you find that out?’
    ‘I didn’t,’ said Gilchrist. ‘But when I accessed your file and saw your full name, it got me thinking.’
    Silent, the Stabber stared at him.
    ‘And with his stutter, Timmy couldn’t say your name, could he? So he shortened it.’
    The Stabber narrowed her eyes.
    ‘Sandra became Sa.’
    Sa gave a distant smile, as if thinking back to the days before Timmy’s affliction. Then she looked at Gilchrist. ‘How did you know to come here?’
    ‘Your missed meeting. Your call to the Office. That was to be your alibi. No one would place you within twenty miles of here. That’s when I knew.’ Gilchrist felt his muscles tighten. They had come down to it. And Sa had nowhere to run. He eased closer. No more than a few feet separated them. He wondered if he was close enough to make a move, but Sa’s hand remained inside her anorak. He raised his arm chest high in front of Patterson. ‘Could I ask you to step