The Reborn Read Online Free PDF

you know there’s a security search?’
    The information had been clear enough. His briefcase would be put through an X-ray machine and he would walk under a metal-detecting arch, similar to those used in airports. If he sounded an alarm, he would be physically searched.
    There had also been a long list of items he was not allowed to take through. Among them were aerosols, badges, lighters, glue, alcohol, drugs and, intriguingly, fishing lines, string and coat hangers. Magnus could see how those last items might be used as weapons, but had reminded himself that Coulter had needed nothing but the strength of his hands.
    ‘Someone will come to collect you.’
    She was true to her word. Seconds after her short phone call announcing his presence, Magnus heard the click of the lock on a nearby door and a woman emerged. She was small and slim, her hair straight and glossy, her features oriental. As she approached he caught the scent of roses. She held out her hand, which seemed tiny in comparison to his own.
    ‘Dr Jacqueline Shan.’
    ‘Professor Magnus Pirie.’
    ‘If you would like to come through, Professor.’
    ‘Magnus will do fine.’
    She acknowledged his offer with a slight nod, but didn’t volunteer an abbreviation of her own. A swipe of her security card released the door lock and she ushered him through.
    Magnus was immediately assailed by the smell of strong disinfectant. He strove to ignore it, trying to concentrate instead on Dr Shan’s rosy fragrance.
    After he’d successfully negotiated the various security measures, she ushered him into a small interview room.
    ‘They will bring Mr Coulter to you here.’
    ‘Are you his doctor?’
    ‘I am one of his clinical team, but not his consultant.’
    ‘Do you know him well?’
    She thought for a moment. ‘I have spoken with Mr Coulter many times.’ Her eyes rested on Magnus.
    He produced the diary Coulter had sent him. ‘I just wondered if you’d read this?’
    She glanced at the notebook.
    ‘His diary . . .’ he explained.
    ‘I am aware of what it is, although I haven’t read it.’
    Magnus wondered if that was the reason for the trace of annoyance he’d sensed in her manner.
    ‘If you could wait here, please.’
    She left the scent of roses behind. Magnus tried to analyse it, coming to the conclusion it wasn’t eau de cologne but oil, such as might be used in massage. He wondered if Dr Shan was a proponent of Chinese alternative medicine as well as psychiatry.
    When Coulter arrived, he was accompanied by two orderlies, both heavy-set men. In contrast, he was much slighter, although wiry, the sinews of his arms visible in a short-sleeved shirt. His hair was shaved close, he wore a day’s stubble and smelt of aftershave. Had he been dressed in a snazzy suit, he could have passed for any Glasgow guy about town.
    He offered Magnus his hand.
    ‘Professor Pirie. It’s good to meet you at last.’ He indicated that Magnus should take a seat.
    Behind him the two orderlies took up a stance, one either side of the door.
    ‘For your protection.’ Coulter’s voice held a tinge of pride.
    Although Coulter was obviously in good shape, Magnus was pretty sure he could have held his own, being six inches taller and considerably heavier. The inmate might be able to snap an infant’s spine, but Magnus didn’t imagine his own would break so easily.
    ‘So what do you think of my diary?’
    A complete analysis of the unpunctuated, yet fascinating scrawl would take a lot longer than he’d had up to now. He decided to be non-committal.
    ‘Thank you for sending it and for agreeing to see me.’
    Coulter met his steady gaze, his own direct and intense. Magnus had the sensation that he had never truly been looked in the eye until now.
    ‘I don’t remember what I wrote in that diary or why I wrote it. I’m not the man I was then.’
    The gaze was unrelenting, with none of the quick glances away that most people indulge in to soften their stare. The air around