Torch Read Online Free PDF Page B

wife.
And for your information, I’m going to the scene of the last fire.
The one that gave Gallagher a heart attack and landed me with
you.’
    Rhona kept her
voice calm. He was not going to get her as rattled as he was. ‘I’d
like to come.’
    ‘Suit
yourself.’
    The dog’s chips
weren’t the only fast food in the car. Rhona swept the remains of
three other fish suppers onto the floor before getting in. The
stereo was blasting out an old Marvin Gaye number. MacRae reached
across and turned it up even louder.
    Rhona kept her
eyes on the road. Once you got used to the level, the music was
alright. All those songs that sink into your brain so that years
later you find yourself mouthing words you never knew you knew.
    MacRae’s face
was as tired as MacFarlane’s. Or else he had a hangover. Probably
chronic. He also drove like a maniac, she decided.
    Ten minutes
later they reached a burned out office block.
    ‘When did this
happen?’
    ‘Thursday last
week.’ He waved at the approaching security guard, who nodded and
unlocked the entrance chain. MacRae held the temporary door to one
side and Rhona stepped in. She was in a large domed entrance hall.
Ahead of her, a broad stairway spiralled upwards to a further two
floors.
    ‘It used to be
an elegant town house, then an office block. Some computer
consultancy firm had the first floor. An investment company had the
top and the ground was an advertising company.’
    ‘It must have
been beautiful. That staircase, especially.’
    Despite the
damage the hall retained an elegance, the marble flooring blackened
but intact.
    ‘Can we use the
stairs?’
    ‘Not if you
want to live.’
    Behind the
staircase a ladder had been erected through to the upper level. He
motioned her to go first.
    ‘Better you
land on me, than me on you.’
    Rhona wasn’t
convinced that was the reason for the chivalry.
    When she was
halfway up he followed. She waited for him at the top. This time
she wasn’t going to wander.
    He pointed at a
pile of debris to the left of the door. ‘He started it where we
came up, burning a hole through the ceiling, then spread the
accelerant out the door and down your nice staircase.’
    ‘An insurance
job?’
    ‘The insurance
company doesn’t think so. The building was in the process of being
sold for a good price. There was planning permission to convert it
into flats.
    ‘Vandals?’
    ‘Not likely in
this area.’
    MacRae went
back down the ladder first then watched her descent with interest.
Wearing a skirt had been a bad choice, Rhona thought.
    They walked
back to the car.
    ‘Any chance we
could give the music a miss this time?’
    The grin took
her by surprise. MacRae looked completely different when he
smiled.
    ‘That bad?’
    ‘That loud,’
she smiled back.
    He switched off
the stereo and started the car. This time the pace was slower.
    ‘What does
MacFarlane think about the fires?’
    ‘MacFarlane
thinks we have a nutter on our hands.’
    ‘And you?’
    The smile had
gone. ‘I don’t know why the places were torched but I’d risk my
neck and say they were torched by the same person or persons. The
jobs are professional. Same level of organisation and
sophistication.’
    ‘Do you have
any idea who it might be?’
    He reached
across her and for a moment she thought he was going to turn on the
stereo again. Instead he opened the glove compartment, brought out
a letter and tossed it in her lap.
    ‘This arrived
this morning, delivered by hand to my flat.’
    She opened it
and read it. ‘Whoever wrote this doesn’t like you very much.’
    ‘He likes women
even less.’
    Threatening
letters were notoriously difficult to trace. It could take weeks,
months of police time. In most cases the threat never materialised
anyway. Frightening the recipient was usually enough for the letter
writer.
    Rhona held the
paper up to the light. Something had been spilt on it. She
sniffed.
    ‘Semen?’
    ‘I would say
so.’
    Leaving good
evidence lying in a