Davy woke in a cold sweat. Confused, he stared at the white light surrounding the door. His heart pounded as his mind replayed the sound of a dead body hitting the ground. Again, he relived his wife's scene with another man—the sound of its foghorn as that ship approached.
While showering, he attempted to close his mind, but he knew his demons would haunt him for a long time. However, it would change nothing if he confessed to a bank robbery and killing a pimp.
On entering the kitchen, he saw an empty whisky bottle and a single glass on the table.
He made two cups of coffee and six slices of toast. Retracing his steps, he knocked on her bedroom door. To his surprise, Emma was awake, dressed and ready to face the day. Too much lipstick covered her lips, and dark circles shrouded her eyes.
"Hi, handsome. Is that for me?"
He nodded and handed her the tray.
"Thank you," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
***
When she arrived at her office in Southampton, Janice Porter found a package of Edinburgh and Fife newspapers on her desk from Hamish McCaig. The robbery and the lost men came back to her. She sat and scanned the pages. On a pad to her right, she had listed the missing men's names and the date of the robbery. Thick pencil lines joined them together and made sense. A question remained unanswered: three or six men.
A small article concerning a burglary caught her attention. The hint of something jumped out. Another piece gave a brief report on several youths who found a Royal Navy boat moored inside an old hulk. The North Queensferry Water Ski Club reported a stolen boat to the police. A beachcomber found a black plastic bag full of money on the shore. Janice shuffled the pieces while pondering a few obvious questions.
Who? The three missing sailors robbed the bank.
How? This took time to build. The Navy recovered their boat intact, but the stolen ski-boat joined the dots. She assumed they used two boats, leaving one behind to be collected later.
When? The date of the robbery was not in doubt. Why did these men, if they were sailors, want to rob a bank? She remembered a black and white Jack Hawkins film when demobbed and demoralised soldiers planned and executed a bank robbery using their skills. If these three sailors committed the crime, where were they? Where was the missing ski boat? Why men's clothes and two suitcases stolen? An intruder would have trashed the place: too many questions and not enough answers.
She called Hamish. After the third ring, she got an answer. "Hi."
"Hi, Janice – Did the papers help?"
"Yes, thanks for sending them."
"No problem, glad to be of help. What have you found?"
"Remember the bank robbery and three missing sailors? I'm sure they're connected, but..."
He interrupted. "But you want me to do the leg work."
"Well, we can share the story, and if there isn't, at worst, I'll owe you lunch."
"Okay, I'll get back to you if and when I find something."
Janice hung up, knowing, for the moment, it was the best she could do.
***
Davy arrived where he first met Pinkie at eight that evening. A dozen girls worked the street. It was a quiet night, and most chatted with one another. Two stood as bait for the punters driving past. He waited an hour and was about to leave when she appeared.
