Free Rough Cut: Rosie Gilmour 6 by Anna Smith Page A

me, pet.’
    She could hear him chuckling.
    ‘Tell you what . . . I’m going to make your day.’
    ‘That would be great. I’m all ears.’
    ‘You see the dead Pakistani in the Albany? Remember I told you we were looking at CCTV from the foyer?’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘Well, wait till you hear this . . . We’ve homed in on two girls coming out of the hotel, one of them carrying a case. The place was really busy with some kind of function, but these girls kind of stood out. And guess what . . .’
    ‘Oh, come on, Don. I’m dying of curiosity here.’
    ‘The bird who’s along with the one carrying the case is the same bird who’s lying in the Royal Infirmary, minus part of her arm.’
    ‘You have to be kidding me.’
    ‘I’m not. We still know very little about her, but she bears an uncanny resemblance to the girl in the hotel. And the other one – we don’t know who she is yet. But I’d say they’re both hookers, and taking the theory further, maybe they’d just been with the Asian guy.’
    ‘Why lump them together? If they were hookers at the hotel, they could have been to anyone’s room, couldn’t they? What’s the link?’
    ‘The case.’
    ‘What case?’
    ‘The attaché case the bird was carrying. Are you not listening?’
    ‘Sorry. I forgot about that. My head’s all over the place.’
    ‘The word on the street is that this Malik punter had a case full of money and whatever other shit he was dealing with – he was up here on a drop. We think he had diamonds, but we’re not sure. And the case was definitely not with him when the cops went to the room.’
    ‘So you’re thinking the girls, who you believe are hookers, went into the room, bumped him off and took his case? It’s a bit far-fetched, is it not? They wouldn’t even know what was in the case, would they?’
    ‘Nobody is saying they bumped him off. Maybe he died during a sex game. The pathologist is looking at that too.’
    ‘So during the sex game he croaks and the birds steal his case? That about it?’
    ‘Well, it’s certainly a credible theory. Especially if one of them ends up with her arm cut off and the other disappears.’
    ‘And the case?’
    ‘The case is nowhere to be seen.’
    ‘I like the sound of this,’ Rosie said. ‘When are you talking to the girl in hospital?’
    ‘We’re hoping, this afternoon.’
    ‘So, when she wakes up and realises she’s lost her arm, she’s going to see your face and discover she’s in a shitload of trouble?’
    ‘Something like that. But hey – I don’t make these things happen, Rosie. I just catch the bad guys.’
    ‘Sure. I wish I could talk to the girl.’
    ‘Yeah. I know you do, but unless you’re dressed as a doctor, I’d say that’s highly unlikely.’
    ‘But she’s not a suspect, is she?’
    ‘Not on paper. But she’s a suspect alright, until we establish more on Malik’s death.’
    Rosie had to keep quiet about her conversation with Sabiha and Laila.
    ‘Okay. If you get a word with her, it would be great to get a line, Don. One line would do it – nothing that would screw up your investigation, but just a line to keep it in the paper. This is beginning to sound like it’s all irresistibly linked.’
    ‘I like it when you’re excited, Gilmour.’
    ‘Yeah. Talk later.’ Rosie hung up.

Chapter Nine
     
    Somewhere in Nikki’s head, a voice was softly saying her name. Then it would fade, echoing as it drifted away before she could answer. Was she dreaming? She didn’t know. She could feel the sun, warm on her body. She would open her eyes, she thought, to see the bright blue sky. She could sense her eyelids flickering, but they wouldn’t open. She was so tired. Then she was gone again, sleeping to the sound of the sea and the voice whispering her name. For a moment she thought she heard someone say ‘Julie’. Who’s Julie? Nikki’s mind drifted again. The heat was rising on the beach, and she could feel her chest getting hot. She could see a face