Free The Fire by Robert White Page B

graveside and saw Anne buried.
    There were no tears. I got the impression there had been more than enough already.
    Giving the wake a wide berth we sat in the small bar of our city hotel, sipping scotch and saying little.
    On the seventh round things loosened up.
    "She would've been glad to see you, Rick," said Des, waving the waiter over to order number eight.
    Rick was feeling the pace, but was doggedly avoiding his usual posh water.
    "Bollocks!" he said, just a little too loudly for the liking of some of the other residents. "She fuckin' hated me...blamed me for you always being away from home."
    Des managed a smile. "Aye, I suppose yer right there, pal, she wasnae keen like."
    I raised my glass, "I think we should toast Anne. After all, anyone who didn't like Rick Fuller is okay by me."
    Rick raised an eyebrow.
    "Is that your Bond impression?" I joked. "You could have passed for a young Roger Moore if you hadn't been shot in the face."
    That really caused a commotion amongst our fellow drinkers.
    Rick touched his scar absently. I don't think he was ever really conscious of it. Despite his good looks and love of fine things, he wasn't vain. He tapped each of our raised glasses in turn.
    "To Anne," he said.
     
    The atmosphere lightened as the whisky flowed, but just before nine o'clock, Rick stood, waved at us both and staggered through the bar on his way to bed.
    "Pissed," slurred Des.
    "Me too," I managed.
    Reaching over the table, I took his hand.
    He looked so sad.
    "You're a good man, Des."
    "Am I?"
    "Yes, of course...I know these things."
    "Some wouldn't agree with you, believe me..."
    "Well you are! You dropped everything to be with Anne in the end. I mean there's not many guys who would do that for their ex-wives."
    "Suppose," he mumbled.
    I had to ask. "Were you with Anne when she died, Des?"
    He nodded. "Aye, I was....she...she went peacefully in the end."
    I tried to smile, but I could feel my tears and I so didn't want to cry in front of him. He'd had enough of that.
    I bit my lip and forced down the last of my drink.
    Des rooted around in his jacket. He removed a photograph and laid it on the table. Anne was staring straight at me. God knows when it was taken. She'd be what...fifteen maybe? Tiny, with a great figure, tight black jeans and a rock chick style leather jacket; hair streaked blonde with a heavy fringe and feathered sides.
    "Where was that taken?" I asked.
    "Outside our school gates in Glasgow...1974. Fine lookin' wasn't she, eh?"
    "She looks like Suzy Quattro," I said.

Rick Fuller's Story:
     
     
    If the events up at Hillside were dogging Des, it didn't show. To be honest, it was what I'd expected of him. He was one of the hardest men I'd ever known.
    If there was a back story, and I suspected there was, he'd tell me when he was ready.
    He had thrown himself into the business like a man possessed. So much so, I'd hardly seen him. We'd been grafting nonstop, putting in the air miles, visiting clients and companies in the Middle East and Europe, and Lauren had started the recruitment and training of our staff.
    Initially, she'd found the resistance to a female trainer by the ex-squaddies annoying, but she'd soon split the wheat from the chaff, and we were well on our way to making a profit.
    Pleasingly, whoever had been keeping tabs on our movements appeared to have given up the ghost. Part of me was actually starting to enjoy life again. I still had some bad dreams, but even they had started to fade along with my other obsessions.
    That said, my love of expensive cars and clothes had not left me, and I was unable to resist buying a new Aston Martin DB9.
    It was a beautiful car, in onyx black metallic. The Obsidian black leather interior with red stitching was stunning. I'd insisted on the sports pack and the Linn Hi-Fi with a six CD changer. The 5.9 litre V12 made just the kind of noise a car should, even at low speed.
    A job had come into the office which meant I had to visit London to see a