Torch by Lin Anderson Read Free Book Online

up. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to interrupt your meal
but being from the Department of Public Health I feel it only fair
to warn you about the sexual predilections of the current chef of
this establishment, which involve aubergines...’
    Rhona lifted
her jacket from the back of the chair, left money on the table for
the astonished waiter and headed for the door.
    When MacRae
opened the car, the music was on full blast. He turned it down
before she got in. The chip pokes had gone.
    ‘My daughter
doesn’t like an untidy car. Takes after her mother in that
respect.’
    Rhona ignored
his attempts at conversation and looked pointedly out of the
window. They left the city centre and headed for the Forth. She
refused to ask MacRae where he was taking her, but whatever he
wanted her to see, it had better be good.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    It took ten
minutes to get to the important place that had spoiled her dinner.
On her right hand side was a small harbour, half a dozen boats
beached on the mud. On her left, a long low white building with
bright red signs. Rhona stared out of the window in disbelief.
    ‘What’s
this?’
    ‘A real
restaurant. Best battered fish and chips in Edinburgh.’ MacRae was
actually grinning at her. ‘It’s impossible to get a table here on a
Friday night. Ian promised to hold one for fifteen minutes, no
more.’
    ‘This is why
you embarrassed me and dragged me from my meal?’
    MacRae shrugged
his shoulders. ‘It got you here, didn’t it?’
    He was already
out of the car.
    ‘Come on. I’ve
removed you from hell and taken you to heaven. What more do you
want?’
    The smile
MacRae got from the waitress was verging on a come on. She twinkled
and bobbed and escorted them to their table with a swing of her
hips.
    ‘Amy likes it
here,’ MacRae handed her the menu. ‘They make a fuss of her.’
    ‘They make a
fuss of her father too.’
    For the first
time MacRae looked embarrassed, but the look disappeared so quickly
Rhona wondered if she’d imagined it.
    ‘Okay what is
it you wanted to show me?’ she insisted.
    ‘After you
sample some real fish and chips.’
    Rhona refilled
her cup from the large teapot and sat back in the chair. MacRae had
been in the kitchen for the past five minutes. When he disappeared
through the doors she heard the calls of welcome. It made her
think. MacRae was different tonight. Seeing his daughter had done
him good. This morning he had been a coiled and tense. Tonight he
was relaxed.
    He emerged,
laughing. Behind him a handsome male face grinned out.
    ‘Jamie sends
his love.’ MacRae sat down. ‘I told him you’re not interested.’
    ‘What makes you
think that?’
    ‘No time,’ he
smiled, ‘or was it, no inclination?’
    He held her
eyes until she looked away.
    ‘Why did you
bring me here?’
    His face grew
serious.
    ‘This was on my
windscreen when I came out of the cinema.’ He handed her a typed
note.
    She read out
the words.
    ‘I hope you’ll
be at the party?’
    MacRae’s face
confirmed her suspicions.
    ‘He means the
Hogmanay street party, doesn’t he?’
    ‘The arsonist
profiles as power-assertive. He achieves a sense of superiority
through expressing exploitative control, dominance and intrusive
violations of the law. In laymen’s terms he gets his kicks from
mayhem. With the crowds that’ll turn out over New Year, he’ll have
his biggest audience to date.’
    ‘You’re certain
the fires weren’t insurance or fraud jobs?’
    ‘If a building
is set on fire for insurance purposes, no one lets us know, before
or after the event.’
    If the person
responsible for the fires had no more reason for lighting them than
pleasure, it would make him almost impossible to catch.
    He was reading
her mind. ‘The worst kind to find.’
    The ring of the
mobile broke the silence that followed. MacRae listened, his
expression switching from anger to worry.
    ‘I’m on my
way.’
    He was on his
feet.
    ‘What’s
wrong?’
    ‘Someone threw
a