It felt reasonably heavy, though. When Tyler shook it, he thought it sounded like paperwork. But, when Logan pointed out that for all they knew the briefcase might contain an explosive device, he’d given up trying to figure out what was inside, and had cautiously lowered the case to his side.
“What now, boss?” he asked, warily eyeing the thing’s worn leather patina. “Should we… Do we open it?”
“We don’t know the code, and I don’t really want to force it until we know what’s in there. It’s probably just paperwork, but I don’t want to go buggering about with the locks until we know for sure.
Tyler exhaled, clearly relieved. “Aye, that sounds like a good plan. I’d rather not get blown to bits, if I can avoid it.”
Logan gazed ahead, deep in thought, watching the movements of the trees. They were exposed this high on the hillside, and the wind creaked the thick branches as it blew along the neighbouring Loch Lochy—so named because… Well, presumably because someone was a lazy bastard.
“You fancy a wee run up the road to Inverness?” he asked.
Tyler glanced out across the loch at the darkening sky. It was well past dinner time now, and Strontian—and Sinead—felt like a very long way away. “What for, boss?”
Logan tapped the top of the briefcase. “I’ve got an idea,” he said.
He put the car into reverse, eased his foot down on the accelerator, and was thrown forward on his seat when Tyler reapplied the handbrake.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.
Tyler swallowed, but didn’t look away from the DCI’s glare. “What’s the idea, boss?”
“Excuse me?”
“You asked me what I thought about a run up the road to Inverness. I asked you why, and you said you had an idea,” Tyler said, the words coming out in a sort of rapid-fire where each flowed into the next. “That doesn’t help me make a decision. If you really want my opinion, you need to tell me why we’re going.” He swallowed again as everything he’d said replayed in his head. “Boss.”
“I don’t really want your opinion,” Logan told him. He turned to look out the back windscreen, but Tyler wasn’t done.
“Aye, well, I want to give it,” the DC persevered. “I deserve the information, boss. I’m a valuable member of this team. I’ve nearly died, like, eight times doing stuff for you. Doing stuff to impress you. I at least deserve to know why I’m doing them.”
Logan grunted, then disengaged the handbrake and started to reverse. Tyler reached for the controls once more, but Logan slapped his hand away.
“Touch that again and I’ll break your fingers,” he warned. Then, once he’d turned the car so it was facing back down the hill, he put his foot on the brakes and turned to the man beside him. “I want to take the case to Shona so she can X-yay it,” he said. “I also, on a personal level, could do with picking up some more clothes, since I think we’re going to be down there a few days yet at least, and there’s no’ exactly an abundance of places to buy pants.”
“Actually, that wee shop sells pants, boss,” Tyler said. “They sell everything.”
“Great! Do they sell medical-grade X-ray machines, too?”
“Not unless they keep them through the back,” Tyler admitted.
“Right. So, I’d like, if it’s alright with you, to go to Inverness, get the case checked out, probably spend the night, given the time, then drive back down the road with supplies first thing tomorrow morning.
“If you’d prefer, I can drop you back in the Fort and you can go back to Strontian with Hamza and Ben, assuming they’ve no’ left yet. Your choice, son. Far be it from me to make it for you. You are, after all, a valuable member of this team.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Was that sarcasm, boss?”
“Which bit?”
“Any of it.”
Logan shrugged. “Some bits more so than others, maybe, but by and large no. You’re right, Tyler. If I’m dragging you hundreds of miles up and down the country, you’ve got a right to know.”
“I do?” Tyler asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. He cleared his throat and nodded. “I mean, aye. I do. Too right I do.”
“Don’t push it, son,” Logan warned. “You coming to Inverness or not?”
“Aye. Aye, I’ll come, boss. Could do with getting Sinead and me some more clothes, too, and I should check in with Harris and Jan.”