“Right. Good. It’s agreed, then,” Logan said. He indicated the car’s controls. “May I?”
“Fire on, boss.”
“You’re not going to have a hissy fit and suddenly swerve us off the road?”
“No plans for now, boss, but I’ll keep you posted.”
“Right. Good.” Logan started to pull away, then stopped again. He let out a sigh so faint it was almost non-existent, then turned to the Detective Constable. “What you said. About trying to impress me. You don’t have to, son. There’s no need.”
Tyler’s eyes and mouth formed three little O’s of surprise. “Oh. Eh, cheers, boss.”
“I’ve long since given up on the prospect of that ever happening,” Logan clarified. Then, fighting back a grin, he patted Tyler on the leg, and started off down the bumpy, uneven track.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Logan and Tyler were north of Fort Augustus on the main A82 road to Inverness when the phone rang and a Fort William number flashed up on the car’s internal display.
Tyler, who had been scouring the surface of Loch Ness through the breaks in the trees like he always did when he wasn’t behind the wheel on this stretch of road, looked to Logan for approval, then tapped the icon that answered the call.
“DCI Jack Logan.”
“Jack. Hello. Can you hear me?” asked Ben. His voice was muffled, yet was echoing at the same time in a way that was quite unpleasant to listen to. These were, Logan knew, the telltale signs of a conference call.
“Aye, I can hear you.”
Ben became quieter still as he turned away to talk to someone else. “He can hear me.”
“Aye, I heard him say that,” Hamza confirmed.
“Jack, it’s Ben. Ben Forde,” the DI continued, his voice echoing as a loud crackle from the speakers.
Logan rolled his eyes. He could picture him now, leaning in far too close to the pyramid-shaped gadget on the desk, raising his voice to make himself heard.
“You’re coming in loud and clear,” Logan told him. “We’re on Loch Ness side, though, so signal might dip in and out. We’re headed back up the road. We’re going to swing in and see Shona.”
“Good idea,” Ben said. “She seemed to be in a hell of a state earlier.”
Logan tore his eyes from the road and let them linger on the stereo system for a moment. “What? How do you mean?”
“Just… Did nobody say?” Ben asked.
“Say what?”
“She just seemed a bit…” Ben’s voice went quieter again as he turned to Hamza. “What would you say?”
“A bit manic, maybe, sir,” Hamza said.
“Bit highly strung, boss,” Tyler added. “She’d pulled an all-nighter for the PM.”
“Is that Tyler?” Ben asked, his voice becoming a high volume crackle again. “Is Tyler with you?”
“Aye, he’s here. What do you mean ‘manic’？ How highly-strung are we talking?” Logan asked, not yet ready to change the subject. “Was she… Was something wrong?”
“I don’t know about wrong, Jack, no. I don’t think there was anything wrong, exactly. She’d been on the energy drinks all night. Probably just a bit jittery. You can always ask her yourself when you see her.”
Logan looked down at the screen again, then shot a sideways glance at Tyler.
“I don’t think it’s anything major, boss,” the younger detective assured him. “Probably just buzzing from the caffeine.”
“Aye. Probably,” Logan conceded, trying not to show his concern.
The trip back up the road was mostly for the reasons he’d told Tyler, but partly it was to surprise her with a visit. It wasn’t exactly a big romantic gesture, but then big romantic gestures weren’t really his forte. Hopefully, it would put a smile on her face, at least.
“I’ve got Sinead on the call, too,” Ben boomed from the speakers. “Have we got Sinead?”
“I’m here, sir,” Sinead said.
“Can everyone hear her OK?” Ben asked. He turned to Hamza. “Can they hear her OK?”
“You’d have to ask them, sir,” Hamza replied.
“I did ask them, but they didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t exactly give us a chance,” Logan pointed out. “Aye, we can hear Sinead. We can hear everyone.”
“Can everyone hear us?” Tyler asked.
Ben’s voice once again became quieter. “Can everyone hear them?”