‘Wait, please!’ he called.
It was enough to start her running, barely fast enough to get a few metres before he was by her side, his hand stilling her.
‘Get your hands off!’ she said, still trying to walk away.
‘Please, just talk to me. You’re hurt? Has someone done this to you?’ He pointed to the rip where white lining showed through the beige outer layer of her Afghan coat.
‘Are you a copper or something?’ She still tried to shake him off.
‘Volunteer Special Constable,’ he admitted, knowing if she was going to talk to him, he had to be on the level.
‘Not a copper then,’ she concluded. The heels of her boots clicked loudly as she walked. Jamie stuck by her.
‘We can offer you protection. If you just tell us who gave you the jewellery you took to the repair shop that day.’
This almost stopped her in her tracks. He read her hesitation as his way in.
‘Whoever’s using you for fencing or trafficking, we can put them inside, move you to a new area. Get a fresh start.’
She tutted, a wry curl at her lips. All the time her eyes stayed fixed on the pavement. She upped her pace. He matched her.
Jamie would have to take a punt if he was going to make progress. ‘Whoever did this to you,’ he indicated the tear at her coat, but just as easily could have pointed to her eye, ‘can’t be worth protecting all that much, can he?’
Silence. She made a sharp turn down a side street. There was no road sign to help orientate him. They passed a small playpark with two swings swaying ghost-like in the breeze, and a set of monkey bars over a rubbery red surface. At the end of the park she made another sharp left. She wasn’t going to lead him to wherever she’d been going. She was trying to lose him. Both of them knew he wasn’t giving up.
Edwyn’s voice rang in his ears. He should call for assistance. But how? If he did, she’d start running again, then he’d have to apprehend her.
‘All I need is a name, and I’ll leave you alone, I promise.’
She jolted to a standstill. Now she looked straight at him he saw how blue her eyes were. They were shot with weary sadness. At first he’d guessed she was in her mid-forties. Now, though, he wondered if she were much younger.
‘You’ve nae idea what you’re asking,’ she said. ‘Even talking to you in the street could get us in big trouble. Gonnae just leave me alone, for both our sakes?’
Hers was a familiar accent. Maybe not Edinburgh, but near enough.
‘What part of Mid Lothian are you from? Or is it East Lothian?’ he tried.
She laughed, exasperated. ‘None of your business.’ She walked on for a moment before turning sharply up a path between two front gardens, then passing deeper between the terraces, coming to a stop in a dark dead end flanked by unlit back yards on either side, both overgrown with tall shrubs and weeds.
Even in the low light her eyes were strikingly baby blue.
Aware she’d brought him up here so they couldn’t be seen or heard, he whispered. ‘Just a name.’
‘You know I cannae dae that.’
‘He’d be in the back of a van within the hour. He’d never know it was you. I’d make sure of that.’
‘Would you?’ she hissed back, incredulity in her voice.
‘The Chief would. I can absolutely guarantee it.’ Before she could waver he added, ‘It’s a whole gang, isn’t it? Not just your fella, but there’s a network, right? Just tell me the ringleader. A name, or the HQ, and I’ll let you walk away. Or if you like, before we’re even knocking their doors down, we’d have you in a safe house miles from here.’
‘I cannae leave the area.’ She said it so quickly, Jamie drew his chin in.
‘Because you’ve someone keeping you here?’
He knew the MO of groups like the one he suspected had this woman in their thrall; he’d seen it repeatedly in training. Overwhelm a vulnerable woman with gifts and goodies, whatever she wanted, just enough to reel her in. Then ask her for help storing something for a mate. Then before she knows it there’s a package needs picking up, or some man needing a place to sleep for a while, keeping a low profile. If she objects, she’s reminded that they know all about the one thing more precious to her than anything else.
‘My lassie,’ the woman admitted with a dejected sigh. ‘She’s at her granny’s for now. Things have been chaos at my place. She cannae be missing school.’
