The Tied Man

‘Uhm, kitchen, Henry,’ Gabriel mumbled, still half-asleep, and slowly got to his feet.  ‘You two coming?’

‘Tell Henry I’ll be along soon,’ I said.  ‘I need to call in at my studio first.  There’s one last job I need to do.’

‘You want company?’ Finn asked.

I thought about it, then nodded.  ‘Yeah, company would be good.’

*****

Finn stood at my side in the gloom as I hauled away the sheet that covered Blaine’s portrait.  She stared down at us, naked and regal and surrounded by greenery, and I resisted the urge to throw the sheet straight back over her smug face.

‘I forget, sometimes,’ Finn said.

‘Forget what?’

He slid his hand into mine.  ‘That this is what you do.  It’s breathtaking, Lili.’

‘It’s not my best.’

‘Really?  Jesus, it looks pretty good to my admittedly uncultured eye.’

I ran my fingers over the canvas, feeling that wonderful texture of oil over linen for the final time. ‘Oh, don’t get me wrong – it’s good, but it’s nowhere near great.  I have this prodigious talent for painting the person behind the façade, but with Blaine the façade is all there is left – just artifice, guile, and an expensive pair of silicone tits.’

‘So what’s goin’ to happen to Blaine the Second here, now?’

‘That’s why I needed company,’ I said.  ‘It needs a finishing touch.’

Chapter Thirty Two

Finn

By the time we got to the kitchen, Nat and Gabriel were demolishing half a pig between them.  Henry was in his element, serving food to two highly appreciative, pretty young men, and there was a definite spring in his step as he moved nimbly between the stove and the table.

‘Finn! Breakfast?’ he chirped.

I limped to the nearest chair and pulled another to me for my busted leg.  ‘Nah, I’m good, thanks.  I’ll stick with the tea and a smoke.’

‘Lilith?’

‘Muesli and soy, and a chamomile tea thanks.’

Henry rolled his eyes. ‘Philistines, the pair of you.’

Lilith planted a dainty kiss on his cheek.  ‘All packed?’

‘Darling girl, there’s not a single thing from this godforsaken pit that I would dream of taking with me.  New day, new start, and all that kind of thing.’

Muffled thumping from the room beyond interrupted the conversation, and Henry tutted.  ‘That racket’s been going on for the last half-hour.  Honestly, the wood on the pantry door is at least four inches thick, so I don’t know what good they think it’ll do.  They’ve got water, and a bucket to pee in, and that’ll have to do them until someone with a stronger stomach than me lets them out.’

‘Get you,’ I laughed. ‘Is that the soldier in you comin’ out?’

Henry gave me a smile. ‘Oh, it’s amazing the difference a little freedom can make.’

Lilith stood on tiptoe to look out of the kitchen window, her face lit by an eerie blue glow from the last of the moonlight on the banks of snow outside the hall. ‘I’d top the kettle up if I were you, Henry.  We appear to have a small armada landing.’

‘Ed?’ Nat asked.

‘Well if it’s Santa on an early shift , I hope he’s brought plenty of coal,’ Lilith replied.

‘A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would have sufficed.’  Nat snatched the last of the sandwiches from Gabriel’s hand.  ‘I’ll go and let them in then, shall I?’

‘Ready for this, Strachan?’ Lilith asked me.

I let fledgling anticipation rise in my chest.  It appeared that for once in my life, I might be on the winning side.  ‘Oh yeah.’

*****

Sergeant Ed strode into the kitchen in a blast of Arctic air and brushed the snow from his hat and considerable shoulders.  He was followed by three twelve-year olds dressed as police officers who stopped in the doorway and gaped at Gabriel.  Henry was clearly about to have a positive orgy of tea-making.

Ed went straight to Lilith and flung his arms around her.  ‘I am so bloody sorry, pet.  I tried to track you down, but it was like the pair of you had disappeared from the face of the earth, then the boss stepped in and told me he’d ‘got things sorted’ and that was it.’  He a deep chuckle. ‘Mind you, having had a quick peek at some of those holiday snaps that Nat sent over, I think he’ll be lucky if he’s allowed to sort his own sock drawer from now on, the mucky old bugger.  And can I just say, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.’  He finally put Lilith down to take a mug from Henry.