Souls At Zero (A Dark Psychological Thriller) by Neal Martin Page B

wasting his breath. Edger wasn't stupid. He knew the gravity of the situation, the possible consequences of his actions, consequences that he was no doubt willing to accept if it meant saving his daughter.
    "Alright," Rankin said eventually. "We can't talk about this here. Let's go to the office."
    "What if the cops come round?" Edger asked. "They might want to talk to you for some reason."
    "Look, you told the cops Kaitlin was fine. They have no real evidence to say otherwise, not yet anyway, so I doubt they'll even pursue this, to be honest."
    "The detective who interviewed me seemed like he didn't want to let it go. He knew something was up. I told Gemma to say there was nothing wrong if they called to see her."
    "Well then," Rankin said, standing up. "They should stay away. Let's go."
     
    "Okay," Rankin said when they got to the office. He was sitting on the edge of his desk while Edger paced impatiently around in front of him. "I need you to think, Harry. Do you know anyone who would do this to you? Anyone you crossed in the past that might want revenge on you now?"
    Edger continued to pace up and down, deep in thought. "Fuck, John," he said eventually. "You know the job. You're up against people all the time who view you as the enemy. In Sarajevo, Iraq, Haiti, Africa, South America…I've fought against a lot of different groups. As a contractor, I've protected a lot of people against criminals and insurgents. But in the Legion, I was just a soldier, a Caporal . I wouldn't have stood out to any of these people."
    "What about the contract work you did in Iraq? Where else? Haiti, South America…you get on anybody's wrong side in those places?"
    "I had a few fall outs with certain people," Edger said. "Nothing that would warrant coming here and kidnapping my daughter over though."
    "You're sure? There has to be somebody, Harry."
    Edger shook his head in annoyance. "I was professional at all times, John. A few bar fights here and there, but that's it. As a soldier, I was fucking impeccable."
    "What about your brother?"
    Edger stopped and stared at Rankin like he was insane. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
    Rankin folded his arms across his chest. "You said yourself, Harry, your brother's body was never found."
    Edger's face reddened as he stepped close to Rankin, who continued to remain calm as the bigger man loomed over him. "I can't believe you're even fucking saying that," Edger said, his brown eyes fierce. "Declan was taken twenty-six years ago. He's dead. And even if he wasn't, what possible reason would he have to come along after all this time and kidnap my daughter, then ask me to kill the fucking Lord Mayor of Belfast?"
    Rankin held his palms out towards Edger. "Alright, Harry. I'm just trying to cover every angle here. You're forgetting I used to be a cop."
    Edger's nostrils flared as he kept staring angrily at Rankin for another few seconds, then he shook his head and walked to the window where he rolled himself a cigarette, not bothering to open the window when he lit it, instead just staring through the glass as the smoke billowed into the room.
    Rankin pushed himself off the desk and walked around the office for a moment, then he said, "What about the people who took your brother?"
    Edger shook his head, calmer now. "No one knows who they are. And if they wanted me they would took me along with Declan years ago. Why would they turn up again now?"
    Sighing heavily, Rankin went and sat in his chair by the desk. "Well, I'm out of ideas, Harry. Sorry."
    "Shit," Edger said suddenly, opening the window and disposing of the cigarette butt in his hand.
    "What is it?" Rankin asked.
    Edger reached inside his coat pocket and took out a mobile phone. "The kidnapper left me this. It's how he contacted me the second time. I'm to phone him on this when I've done what he asked me to do."
    Rankin sat up straight. "Fuck, Harry, why didn't you say. We could can try and get his rough location off that. But you would need