Read Witness the Dead for Free Online

shoulder. Wylde was named Razor for a reason.
    Narey, cursing loudly, instinctively knew that both men had been cut with blades, double-sided razors that were probably hidden in his trainers. She saw that neither of them was fit to tackle Wylde, who was about to leg it past their car and onto Dunn Street and away. Boyle was only a yard behind and Narey wanted to scream out a warning.
    Boyle had seen the other cops fall, however, and had sussed the reason. He could see the bright flash of red that was already scarring one officer’s cheeks and had been round long enough to know the cause. In his final stride, he’d withdrawn his baton and lashed out as soon as he was within arm’s length of Wylde, sending it crashing into the man’s right wrist.
    Wylde shrieked and turned towards Boyle, his left arm arcing through the air armed with a razor blade. Boyle swung again, missing and sending nothing but air past the razor’s edge. He brought the baton back up as quickly and as hard as he could, hearing the satisfying crunch of metal on bone and Wylde screaming.
    Murray and Toshney were there now and they bundled on top of Wylde, pinning his arms and making sure he’d dropped his blades. Narey watched them haul Wylde to his feet, seeing him dance furiously like some demented puppet on a string.
    Narey got back onto control and ordered an ambulance for the two injured cops and someone to take their patrol car back to base, before speaking to Toshney.
    ‘Get Murray and Boyle to take him on to Stewart Street. And get yourself a gym membership. You sound knackered. And ask those other two muppets how Wylde got to the bottom before the lift.’
    ‘Yes, Sarge,’ Toshney panted into his Airwave. ‘And I already asked them. They said the fly bugger pressed the lift call button on the sixth floor and the third. Meant the lift stopped on both floors when they were going down.’
    ‘Yeah, well, those other two cops paid the price. Don’t mention the murdered girl whatever you do. For now, we charge him with resisting arrest and two counts of serious assault on a police officer. Once we get him into Stewart Street, we’ll see what else he knows.’

Chapter 5
    Saturday afternoon
    ‘So why did you run?’
    Robert Wylde’s eyes were scrunched angrily into little balls of defiance, the scowl on his face a statement of intent. Whatever it was, he didn’t do it. Except of course that he did. They’d all seen him cut those cops, the blood still staining Albany Street.
    ‘No comment.’
    ‘Something to hide?’ Narey was doing the questioning. Addison had joined her but taken up a watching brief, standing against the far wall alongside Constable Sandy Murray. The duty solicitor, Mr Malcolmson, a grumpy middle-aged man with bad breath, was riding shotgun.
    ‘No comment.’
    ‘Innocent people don’t do a runner when the polis knock on their door, Mr Wylde. Why did you run?’
    ‘No comment.’
    ‘Change the record, Robert. You’re not a celebrity being interviewed by the papers. You know why we’re here and you know you’re going to tell us all about it, so why not save everyone’s time by talking now?’
    ‘No comment.’
    ‘Where were you last night, Robert? Or should I say, Razor? Where were you in the early hours of this morning?’
    For the first time, Wylde’s eyes flashed towards Narey, hints of confusion and worry evident. He pulled his stare back to the wall but she had his attention now.
    ‘Were you near Glasgow Cathedral this morning, Robert? Near the Necropolis?’
    ‘No. No comment.’
    ‘Which is it? No or no comment?’
    ‘Please, don’t badger my client, Detective Sergeant Narey.’ Malcolmson’s interruption was no more than for show.
    ‘Which is it, Robert, no or no comment? Were you near the Necropolis?’
    Everyone in the room could see Wylde doing mental calculations, desperately trying to work out what answer would work better for him, the truth or a lie.
    ‘No.’
    ‘I see. Okay, at least