‘He saved your detective’s life,’ Kane said. ‘Threw a corpse at him to create a distraction. That must have taken considerable courage, or considerable desperation.’
‘Both, I think.’ Brodie thought about David Duffy’s face in that basement, the mixture of horror and determination when he’d realised what his friend truly was. ‘He couldn’t save Alan McRae – didn’t even know McRae was being held prisoner, didn’t know Holmes was a killer when McRae died. But when he understood, when he saw what was about to happen to Lucy, he acted.’
‘Redemption through violence,’ Kane mused. ‘How very Scottish of him. And DI Warren? How is she coping?’
‘She’s resilient. Shaken, obviously, but she’s strong. She’ll recover.’ Brodie paused, then added, ‘Though I think she’ll be off men for a while. Finding out the person you spent the evening with, the person you invited back to your flat, is actually a serial killer. That’s going to take time to process.’ He didn’t tell Kane that Lucy had known Holmes briefly some years ago. That was something he didn’t need to know.
‘She’ll blame herself,’ Kane said with certainty. ‘For not seeing the signs, for being manipulated. But she shouldn’t. Holmes was exceptionally skilled at presenting whatever face was most useful to him. He fooled colleagues for years, fooled you, fooled everyone. DI Warren never had a chance of seeing through him.’
‘I’ll make sure she understands that.’
They sat in silence for a moment, detective and serial killer.
‘Thank you,’ Brodie said finally. ‘For your help during theinvestigation. Your insights into The Embalmer’s psychology were valuable, even if some of them were… uncomfortable to hear.’
Kane waved a hand dismissively. ‘I’m always happy to assist law enforcement, Liam. It keeps my mind sharp, gives me something to focus on besides these four walls. Besides, there’s a certain satisfaction in helping catch a killer who’s better than I am.’
‘Better?’
‘More careful. More patient. More successful at evading detection.’ Kane’s smile turned wistful. ‘I was caught because I became arrogant, because I believed I was untouchable. Holmes might have avoided that fate if you hadn’t returned to Fife, if he hadn’t felt compelled to test himself against you one more time. His ego was his downfall, just as mine was.’
‘And now you’re both here. Two serial killers in the same secure hospital. Does that give you some sense of kinship?’
‘Hardly. Holmes and I are fundamentally different creatures.’ Kane’s expression turned contemptuous. ‘He killed for art, for the aesthetic pleasure of creating beautiful death. I killed because I felt compelled, but in a different way. Our motivations were entirely different.’
‘You both killed innocent people,’ Brodie pointed out. ‘The “why” doesn’t change that.’
‘Perhaps not. But it matters to me.’ Kane stood, moving to his small window, looking out at the grounds. ‘Tell me, Liam – now that you’ve caught your Embalmer, what will you do? Return to your quiet life in Edinburgh? Retire to Spain with your lovely wife?’
‘We’re too young to retire And she’s not my wife.’
Kane smiled. ‘But she will be. One day. I see a certain light inher eyes every time she mentions you. Not everybody has that in their life.’
‘I’ll keep working. There are always more cases, always more killers to catch.’
‘Always chasing the next monster,’ Kane said softly. ‘Always trying to impose order on chaos, to solve puzzles that can’t truly be solved. That’s what makes you such an excellent detective, Liam. You can’t let go. You can’t accept that some questions don’t have answers.’
‘This one did. We caught him.’
‘You caught one man. But The Embalmer is bigger than Ronald Holmes now. He’s a legend, a cautionary tale, a media sensation. People will study him for decades, write books about him, make documentaries. In a way, he’s achieved exactly what he wanted – immortality through his work.’ Kane turned back from the window. ‘Does that bother you? That by catching him, you’ve also ensured his legacy?’
Brodie considered this. ‘Better a remembered killer in custody than an unknown one still operating. The families of his victims deserve to know justice was done.’
‘Justice.’ Kane laughed softly. ‘Such a comforting word. Such a useful fiction we tell ourselves to make sense of senseless things.’
One of the orderlies shifted slightly, a reminder that the visit had time limits, that Brodie’s twenty minutes were nearly up.
Brodie stood, preparing to leave. ‘Goodbye, Dr Kane. I don’t expect I’ll be visiting again.’
‘No, I don’t suppose you will. The case is closed, and you have no further need of my particular expertise.’ Kane extended his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Brodie shook it. ‘But if you ever find yourself hunting another clever killer, anothermonster who thinks they’re smarter than you, you know where to find me.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind.’
As Brodie moved towards the door, Kane called out one last time. ‘Liam? Take care of DI Warren. I’ve grown rather fond of her.’
‘I will.’
The door closed behind him, the lock engaging automatically. Dr Murray was waiting in the corridor, clipboard in hand.
