The Devil's Due: A Cooper and McCall Scottish Crime Thriller Ramsay Sinclair (ebook reader with internet browser txt) đ
- Author: Ramsay Sinclair
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A sympathetic tear rolled down Paul Robertâs pale cheek. It shocked me to see his tears werenât formed from blood or other creepy, voodoo crap. My attention closed in on the machines beeping all around us.
âThey didnât follow the rules,â Paul stubbornly shouted. A mixture of personalities, so it appeared. The pillow beneath his head moved from pressure, and he pushed down even further, so it almost suffocated him.
âRules?â I sounded unimpressed.
âWhat rules?â McCall queried.
âHis rules,â Paul drooled onto the pillow, a wreck of a man. A shadow, in fact. There would be no way of worming out of jail time now that heâd admitted to killing them both.
McCallâs brain ticked over, taking a while to catch up to the meaning. âGodâs rules? They didnât follow the bible?â
âDonât talk to me about that⊠liar,â Paulâs anger reached a new high, as blood vessels swelled in his temples, and grey eyes flashed sinisterly. âGod doesnât exist. The devil lives inside us all. God canât purify us. Not even me, or you.â
âNot even Linda?â McCall asked slowly. I half expected Paul to erupt in flames and char the hospital to pieces at the sound of his wifeâs name.
Paulâs anger instantly exchanged to hearty sobs, heavy and full-bodied. The office guard checked through the window to ensure we werenât hurting the murderer.
âI prayed for her. For God to save her life, right here in this very hospital,â Paulâs voice amended to a scarily low pitch. My ears strained even to hear. âAt one point,â he chuckled, sending shivers down our spines. This guy felt like a rollercoaster that wouldnât end, âI even struck up a deal with God. My life for Lindaâs. I prepared to die so that she could live.â
The hospital chair squeaked beneath my changing weight as I intently awaited an explanation that made sense.
âI devoted my entire life towards serving God's purposes, His larger plan. Linda couldnât have altered her life anymore to suit His wishes. I served Him for years of my life, and He still stole her away from me. God lied to me.â Paul paused, taking a deep breath. âI vowed to live my life as intended from then on. To dabble in the sins as never before, instead of being so painstakingly⊠good. I was happy for the first time since Linda was stolen away. I gambled for the first time, had sex outside of marriage. Lots of sex. Alcohol on a night out.â Paul listed several reasons he enjoyed dancing with the devil, for some reason speaking directly in my direction.
âFor what? What is it achieving?â I couldnât help but get involved in this debate.
âSatan promised me a joyous return to the underworld. Where we can do as we want when we want,â Paul kept referring to âwe.â
âWhat if heâs lying to you, as God did?â McCall asked curiously.
Paul refused to listen to McCallâs interjections.
âYou canât break laws depending on your personal beliefs. If that were the case, thousands of Christians or Jews alike would be out there, wreaking havoc. Believing in Satan doesnât excuse anyone from committing a murder, let alone two,â I finished, heaving from anger.
McCallâs fury also struggled to subside. I could tell by the way her ears changed pink on top.
âYou wouldnât understand,â Paul shook his head, oblivious to seeing this in any other light. âYou small-minded, petty, oblivious police officers whoââ
âWatch your mouth, or Iâll send you down for two lifetimes instead of one,â I warned him.
âYou mentioned rules. If not Godâs then whoâs?â McCall altered the original statement ever so slightly to fit Paulâs warped perceptions.
âMy saviour. I live my life by his rules, but some people break those rules.â
Now, it got interesting. Paul fisted the bed sheets tightly, an inner dialogue playing out in his head to help him decide whether to spill the beans or not. A literal angel and devil on his shoulders. The guy was a walking symbol of faith.
âThe dead boy found me walking on the Bay, alone at night,â Paul said at last. âHe came to mug me, treating me like all the other pitiful people heâd mugged before me. I warned him, and when he refused to leave, I destroyed him.â
âIâll say,â McCallâs horrific memories of Gavinâs body came back to haunt the unsuspecting sergeant.
âI remembered seeing the kidâs face plastered over the news once, for raping somebodyâs young girl without consent. I served real justice, unlike you,â Paulâs eyes hardened as he stared at us.
âAn eye for an eye never works,â I half quoted the bible, having seen many revenge acts in my career. They never solved another crime or bettered an act committed in the first place.
âNot in Godâs book, because he wants us to be weaker than Him,â Paul asserted. âIâm not the bad guy here.â
I scoffed and nearly choked on my own bile in disbelief. Paul reached out for a clear plastic cup of water, filled at the nurse's expense by their drinks fountain. I wouldâve filled it up from dirty toilet water, personally. His set of rotting teeth bit down on the plastic. Once. Then twice. Then again, before finally downing a load of water in one.
âAnd Laura? What did she do wrong? What rule could she possibly have broken?â McCallâs tears shone in her eyes but not from sadness. No, those were tears of intense wrath at this man who could sit there and admit to killing people so easily.
âI found Laura by the Bay, and she recognised me from the church. Her faith in God was wavering too, so I told her nothing but the truth. She invited me back to her house for a chat, and thatâs when she told me she didnât want to live anymore.â The plastic cup pinged in between Paulâs squeezing fingers, imagining the feel of flesh from Lauraâs twisting body. âLaura begged me to relieve her from all her inner conflicts.â
âYou didnât
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