‘Did he give you much?’

‘Not as such.’

‘But?’

‘His employer might have been using club doormen as muscle on anyone falling behind with their rent. One way for them to earn a crust when lockdown was at its height.’ Rebus nodded but stayed silent. ‘Remember I told you I watched the daughter do a DJ set last night? Doormen kept going up to talk to her.’

‘She’s the one doing the recruiting?’ he guessed.

‘Stands to reason.’ Clarke checked the time on her phone. ‘Your old pal Fleck should have been here by now.’

‘Malcolm’s got him in one of the interview rooms.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘I arrived the same time as him.’

‘You shouldn’t be here.’ She took him by the arm again and led him into the corridor.

‘But you do need to question me?’

‘At some point, yes.’

‘Whenever you like, Siobhan – I won’t even demand a lawyer.’

Clarke gave a sigh. ‘And of course you’ve been talking to Rob Driscoll, too.’ She glanced in the direction of the two interview rooms.

‘You should be in there,’ Rebus advised.

‘Once I’ve seen you off the premises.’

‘I’ve not lost my sense of direction.’

‘You do have a tendency to wander, though.’ She gestured to the stairs with one hand. Rebus headed down.

‘You won’t get anything from Alan Fleck, you know,’ he told her. ‘He’s as savvy as they come, and he’s got a hide like a rhino.’

‘He’s also mentioned on every other page of those Complaints files. Maybe if we promise to go easy, he’ll become a bit more amen­able.’

‘Fox has no intention of going easy on the likes of Fleck – you told me so yourself.’

‘Which is why I’m going to make my presence known in the inter­view room, just as soon as you’re safely off the premises. Don’t want Malcolm ignoring the bigger picture.’

She opened the door to the reception area, noticing two uniformed officers standing there shuffling their feet. She recognised one of them.

‘You still wanting that kiss?’ she demanded of him.

‘Thought you were Gayfield Square,’ he shot back.

‘I’m everywhere – and I’m particularly looking forward to asking you some questions.’ She saw another face she knew. ‘The queue at the nightclub last night?’ she said, pointing at the man. ‘I hope you’re as chatty today.’ The officer’s face began to colour. ‘Won’t keep you waiting longer than we have to.’

Clarke made eye contact with Rebus for a moment before heading back through the door. Rebus stood in front of the two uniforms.

‘All right, Chris?’

‘Long time, John.’ Chris Agnew angled his head towards his red-faced companion. ‘This is Deek Turnbull. He’s fairly new to the game. Deek, this is John Rebus.’