“And they wouldn’t let us,” he whispered through a mouthful of knuckle. “Not after that. Not once they knew. But, she was so desperate. And she was so sad. And… When he phoned. Archie. When he phoned, and when he said what had happened. That young girl. She didn’t want the baby. She couldn’t deal with it. She needed someone to take care of it. To love it, like their own.”

“And Archie thought you fit the bill,” Logan prompted.

Billy sniffed, wiped his eyes on his sleeve, then nodded. “I drove up on Wednesday. Louise and I. We both did. I wasn’t sure. I thought… I thought we might get into trouble, or… I don’t know.” The suggestion of a smile changed the shape of his whole face. “And then I saw her. I saw her sitting there in her wee chair. Fast asleep. Wee gloves on to stop her scratching herself. Tiny things, they were.”

He closed his eyes, transporting himself back to another time and place, reliving all the details of it.

“And Louise, she made this… this noise. This… I don’t know how to describe it. But it was love. That sound. It was love.” The smile became a troubled thing, and agitation twitched and furrowed his brow. “There was no harm done,” he insisted, the snapping open of his eyes bringing him hurtling back to the here and now. “It was a win-win. The young lady wanted rid, the baby needed a home, and we wanted to provide it. There were no losers in the transaction. Everyone came away happy!”

“Aye, see, you say that, Billy, but Jazmin McAllister was found dead this evening,” Logan revealed.

Billy stared. Silent. Mute. Behind his eyes, his brain worked furiously to try to process what he’d just been told.

“What? No. What?”

The words were soft and murmured, like he’d switched into low power mode while he came to terms with this unexpected turn of events.

“Not… not murdered?” he asked. “An accident?”

“At this stage, we believe she took her own life,” Logan replied.

This time, Billy’s hands were shaking too badly to find his mouth. “Oh God. Oh God. Oh no, oh God.”

“Turns out not everyone came away from the ‘transaction’ happy after all, Mr Pinnock,” DCI Filson said.

On the other side of the table, Billy finally broke all the way. His body convulsed with shock, and sorrow, and shame. He gripped his arms, digging his nails in, and sobbed through gritted teeth, tears, and sweat, and snot glistening all over his face.

“I think we need to take a break there,” his solicitor said. “My client is visibly distressed and unable to answer any further questions at the moment.”

“One final question, then we’ll call it a night,” Logan said.

“Detective Chief Inspector—” the solicitor started to protest, but Logan brushed the objection aside.

“Billy. Billy? Look at me.”