‘You already know DS Lumsden.’ Sitting over by the door, head bowed, legs apart. He looked exhausted, embarrassed. Grogan sat down opposite Rebus at the table. They were in a biscuit-tin, though they probably had another name for it in Furry Boot Town.

‘No point beating around the bush,’ Grogan said. He looked about as comfortable on the chair as a prize Aberdeen Angus. ‘How did you get the bruises?’

‘I told Lumsden.’

‘Tell me.’

‘I was mugged by a couple of message-boys. Their message was a pistol whipping.’

‘Any other scars?’

‘They pushed me over a wall, I hit a thorn-bush on the way down. My side’s scratched.’

‘Is that it?’

‘That’s it. Look, I appreciate your concern, but —’

‘But that’s not our concern, Inspector. DS Lumsden says he dropped you off down by the docks, night before last.’

‘That’s right.’

‘I believe he offered you a lift to your hotel.’

‘Probably.’

‘But you didn’t want that.’

Rebus looked over at Lumsden. What the fuck is going on? But Lumsden’s gaze was still concentrated floorwards. ‘I felt like a walk.’

‘Back to your hotel?’

‘Right.’

‘And on the way, you were beaten up?’

‘With a pistol.’

A smile, mixing sympathy with disbelief. ‘In Aberdeen, Inspector?’

‘There’s more than one Aberdeen. I don’t see what this has to do with anything.’

‘Bear with me. So you walked home?’

‘To the very expensive hotel Grampian Police provided for me.’

‘Ah, the hotel. We’d pre-booked for a visiting Chief Constable, only he cancelled at the last minute. We’d have ended up paying anyway. I believe DS Lumsden used his initiative and decided you might as well stay there. Highland courtesy, Inspector.’

Highland fabrication more like.

‘If that’s your story.’

‘It’s not my story that’s important here. On this walk home of yours, did you see anyone, speak to anyone?’

‘No.’ Rebus paused. ‘I saw a crew of your finest in discussion with a couple of teenagers.’

‘You spoke to them?’

Rebus shook his head. ‘Didn’t want to interfere. This isn’t my patch.’

‘From what DS Lumsden tells me, you’ve been acting like it was.’

Rebus caught Lumsden’s eyes. They stared right through him.

‘Did a doctor look at your injuries?’

‘I fixed myself up. Hotel reception had a first aid kit.’

‘They asked you if you wanted a doctor.’ A statement.

‘I said it wasn’t necessary. Lowland self-reliance.’

A cool smile from Grogan. ‘You spent yesterday on an oil rig, I believe.’

‘With DS Lumsden at my heels.’

‘And last night?’

‘I had a drink, went for a walk, ate dinner at the hotel. I put it on the tab, by the way.’

‘Where did you drink?’

‘Burke’s Club, a dope-dealer’s paradise on College Street. My bet is, my attackers started life there. What’s the going rate up here for hiring hard men? Fifty for a duffing? Seventy-five per broken limb?’

Grogan sniffed, rose to his feet. ‘Those prices might be a wee bit on the high side.’

‘Look, with respect, I’m about two hours from out of here. If this is some kind of warning, it’s too much too late.’