‘We?’

‘It’s a long story.’

‘Maybe I could come see you.’

‘This place is a building site. We’ll be there in about an hour, all right?’

Holmes hesitated, then said that would be fine.

‘Brian, this is Jack Morton, an old friend of mine. He’s with Falkirk CID, currently seconded to DI John Rebus.’

Jack winked at Brian. He’d washed the paint off his face and hands. ‘What he means is, I’m supposed to keep him out of trouble.’

‘UN Peacekeeper, eh? Well, come in.’

Brian Holmes had spent the hour tidying the living room. He saw Rebus’s appraisal.

‘Just don’t go into the kitchen – looks like an Apache raiding party’s ridden through.’

Rebus smiled and sat on the sofa, Jack next to him. Brian asked if they wanted anything to drink. Rebus shook his head.

‘Brian, I’ve told Jack a wee bit about what’s happened. He’s a good man, we can speak in front of him. OK?’

Rebus was taking a calculated risk, hoping the afternoon’s bonding had worked. If not, at least they’d made progress on the room: three walls with first coats, and half of one side of the door stripped. Plus a new lock on the door.

Brian Holmes nodded and sat down on a chair. There were photos of Nell on top of the gas fire. It looked like they’d been newly framed and placed there: a makeshift shrine.

‘Is she at her mum’s?’ Rebus asked.

Brian nodded. ‘But mostly working late shifts at the library.’

‘Any chance she’s coming back?’

‘I don’t know.’ Brian made to bite a fingernail, discovered there was nothing there to bite.

‘I’m not sure this is the answer.’

‘What?’

‘You can’t make yourself resign, so you’re going to let Ancram kick you out: not cooperating, acting the mule.’

‘I had a good teacher.’

Rebus smiled. It was true, after all. He’d had Lawson Geddes; and Brian had had him.

‘This happened to me once before,’ Brian went on. ‘At school, I had this really good friend, and we were going to go to university together, only he’d decided to go to Stirling, so I said I’d go there, too. But my first choice had been Edinburgh, and to knock Edinburgh’s offer on the head I had to fail Higher German.’

‘And?’

‘And I sat in the exam hall … knowing if I just sat there and didn’t answer any of the questions, that would be it.’

‘But you answered them?’

Brian smiled. ‘Couldn’t help myself. I got a C pass.’

‘Same problem now,’ Rebus said. ‘If you go this way, you’ll always regret it, because in your heart you don’t want to leave. You like what you’re doing. And beating yourself up about it …’

‘What about beating other people up?’ Brian looked straight at him as he asked the question. Mental Minto, sporting bruises.

‘You lost the head once.’ Rebus held up a finger for emphasis. ‘It was once too often, but you got away with it. I don’t think you’ll do that to anyone ever again.’