He hauled himself up and pulled his jacket on again. ‘If you’re going to do that all the way, you’re going in the boot.’

‘Porn!’ She did a little hop-skip, then turned and trundled down the corridor. ‘Been ages since we’ve seen the chunky monkey. Think he’ll still remember me? ’

Logan closed and locked the office door. ‘Wish I didn’t.’

‘I heard that.’ But she didn’t stop.

He followed her down the stairs, through the station’s rear doors, and out onto the rear podium car park. It was bordered on two sides by the concrete bulk of Force Headquarters, the mortuary on the third, and the back side of King Street, turning it into a sun trap.

A couple of uniforms were lounging against the little dividing wall that ran along the ramp down to road level, faces turned to the sky, sunglasses glinting, their bare arms going an angry shade of Barbie pink.

Steel hauled out her cigarettes and popped one in her mouth. Then patted down her pockets. ‘Arsebiscuits. . .’ She looked at Logan. ‘Well? ’

‘Thought you’d given up.’

‘Quitting is for wimps. Besides, if I’m going to be stuck with your miserable mug all afternoon, I’ll need a wee nicotine buzz going. It’s this or the whisky.’ She cupped her hands around her mouth in a makeshift loudhailer. ‘Hoy, Chuckle Brothers, either of you got a light? ’

Someone tugged at Logan’s sleeve. ‘Guv? ’

He turned, and there was PC Sim, blinking in the sunlight. She sneezed a couple of times, like a shotgun going off in a bath. Then wiped her nose. ‘Sorry.’ Another sneeze. A blink. Pause. ‘Big Gary says you’re not allowed out till you’ve seen your visitor. Sir.’

‘I don’t have any—’

‘Sorry, Guv, it’s. . .’ She screwed up one side of her face and then the sneezing was back.

Logan left her, doubled over by a battered police van, and hauled out his phone. Punched in the number for Sergeant McCormack. ‘What visitor? ’

‘Aye, and hello to you too. Sim get you? ’

She was still at it – sneezing and sneezing and sneezing.

‘What visitor, Gary? ’

‘The visitor who’s been waiting in the reception room for the last twenty minutes.’

He stared up at the building, looming in black and grey over the car park. ‘You could’ve bloody said! I’ve been in my office for the last—’

‘Your guest’s getting a wee bit tetchy, by the way. Might be an idea to come see them before you sod off with old Wrinklechops.’

‘Who? Who’s waiting for me, Gary? ’

A pause. ‘You’ll see.’

By the time Logan had reached reception, Big Gary was standing behind the desk, a huge fat smile on his huge fat face. He grinned through the safety glass, then pointed off to the right. ‘In there.’