Both men looked at her, Harry with astonished anger and Alex with amusement. “You heard the lady,” Alex said.

“I should have known you were trouble the minute I clapped eyes on you,” Harry muttered as he put the bundle of tenners on the table.

Alex’s eyes lit up at the sight of the money. It would be cocaine tonight instead of speed, Lindsay thought sadly. He moved toward it, but Lindsay swiftly interposed her body between him and the table. “Aw, c’mon!” he complained.

“All in good time,” Lindsay said, keeping half an eye on Harry who was rifling through the bag’s contents, an anxious look on his face. “All present and correct, Harry?” she asked.

He nodded doubtfully. “I think so. If you try and double-cross me, you little bastard . . .”

“You’ll what, Harry? Give me a good spanking?” Alex asked sweetly.

Harry flushed purple. “You . . .” he spluttered.

“I’ll see you down at the car, Harry,” Lindsay said calmly. “I just want to have a wee word with Alex here.”

Harry looked as if he was about to protest, but gave up without a fight. He edged out of the room, swearing under his breath.

“Don’t vote, it only encourages them,” Alex giggled as Lindsay moved away and let him get to the money. He rifled the bundles of notes gleefully. “Did you see his face? He was really shitting it, wasn’t he?”

“Alex. About that other business. I was telling you a wee white lie when I said I was just nosy.”

Immediately, the wary look came back into his eyes. “Oh aye?” he said.

Lindsay perched on the chair arm again. “The woman they put away for Alison Maxwell’s murder is a good friend of mine. Her girlfriend hired me to see if I could clear Jackie’s name. So far, I’ve come up with plenty of suspects but no hard evidence. Now, what you told me this morning makes a big difference to me. I want you to help me. I want to see if you can identify the woman you saw that day.”

“You must be kidding. I told you before, I can’t go to the police,” Alex objected.

“You won’t have to go to the police,” Lindsay added, not caring whether it was the truth or not. “You see, once I know who it is, I can easily find other evidence to corroborate it.”

“Oh aye. And once I’ve fingered the killer, what’s to stop her killing me?”

“It’s not you she’s got to worry about. It’s me. If anybody’s taking a risk, it’s me. I’m not talking about a one-to-one confrontation. I’m talking about a lot of witnesses. Will you help me, Alex?”

“Why should I? What’s in it for me?” he demanded shrewdly.