She got to her feet and stretched her legs. It never crossed her mind to try leaving. She felt sure there would be someone outside the door. Lindsay rotated her shoulders and shook her wrists vigorously to loosen up her muscles. For some reason, they had decided she knew more about Ros’s burglary than an innocent bystander should do. But she was determined to give nothing away. Something told her she was in for a long session.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a stranger walked into the room. His face looked as though he’d spent too much of his youth in a boxing ring. “Miss Gordon?” he inquired mildly.

“That’s right. Who are you?”

“Chief Inspector Fraser. Mr. Ainslie tells me you’re not being very cooperative,” he replied, lowering his bulky frame on to a plastic chair that didn’t look equal to the task.

“Mr. Ainslie might have earned my cooperation if he’d given me a clue as to why you’ve brought me here,” Lindsay said.

Fraser pulled a copy of the Scottish Daily Clarion from the inside pocket of his rumpled gray suit. “Come on, Miss Gordon,” he said with an air of weariness. “Don’t tell me you haven’t worked it out. We’re not all daft in the force, you know. Your reputation has gone before you. So when we get a burglary involving politically sensitive information, followed by a press leak, and you’re on the spot, you can’t really be surprised if our fingers get round to pointing at you.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about a press leak. I haven’t even seen today’s papers. I left the house early this morning and I’ve been running around all day. I’ve not had a chance even to look at the front pages,” Lindsay explained.

Fraser shook his head sorrowfully. “I’d hoped you could do a wee bit better than that. You must think I came up the Clyde on a biscuit. After my twenty-two years on the force d’you really expect me to believe that?”

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth,” Lindsay said stubbornly. “Look, Chief Inspector. I’ll happily answer any questions you want to put to me if you’ll only do me the courtesy of either telling me what this is all about or letting me speak to my lawyer. I have rights, and I intend to exercise them.”