“That bad, eh? So, what’s been happening?” Lindsay settled back in her seat to catch up on the newspaper gossip that she’d missed in her absence. Why is it, she wondered with amusement, that whenever two or more journalists get together, there isn’t a reputation left intact by the end of the encounter?

“I think that’s about it,” Blair said as he wound up. “Oh no, wait a minute. Did you hear about Alistair McGrath’s company medical?”

Lindsay shook her head. “Tell me,” she said.

“Well, the doctor examined him, and he was asking him all the questions about medical history, smoking and all that. So he says, ‘And what do you drink?’ Quick as a flash mad McGrath says, ‘What have you got?’” Blair convulsed with laughter as he reached the story’s punchline.

When Lindsay stopped laughing, she said, “Time to be serious. I need your help, Blair.”

His eyebrows rose and he stroked his mustache. “I hear that people who help you these days have a way of setting into bother,” he said carefully. “Mind you, we’ve pulled each other out of the shit enough times. What’s the problem?”

“Bill Grace’s story this morning. About Jedburgh and the prisons. I need to know where he got it from.”

Blair whistled softly. “Christ, Lindsay, that’s a tall order. You’ll have to form an orderly queue behind the Special Branch.”

“That’s exactly why I need to know. The Branch picked me up this afternoon because they’ve got a bee in their bonnet that I was the person who leaked the documents to Bill.”

“But what’s it got to do with you?”

“The story was based on a leaked Scottish Office draft report that was stolen yesterday afternoon. Unluckily for me, I happened to be in the building where the burglary took place. And with my track record . . .” Lindsay tailed off.

“I see. Christ, you’ve only been back five minutes and already you’re causing mayhem. So you want to know who gave Bill his info so you can get yourself out of the firing line.”

“Not exactly,” she replied. “Whoever did that burglary also walked away with some other bits and pieces that he’d no right to. The woman who was burgled happens to be a friend, and I promised I’d try to get them back for her. Look, you know me. I’m not going to grass Bill’s source to the police. I believe in protecting sources as much as anybody. It’s purely so that I can get this other stuff back.”

Blair looked doubtful. “I don’t know, Lindsay. It all sounds a bit iffy to me. Why don’t you ask Bill yourself?”