She looked at him for a moment but he met her gaze without flinching. ‘Remind me again how you know Valerie Docherty.’

‘As I said last time, we jointly own a property.’

‘Lamond Lodge.’

‘The very same.’

‘You were vague on how this came about,’ Clare said. ‘Maybe you could think again.’

He shrugged. ‘I’m always on the lookout, you know, houses to invest in. Like I said, someone put me in touch with Val.’

‘As with Mr Mooney, someone passed on her name?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Mr Gerrard, you are a reasonably successful businessman.’ She let this hang in the air for a moment then said, ‘I find it hard to believe so many of your contacts are so casual – people you can’t remember, men you meet in pubs – this doesn’t sound to me like an efficient way to run a business.’

‘To be honest, Inspector, that sounds like a you-problem.’

Tony folded his arms. ‘And yet, Mr Gerrard, here you are.’

‘Not for much longer, Chief Inspector.’ He glanced at his solicitor.

‘Indeed,’ the solicitor said. ‘Mr Gerrard has answered your questions. I think perhaps we’ve trespassed on your time long enough, officers.’

‘Aye,’ Doug Gerrard said, ‘trespassed.’

Clare smiled then said, ‘Mr Gerrard, you were contemplating the purchase of a chain of pubs on Glasgow’s south side. Is that correct?’

A slight frown appeared on the solicitor’s face.

Ah, Clare thought, you weren’t expecting that, were you?

Doug Gerrard said, ‘Who told you that?’

‘Someone mentioned it,’ Clare said, before she could stop herself.

He had the grace to laugh. ‘Touché, Inspector.’ Then he said, ‘I was thinking about it.’

‘And were you financing it yourself?’

‘Maybe.’

‘What was the likely cost?’ Clare asked.

‘Not sure.’

‘Did you have a budget in mind?’

He took a moment to respond. ‘It was at an early stage. Nothing set in stone.’

Clare decided it was time to show her hand. ‘Were you considering a joint investment with Russell Fox?’

For the first time Clare thought she saw his expression change. The smirk was gone, his eyes steely and she was suddenly glad Tony was sitting next to her.

Then he said, ‘Done your homework, Inspector.’

‘Just answer the question please.’

‘We talked about it.’

‘And were you aware of any other plans Mr Fox had? I gather he planned to sell his restaurants and invest the money in one or two projects.’

‘I wasn’t his keeper, Inspector. I said I had an idea and would he be interested. He said he was. I’ve no idea what else he was thinking about.’

Clare nodded at this. He’d clearly spent his time on the journey from Glasgow wisely, going over his story. ‘You knew Mr Fox had health problems?’