He raised his hand, indicating there was more. ‘Interesting thing: his last stretch was for theft of high-end vehicles. Quite an operation he had going. Sheriff said he’d no option but to jail him.’

Clare smiled. It fitted with the theft of the BMW X5. ‘Thanks, Jim.’ She looked round the room. ‘So, Zac, if he was our car thief, he must have arrived in the town somehow. Anything on the bus station CCTV?’

Gary, one of the uniformed officers, raised his hand. ‘Couple of images that could be him, boss,’ he said. ‘There’s a shot of two men walking out of the station. One of them does look like Zac. But it’s hard to be sure.’

‘Can you email your stills to the cops in Leven please?’ Clare said. ‘They might be able to say if it’s him or not. And while you’re at it, get onto his bank and see if his card was used on Friday. If so, let’s have the location. If they’re difficult about it tell them it’s a murder investigation.’

Gary indicated he would do this, and Clare went on. ‘The camera footage from the Lodge shows a black minibus-type van going through the gates on Friday evening. We’ve traced the van and, according to the owner, it was booked to run a party of five women to and from the Lodge. The owner picked them up in town and drove them there. Then she waited in a back room and ran them home about two in the morning. But we know that one of the women didn’t go back with the others.’ Clare waited for this to sink in then went on. ‘The mum of our missing toddler was away from home until around ten on Saturday morning. By that time we think Russell Fox was dead.’

‘Is she a person of interest?’ Nita asked.

Clare considered this. ‘On balance, I’d say not. But she’s coming in this morning to make a statement so we’ll see what she has to say for herself.’

‘Anyone else stay the night?’ Nita went on.

Clare spread her hands. ‘Not according to the owner of the van. But I’ll ask the toddler’s mum.’

‘Could the gunman have been in the van too?’ Janey asked.

‘It’s possible. SOCO are going over it now. I’ve asked them to swab for DNA plus gunshot residue.’

‘Hold on, though,’ Chris said. ‘If the minibus left the Lodge at two in the morning, and we think Russell was shot after that, there won’t be any gunshot residue. The gun wouldn’t have been fired by then.’

He had a point. ‘Probably not,’ Clare conceded. ‘But chances are this wasn’t a new gun. Most likely been fired in the past so, unless it was thoroughly wiped down, there could be residue from previous use. Either way,’ she added, ‘it makes sense to check.’