‘From what I could gather, she was hoping to raise funds to cover the expenses she was incurring by being locked out of her flat which is still a crime scene and then she elaborated with a few almost unintelligible sentences about her husband being killed with a toaster. Most of what she said made little sense, but she managed to get her account details correct several times while she was speaking. She also referred any questions about how people could help, to someone she called her manager; although it looked to me as if his management style was at the personal rather than professional end of the spectrum.’

‘Would that be someone called Beef by any chance?’ Callanach asked.

‘So, you’re up to date with the case. Fortunately, in spite of the not terribly grief-stricken Mrs Shozo bombarding every media outlet with an invitation, very few of Edinburgh’s finest journalists bothered to attend at the pub last night, but there were at least four of us who were serious about getting the details and the rest will have picked up the story by now. So, why the radio silence from the police if this was a murder?’

‘It’s off the record, Lance. You’ll have to go through the media liaison officer if you want something you can print,’ Callanach said, starting the engine. It was freezing and the inside of the windows were misting over.

‘Just give me something I can follow up and pretend it was through my own genius deduction,’ Lance joked.

‘Shozo had no known enemies. No debts that we’re aware of. No criminal history or dubious acquaintances. In fact, he had a job offer and was about to leave the mainland for a while.’

‘That pretty much reflects what his widow said last night. So you could do with some help, right? Anyone who knew him, or who could give you a better idea about his last movements, how he might have attracted the attention of the wrong person.’

‘Yes, but you’ll have to be careful. Mrs Shozo is obviously more interested in talking to the press than she was in talking to us. If you can get hold of her again, see if she’ll give you a one-on-one interview – maybe you could use it to do a bigger feature. And as for the toaster, I’m not confirming anything.’

‘You’re not denying it,’ Lance commented.

‘I wouldn’t recommend that tactic given the day I’m having,’ Callanach cautioned him. ‘I’ll see you soon, okay?’

‘That’s what you always say. Stay well, Luc. Call if you need me.’