‘Don’t lie to me. He hasn’t been into work for a while now. I’ve been watching. And yes, you can sit down, but don’t touch Luc. I don’t want either of you to touch each other.’

‘He’s on administrative leave, nothing more than that. He certainly isn’t suspended.’ She sat.

Touching Callanach was the very last thing she’d had in mind when she’d gone round there, but now Astrid was rattled for the first time and Ava could use that. The thought of her and the man she was obsessed with being intimate was what Astrid couldn’t bear. Ava pushed herself far enough back on the bed to be next to Callanach’s feet.

‘What is it you think’s going to happen now? Are you and Luc supposed to go sailing off into the sunset? Only if Luc disappears now, he’ll make himself a suspect and I’m sure you’ll agree he has a face that stands out in a crowd, so trying to stay out of sight might be tricky.’

‘I know places we can go,’ Astrid pouted. ‘You forgot about me pretty quickly when I disappeared and I was right here in Edinburgh most of that time.’

‘You weren’t wanted on suspicion of murder,’ Ava reminded her.

‘And Luc won’t be, either. You already told me it was a woman on the CCTV footage from the care home.’

‘Do you think I’m just going to let you go?’

‘Ava …’ Callanach warned her quietly.

She laid a gentle hand on his ankle and rubbed it affectionately.

‘Don’t worry. Astrid and I can sort this out,’ she said, giving him a warm smile.

Astrid got to her feet.

‘I told you not to touch him,’ she growled. ‘Do you know what I’m holding? You really don’t want to piss me …’

‘Hand grenade.’ Ava cut her off. ‘I’m guessing you bought it in Sweden. They’re easy to get hold of there and much cheaper than most people realise. You probably bought that for, what, no more than fifty euros?’

Astrid stared at her.

‘You’d have taken multiple ferry journeys back. No way you’d have been able to fly with it. Hiding hand grenades in a car, however, is relatively low-risk. They’re currently the favoured weapon of some Swedish gangs. It’s becoming a problem.’

‘You’re so arrogant,’ Astrid hissed. ‘You think I don’t have the guts to pull the pin?’

‘And ruin Luc’s face?’ Ava laughed, reaching out to take hold of Luc’s hand. ‘Why would you do that?’

‘Because if I can’t have him, no one’s going to.’

She stamped a foot, childlike, frowning, clutching her hand around the grenade. The end of her thumb was inserted into the ring and would require some manoeuvring.

Ava slipped her hands into her pocket, gesturing compliance and defeat.