‘All right, that makes sense,’ Ava agreed, privately wishing she’d known that before climbing onto Tantallon’s walls in her misguided fit of heroism.

‘There’s a girlfriend, lovely thing – came in to speak to me about Stephen. Rosa, if I remember correctly. Perhaps you could have a member of your team speak with her.’

‘No problem,’ Ava said, leaving Ailsa to get on with her day.

Sitting in her car, she took a couple of minutes out to text Natasha. Antibiotics or not, she was going to need a drink later.

Ditch the girlfriend for an evening and meet me, she typed.

Natasha replied immediately.

Thought you’d never ask. Whighams Wine Cellars 8 p.m. And change your clothes first. Cocktails are on me.

Exactly what was required, Ava decided. Cocktails with Natasha was usually a recipe for disaster, but the way she was feeling right now, it could only be an improvement. That was the theory, anyway.

Chapter Twelve

5 March

DI Pax Graham and DC Janet Monroe sat in the interview room opposite Callanach, each of them tense and awkwardly polite. Having handed in his statement first thing to give the investigating team time to peruse it, Callanach had made it clear he was happy to be interviewed formally, on tape.

Callanach ran through the history he’d discussed with Ava, leaving out any parts that gave him a potential motive for harming Bruce Jenson, then described his visit in brief terms.

‘So the vase,’ Graham asked. ‘How did that come to get broken?’

‘Mr Jenson had dribbled down his chin. It seemed overkill to ask a nurse to come and deal with it but callous to leave it as it was, so I walked round the room looking for a towel or tissue paper. In the process, I knocked the vase with my elbow and upset the contents onto the floor. The vase smashed and there were a few old flowers and a small amount of water to clear up. I wiped his chin first with a paper towel, then cleared up the floor and put the debris in the bin,’ Callanach explained.

‘Did you notice any problem with the glass in the patio door when you were in Mr Jenson’s room?’ Graham continued.

Callanach gave it a moment, drawing his eyebrows together as if concentrating.

‘I didn’t notice anything wrong.’

‘It was smashed when the nurse found Mr Jenson dead,’ Graham said. ‘It would have been easy for an intruder to have reached in and unlocked the door to gain entry. There was glass found on the floor inside the room, suggesting that it had been kicked in from the outside.’

Callanach hid his surprise.

‘There wasn’t any glass on the floor when I was in there. I would have noticed, especially given the fact that I cleared up the broken vase.’