‘But I do. You need your own space and it’s not healthy, working together and being such good friends. I could have taken a taxi home last night,’ she smiled. ‘I should’ve done. Let’s not talk about it again. I’ll cover it with DI Graham. Was everything okay between the two of you?’

‘Sure,’ Callanach lied. ‘So you met Rune Maclure. Did you like him?’

‘Yes, I did. Not so sure about his assistant, though. There’s something about getting a disapproving stare from a twenty-year-old that makes my blood boil,’ she laughed. ‘And I think that possibly Maclure gave me his number for non-professional reasons. I wasn’t sure how to handle it, to be honest, it’s been that long since anyone was interested in me.’

‘Are you going to call him?’ Callanach asked before he could stop himself. ‘I thought you two might hit it off.’

‘No, I’m not,’ Ava declared. ‘As if I haven’t got enough on my plate. We’ve got two active investigations, with new team members to train, and I look worse than I can ever remember.’

‘That obviously didn’t bother Maclure,’ Callanach noted.

‘Then the man’s an idiot and however attractive he might be, I don’t date idiots. Right, I need to update the queen of profanity. Wish me luck. I’ll take a raincheck on the cinema. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is playing from tomorrow as part of the midnight classics run up at York Place.’

‘Would I enjoy it?’ Callanach asked.

‘No, but I would. I’ve got to go. Organise the squad. We’re already three weeks behind whoever did this, so we’ll need to move fast.’

Callanach watched her go, wondering where she got her energy from. They hadn’t fallen asleep until 2 a.m., and she was up again at six to get home and change. He should have spoken to her about his concerns over the Jenson murder, but Ava had enough on her plate already.

Opening his laptop, he sat down to write an email that was long overdue since his vacation. His mother had a right to know that Bruce Jenson was dead, but he didn’t want her concerned over him being implicated. He decided to keep it short and simple.

Maman,

I’m writing to let you know that when I returned to England I decided to find Jenson and Western. I didn’t tell you before because I knew it would be upsetting for you. I hope it will help you to know that Bruce Jenson is dead. He had advanced dementia and died in a nursing home. I have no news on Gilroy Western. Busy here again, so forgive me if I don’t call in the next couple of weeks.

All my love,

Luc.