“My, my,” Rebus said. Her eyes were on him now, seeking an explanation. “It was when Macari and her team walked into the canteen,” he obliged. “You straightened your back a little and checked your fringe. I thought maybe it was for her benefit. I don’t remember any of the men looking particularly bright or beautiful.”

“Then you’re not much of a detective.”

“It has been said. So is he taking you somewhere nice?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“Takes a bit of time to get gussied up—I was just thinking I could do Great King Street on my own…”

But Clarke was shaking her head. “You’re still on ‘probation,’ remember? One screwup and you’re back where you started.”

“Yes, boss.” He paused. “So he’s not taking you anywhere posh? Means he’s not very senior—don’t tell me you’ve got yourself a toy boy?”

Clarke jabbed a finger into his chest. “Everybody has a breaking point, John.” But she was smiling, and Rebus was smiling too. He turned towards Esson and Ogilvie.

“Either of you two up for a bit of surveillance tonight?”

“I’m warning you,” Clarke said, jabbing him harder this time.

Great King Street was a wide thoroughfare in the New Town, stretching from Howe Street to Drummond Place. Three and four stories high, the terrace had probably all been houses when built in the early nineteenth century, but now many of these had been subdivided into flats. Rebus had never been a huge fan of the New Town. For one thing, you had to climb a steep incline to get back to the city center. There were also no front gardens, and parking was difficult. The door they were looking for had four buzzers beside it, with TRAYNOR/BELL at the top.

“Presumably meaning top floor,” Rebus muttered.

“Maybe no one’s home,” Clarke offered by way of consolation. But when she pressed the button, a voice crackled through the intercom.

“Miss Bell?” Clarke guessed.

“Yes.”

“It’s the police. We need to talk to you about Jessica.”

“I knew it! Door’s unlocked—we’re on the top floor.”

“I knew it,” Rebus echoed, turning the handle.

By the time they had climbed the first flight, he was breathing heavily, and Clarke was asking him to remind her how he’d passed the physical. He coughed a reply and watched as a head appeared over the banister.

“Up here,” Alice or Alison Bell said. As she ushered the two detectives inside, Clarke decided to check.

“It’s Alice,” the student confirmed.