“We’re hoping to find out. The man you killed was no saint, Mr. Traynor.”

“Can’t say I’ve encountered too many saints in my life.”

“Me neither,” Rebus agreed.

Outside, he used Rory Bell’s key to open the boot of the X5.

“Bloody hell,” Fox gasped.

A couple of shotguns and their cartridges. A holdall filled with bags of white powder. Thick bundles of what looked like counterfeit cash. Plus a laptop, Rolexes, necklace and brooch—the proceeds from the break-in at the McCuskey house.

“If I didn’t know better,” Fox mused, “I’d say Owen Traynor just did the world a favor.”

“Lucky you know better, then,” Rebus responded, closing the boot and readying to wait for the SOCOs.

“You two look pretty chirpy,” Siobhan Clarke said as Fox and Rebus marched into Torphichen police station. She had been waiting for them, so that all three could report to DCI Ralph.

“How’s Maggie Blantyre?” Rebus asked.

“Shell-shocked.”

“And Dod?”

“His nephew’s coping. Meantime…” She fixed her eyes on Malcolm Fox. “Solicitor General wants a nice long debrief from you—Philip Kennedy, Billy Saunders, Summerhall…”

Fox tried not to look in Rebus’s direction. “There’s not much actual evidence. A lot’s going to remain circumstantial.”

“Tell her that,” she said, leading the way to Ralph’s office. He was behind his desk, but got up to shake hands before gesturing for them to sit down.

“We picked up Rory Bell’s goons,” he said. “They’re in interview rooms one and two. With the charges hanging over them, I reckon at least one will end up telling us the story of the visit to the Justice Minister’s house. Looks like we all got results to be proud of—with the possible exception of DCI Page.” Ralph was focusing on Rebus. “I know you’ve had your share of run-ins with him, but there’ll be a job for you somewhere. Meantime, I hope the three of you have planned a celebration of some kind.”

“On Police Scotland’s tab?” Clarke asked.

“Doubtful—we’re supposed to be saving money, remember.”

“Then it’ll probably be a Greggs pasty and a bottle of pop.”

“As long as it’s not in office hours.” Ralph smiled, flicking a hand in the direction of the door to let them know the meeting was over.