“Aye, or that mate of his, Stefan Gilmour,” someone else piped up.

“Guy like that can spend his way out of any amount of trouble,” the first speaker argued. “See, when you back out of buying a football team, tends to leave you with a bit of spare cash—am I right, John?”

“Absolutely, Dennis,” Rebus said, handing over his last five-pound note to the barman.

Alone in the flat in Great King Street, Alice Bell splashed water on her face and dried it with a towel, staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were reddened from crying, and she knew the pillow on her narrow single bed would be damp to the touch. She had closed the shutters in her room, aiming to blot out as much of the world as she could. Her knees were threatening to buckle as she made her way to the kitchen, hands brushing the hallway walls as if for support. With her mug of green tea, she settled at her desk in the living room. Her laptop, notes and books—what did any of these mean? Her throat felt cramped, heart pounding. When her phone rang suddenly in the silence, she gave a little gasp of fright. Forbes’s name was on the screen, so she answered.

“It’s me,” he said. “How are you?”

“I should be asking you that. I’m sorry about your dad. I tried calling earlier…”

“I know, thanks. Wasn’t in a position to answer.”

She listened to him exhale noisily.

“And your mum?” she asked.

“Soldiering on.”

“It was a break-in…?”

“Of course it was.”

“No connection…?”

“Let’s not even get into that, Alice, okay?”

“If you’re sure.”

“Of course I’m not sure! ” He paused, his voice calming. “Look, I need to go. Have you been to see Jess?”

“She was sleeping.”

“You spoke to Owen? You know he blames me? He phoned me to tell me as much.”

“You need to steer clear of him.”

“I plan to. Jess should be home in a day or two, and with any luck he’ll bugger off back south.”

“This all feels like my fault,” Alice said quietly.

“We’re in it together, Alice. United we stand and all that. Talk to you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Okay,” she said, listening as he ended the call. She placed the phone on the surface of the desk and stared at it.

“Divided we fall,” she whispered to herself, closing the lid of her laptop.

Day Five

Day Five

9

9