Soutar approached the chamber and beckoned Raven forth, prompting him to spring to his feet.

‘The fiscal is here,’ he said. ‘It’s time for the charge against you to be made formal.’

The gate was opened and Raven stepped through.

‘What then?’ he asked, as his hands were bound once more.

‘You will be taken to Calton Jail to await trial.’

Raven was led out of the asylum, down the alley and towards the police office. Up above, the sky was black with rain.

He was shoved roughly through a door, inside of which he found McLevy seated at a desk. He had a pen in one hand, the other resting upon a sheaf of hand-written documents. Next to him was a portly and bewhiskered gentleman in fine tailoring, reading over McLevy’s shoulder.

McLevy looked up briefly then resumed writing. A long silence ensued. Raven interpreted its purpose as being to unsettle him, which seemed an unnecessary tactic. He thought of what Gregor had told him, and considered that McLevy was used to dealing with more hardened criminals.

Eventually McLevy stopped writing and looked up again.

‘This is Mr Auberon Findlay, Procurator Fiscal,’ he announced, with a gravity clearly intended to intimidate. ‘Mr Findlay, this is William Raven.’

‘Wilberforce Raven,’ he corrected. ‘Doctor.’

‘Ah, yes, sorry,’ said McLevy with a nasty twinkle. ‘I forgot the significance of your profession with regard to the means by which Dr Banks was murdered.’

‘There was no murder,’ Raven countered.

‘Silence,’ McLevy commanded, holding up a palm. ‘Save your words for the judge. There is nothing you need to say while the charge is being prepared. Mr Findlay has been apprised of all the relevant information.’

Then Raven heard a familiar and most welcome voice.

‘I would contest that assertion most robustly, Mr McLevy.’

He turned around to see the front door being held open by Jarvis as the professor swept into the room in his hat and sealskin coat, water dripping off its tails.

‘Dr Simpson,’ Findlay said, his tone expressing surprise and, Raven was encouraged to note, an unmistakable degree of reverence. ‘You have an interest in this matter?’

‘I have just learned of Dr Raven’s predicament and consider the accusation against him flawed to the point of absurdity.’

McLevy got to his feet.

‘I understand your loyalty to your assistant, Dr Simpson, but I am acting upon information from a very reliable witness: a fellow of your acquaintance, in fact.’

‘His witness is Quinton,’ Raven said. ‘The man has been stealing money from you, Dr Simpson. I discovered this and gave him an ultimatum to confess to you. Instead he went to McLevy, thinking if I ended up in jail, you would never be any the wiser.’

Simpson nodded sagely, as though this was no great revelation. ‘Jarvis had guessed as much,’ he said.