So she asked: Was anyone playing the game apart from Flip?

They waited a minute for the response.

Yes.

She looked at Bain. ‘He said before that there wasn’t.’

‘He was either lying then, or he’s lying now. Fact that you asked the question again makes me think you didn’t believe him first time round.’

How many? Siobhan typed.

Three.

Pitted against each other? Did they know?

They knew.

They knew who they were playing against?

A thirty-second pause. Absolutely not.

‘Truth or lie?’ Siobhan asked Bain.

‘I’m busy wondering if Mr Marr’s had enough time to get back to his office.’

‘Someone in his profession, wouldn’t surprise me if he kept a laptop and mobile in the car, just to stay ahead of the game.’ She smiled at the unmeant pun.

‘I could call his office …’ Bain was already reaching for the phone. Siobhan recited the bank’s number.

‘Mr Marr’s office, please,’ Bain said into the receiver. Then: ‘Is that Mr Marr’s assistant? It’s DS Bain here, Lothian Police. Could I have a word with Mr Marr?’ He looked at Siobhan. ‘Due back any minute? Thank you.’ Then an afterthought. ‘Oh, is there any way I could contact him in his car? He doesn’t have access to e-mails there, does he?’ A pause. ‘No, it’s okay, thank you. I’ll call again later.’ He put the phone down. ‘No in-car e-mails.’

‘As far as his assistant knows,’ Siobhan said quietly.

Bain nodded.

‘These days,’ she went on, ‘all you need is a phone.’ A WAP phone, she was thinking, just like Grant’s. For some reason her mind flashed to that morning in the Elephant House … Grant busy on a crossword he’d already completed, trying to impress the woman at the next table … She got to work on her next message:

Can you tell me who they were? Do you know who they are? The reply was immediate.

No.

No you can’t or no you don’t?

No to both. Stricture awaits.

One final thing, Master. How did you come to choose Flip?

She came to me, as you did.

But how did she find you?

Stricture clue will follow shortly.

‘I think he’s had enough,’ Bain said. ‘Probably not used to his slaves talking back.’

Siobhan thought about trying to keep the dialogue going, then nodded her agreement.

‘I don’t think I’m quite Grant Hood’s standard,’ Bain added. She frowned, not understanding. ‘In the puzzle-solving department,’ he explained.

‘Let’s wait and see about that.’

‘Meantime, I can get that stuff PDQ’d to SB.’