‘A fond farewell to his secret lover?’

‘If Claire Benzie’s telling the truth.’

‘Why else would he run?’

Rebus stared at her. ‘I think you know the answer to that one.’

‘You mean if Marr killed her?’

‘I thought you had him in the frame.’

She was thoughtful. ‘That was before this happened. I don’t think Quizmaster would run.’

‘Maybe Quizmaster didn’t kill Flip Balfour.’

Siobhan nodded. ‘That’s my point. I had Marr in the frame for Quizmaster.’

‘Meaning she was killed by someone else?’

The coffees arrived, and with them the ubiquitous mints. Siobhan dunked hers in the hot liquid, quickly hoisting it into her mouth. Without being asked, the waiter had brought the bill with their coffees.

‘Split it down the middle?’ Siobhan suggested. Rebus nodded, took three fivers from his pocket.

Outside, he asked how she was getting home.

‘My car’s at St Leonard’s: need a lift?’

‘Nice night for a walk,’ he said, looking up at the clouds. ‘Just promise me you will go home, take a break …’

‘Promise, Mum.’

‘And now that you’ve convinced yourself that Quizmaster didn’t kill Flip …’

‘Yes?’

‘Well, you don’t have to bother with the game any more, do you?’

She blinked, told him she supposed he was right. But he could see she didn’t believe it. The game was her part of the case. She couldn’t just let it go … He knew he’d have felt the same way.

They parted on the pavement, Rebus heading back to the flat. When he got in, he called Jean, but she wasn’t at home. Maybe another late night at the Museum, but she wasn’t answering there either. He stood in front of his dining table, staring at the case notes there. He’d pinned some sheets to the wall, detailing the four women – Jesperson, Gibbs, Gearing and Farmer. He was trying to answer a question: why would the killer leave the coffins? Okay, they were his ‘signature’, but that signature had not been recognised. It had taken the best part of thirty years for someone to realise that there even was a signature. If the killer had hoped to be identified with his crimes, wouldn’t he have repeated the exercise, or tried some other method: a note to the media or the police? So say they weren’t a signature as such; say his motive had been … what? Rebus saw them as little memorials, holding meaning only for the person who’d left them there. And couldn’t the same be said for the Arthur’s Seat coffins? Why had the person responsible not come forward in some form? Answer: because once found, the coffins had ceased to have meaning for their creator. They’d been memorials, never meant to be found or associated with the Burke and Hare killings …