‘I don’t know,’ he told her. ‘I’ll have to think …’

Transaction complete, she headed back to her desk. She already had a connector which would link her mobile phone to the laptop. But first she checked Philippa’s computer: no messages, nothing from Quizmaster. Getting online with Grant’s machine took her only a few minutes. Once there, she sent a note to Quizmaster, giving him Grant’s e-mail address:

Maybe I want to play the game. Over to you. Siobhan.

Having sent the message, she left the line open. It would cost her a small fortune when her next mobile bill appeared, but she pushed that thought aside. For now, the game itself was the only lead she had. Even if she had no intention of playing, she still wanted to know more about it. She could see Grant, the other side of the room. He was talking to a couple of other officers. They kept glancing in her direction.

Let them, she thought.

Rebus was at Gayfield Square, and nothing was happening. Which was to say, the place was a flurry of activity, but all the sound and fury couldn’t hope to hide a creeping sense of desperation. The ACC himself had put in an appearance and been briefed by both Gill Templer and Bill Pryde. He’d made it plain that what they needed was ‘a swift conclusion’. Both Templer and Pryde had used the phrase a little later, which was how Rebus knew.

‘DI Rebus?’ One of the woolly-suits was standing in front of him. ‘Boss says she’d like a word.’

When he walked in, she told him to close the door. The place was cramped and smelled of other people’s sweat. Space being at a premium, Gill was sharing this space with two other detectives, working in shifts.

‘Maybe we should start commandeering the cells,’ she said, collecting up mugs from the desk and failing to find anywhere better for them. ‘Could hardly be worse than this.’

‘Don’t go to any trouble,’ Rebus said. ‘I’m not staying.’

‘That’s right, you’re not.’ She put the mugs on the floor, and almost immediately kicked one of them over. Ignoring the spill, she sat down. Rebus stayed standing, as was obligatory, there being no other chairs in the room today. ‘How did you get on in Falls?’

‘I came to a swift conclusion.’

She glared at him. ‘Which was?’

‘That it’ll make a good story for the tabloids.’

Gill nodded. ‘I saw something in the evening paper last night.’

‘The woman who found the doll – or says she did – she’s been talking.’

‘“Or says she did”?’

He just shrugged.

‘You think she might be behind it?’

Rebus slipped his hands into his pockets. ‘Who knows?’

‘Someone thinks they might. A friend of mine called Jean Burchill. I think you should talk to her.’

‘Who is she?’

‘She’s a curator at the Museum of Scotland.’