He found Janice at her desk reading Karen’s diary, a knot of concentration creasing her brow. She was good at the focused thing, he realized. Good at picking up the nuances in what people said, and how they reacted. In contrast, he was at times the veritable bull in the china shop.

Janice looked up then, sensing his watchful eyes upon her.

‘What?’ she said.

‘A good time last night, was it not?’ McNab ventured.

‘You mean, what did Paula think of you?’

That was Janice, straight to the point. ‘Well, I liked her,’ McNab tried.

Janice gave him a half-smile, but failed to respond with a reciprocal comment from Paula about him. Having waited slightly for this, McNab delivered his news. ‘Ollie has identified the man in the CCTV footage in Stirling as Eric Jackson.’

Janice assimilated this, taking her time. McNab could almost hear her brain working on it.

‘So, you’re going to see Mrs Jackson and you want to know if I’m coming with you?’

God, she was good. McNab smiled back, acknowledging how right she was.

‘I’ll stay here,’ she told him. ‘I want to listen to the recording again. There’s something Karen isn’t telling us, in the diary and in the interview.’

‘Any idea what that could be?’ McNab said.

‘Ask me when you get back,’ Janice said, returning to her screen.

McNab headed for the Gents, only to have his mobile drill loudly on the way. He answered without consulting the screen to find out who it was.

‘DS McNab here.’

‘She’s gone. Karen’s gone.’ McCreadie rushed on. ‘She was sleeping – or we thought she was. I was writing in the conservatory and Lucy was in the kitchen. Karen must have walked out.’

‘How long ago?’ McNab demanded.

‘We have no idea, it could be up to two hours. I drove to Rowan Cottage and her car’s missing from the garage.’

‘Have you tried Marge? Maybe she went to the recovery cafe?’ McNab said.

It was obvious by the silence that he hadn’t.

‘I’m sorry. My head’s been in the book.’

It sounded like fictional crime had won over fact.

‘I’ll deal with it,’ McNab said and rang off.

Marge answered on the first ring. ‘She’s gone, hasn’t she?’ she said before McNab could tell her what had happened.

‘I was hoping she’d come to you. Have you any idea where she might have gone?’

There was a moment’s silence before Marge said, ‘There was something she wasn’t telling us. I’ve seen that too often not to recognize it. She’s either decided to do what she tried back in the cottage or she’s gone to confront her fears.’

‘Gone where?’ McNab said.

‘That I don’t know.’

‘You’ll call me if she gets in touch?’

Marge assured him she would, although she didn’t sound optimistic.

McNab set the wheels in motion for a second search for Karen, the most important thing being to find the car. He’d already discarded his plan to go to see Eleanor Jackson. It was more important to meet with Magnus and Rhona prior to the strategy meeting as previously planned. Eleanor Jackson would have to come into the police station instead.