That she caught the femoral artery, which had produced the swift bleed-out and death of her assailant, had been something Karen couldn’t have foreseen, particularly when she’d been experiencing a high fever at the time.

The report from Jackson’s autopsy, plus the forensic examination of the vehicle in which Jackson died, both reinforced former DI McCreadie’s version of events.

Dossier on Eric Jackson, 1975 until the present day:

Through his DNA profile and the subsequent digital forensic investigation, Eric Jackson has been identified as a person of interest in a number of child abductions and murders throughout Europe. He is also implicated in the production of child pornography, mainly in Europe, but also in the UK. This investigation is ongoing.

The murder of Alec McLaughlin, a suspect in the Mary McIntyre abduction and murder:

David Ian Willis has been charged with the murder of Alec McLaughlin by cutting his throat on [date given] at [address given]. Willis is the brother of McLaughlin’s former partner Anne Marie Willis. In his defence, he said that McLaughlin had raped his sister’s three young children over many years and had been locked up for it, but not for long enough.

‘I was just waiting for the bastard’s release.’

68

Summer had arrived. The view from Rhona’s lab window provided proof of that. The trees circling University Hill had burst into life, obstructing Rhona’s view of the park below and the red sandstone majesty of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

She missed the sight of its Gothic splendour, but, Rhona reminded herself, she would see it soon enough when she left the lab and headed home through the park.

Chrissy had gone already, keen to see her son and use the arrival of the long light evenings of a Scottish summer to play with young Michael in the garden.

Rhona now contemplated how she might spend her own evening. She could enjoy the park for an hour, then maybe pick up some food on her way home. She briefly thought of Sean, and not for the first time since the night of the missed dinner. After that disaster, she’d sent both men a text, apologizing for forgetting to tell them that she’d been called out to a murder scene.

Liam had responded positively, promising to get back in touch the next time he was in Glasgow. As for Sean, her apology and offer to make it up to him by taking him out to dinner had fallen on deaf ears. It appeared Sean had a heavy schedule in the coming weeks, including a trip to Paris to play, so he couldn’t fit in a dinner with Rhona at the moment.

She wasn’t sure if it was a brush-off or simply the truth. She found herself wondering how many times Sean had felt the same about her own similar responses.

The intercom buzzed as she was making ready to leave.

For a brief moment Rhona hoped it might be Liam, back in Glasgow again, or even Sean deciding he had time for her after all, then the voice told her who it actually was.