Magnus loved this gregarious and garrulous city, its friendliness to strangers easily equal, in his opinion, to that of his homeland of Orkney.

Refilling his coffee mug, he resumed his outdoor seat to further enjoy his positive mood, which, he acknowledged, was as much a product of having finally completed his current stack of student marking, the topic being: ‘High-risk young people with developing personality disorders – a possible treatment.’

Although there was no established treatment for psychopathy in adults, his own university of Strathclyde was home to the Interventions for Vulnerable Youth project, which his criminal psychology students were currently studying.

That thought led immediately to another, featuring the man he’d recently interviewed in Barlinnie. Alec McLaughlin, in Magnus’s opinion, had a psychopathic personality, which old age, Magnus feared, had neither diminished nor improved, despite a long jail sentence and the further education courses he’d successfully taken while incarcerated.

Having drafted his piece on Old Alec, Magnus had harboured no desire to see the man again. However, that was before he’d received a message on his university email stating that Alec McLaughlin had been released on schedule and that he would like to meet with Professor Pirie to talk further. He was happy to come to the university to do so, if that suited the professor.

When Magnus had replied politely that he had all he needed for his paper on the topic they’d discussed, Alec had responded that he wanted to talk to Professor Pirie on another matter entirely, which had arisen from the recent news of the discovery of a child’s remains buried on the moor south of Glasgow.

Magnus had yet to answer that particular email, which had arrived late last night. His first instinct was to advise Mr McLaughlin to speak to the police, but he also suspected that Old Alec would do no such thing, having just been released after serving fifteen years in Barlinnie Prison.

Sitting here, his eyes resting on the slow-moving waters of the Clyde, Magnus decided he would agree to meet Alec again, who was after all a free man now, and see what he had to say. Then, should such a meeting warrant informing the police, he would contact DI Bill Wilson, with whom he’d worked as a profiler on a number of occasions, and ask his advice.

His mind made up, he went through to his office and sent the required email, suggesting today at 1 p.m. would be a suitable time to meet, and that Alec should come to reception at the Graham Hills Building and ask for him. The email brought an almost immediate response, confirming that Alec would be delighted to come along today at that time.

The morning passed without anything else of note. Magnus delivered a couple of hour-long lectures, then decided to have a light lunch in his office, only to discover a queue of students who wished to talk to him personally about the marks posted on their recent papers.

Magnus agreed times to speak to each of them, and by then it was almost time for Alec’s arrival. He now found himself intrigued by what might occur during their meeting, plus relief that he would have a break from justifying his student scores to their recipients.