Had DI Wilson not done so, you would have been out on your ear, McNab reminded himself.

DS Clark had looked relieved when they’d eventually shown a preening McLaughlin the door.

‘Any more help I can give you, don’t hesitate to get in touch, officers,’ had been his farewell gift.

McNab had hoped as he’d watched McLaughlin depart that the next time they met would be when he arrested him.

He’d had only a short exchange with Pirie before the Prof set off with Rhona and the girl on their paranormal escapade, although he had told Pirie to share McLaughlin’s revelation that Mary McIntyre had been pregnant when she’d disappeared. At least when Rhona arrived at the strategy meeting, she’d be up to date.

‘So,’ Janice was saying, ‘what d’you think?’

‘Give me your take on it first,’ McNab said, handing her a coffee.

‘He’s intelligent. I can see how he got that degree.’

‘Okay, he’s a clever, scheming and manipulative bastard who managed to ply his trade for a long time before we caught him. So why present himself back in front of us now?’

‘We would come knocking on his door again, and soon?’ Janice tried.

‘So he gets in first. But how much did you believe of the story?’

‘I’d like to know how much Professor Pirie believed.’

‘You’ve got more experience of liars than the Prof.’

He’d always considered Janice a thinker and an astute judge of character. After all, she had him down to a T. Of course, he’d never actually told her that.

Janice gave an amused smile. ‘Is that praise, DS McNab?’

McNab didn’t respond to the question but repeated his own instead. ‘How much?’

‘I think we wrong-footed him when we asked where he was when he heard that Mary was missing. And when we shifted the focus to Karen Marshall. I wondered about what he said about Mary’s father. Whether he didn’t like the man in general, or whether it was more personal. Then there was the remark about the brother, which I noted you didn’t pursue.’

‘Robbie, or Robert as he gets called now, is gay. He made a point of telling me by reference to his partner, Andrew. I think that’s what McLaughlin was implying when he talked about Robbie at the den.’

Janice gave a little laugh. ‘And you showed no interest, much to his annoyance.’

‘Robbie-turned-Robert was keen for us to talk to Father Feeney, who’s apparently still alive,’ McNab said. ‘Claims he was a paedophile and probably protected from on high – and not by God.’

‘Which was McCreadie’s take on things too,’ Janice reminded him.

McNab raised an eyebrow. ‘You angling for another trip to see your famous author?’

‘So will you when you’ve read the transcripts of the notebooks,’ Janice said.

‘Is it legible this time?’

Swivelling in her chair to come alongside him, Janice brought up a document on his screen. ‘My advice is to read as much as possible before the strategy meeting.’