To those working on the fire case, this wasn’t a revelation, just one more small step in proving the victim wasn’t who they were being led to believe she was.

Rhona moved now to the Orlova case. Despite a number of officers in the room not primarily working on that area, the interest was intense and the questions numerous, all of which Rhona answered in evidence terms as best she could.

The Met might believe the Go Wild case was exclusively theirs, but the men and women in this room did not.

Her delivery complete, Rhona followed Bill into his office, where he shut the door behind them.

‘Essentially the word from on high is that the bigger story mustn’t get out. We’ve been told to focus on the fire and the bodies associated with the ghost ship. Nothing about the wider implications of what had been happening on board.’

‘What about Nadia?’ Rhona said. ‘Does the chief know about her?’

When Bill didn’t immediately answer, she added, ‘You think she’ll be taken south of the border if the Met learn about her?’

Bill nodded. ‘Which takes her out of Police Scotland’s jurisdiction.’

‘And protection,’ Rhona said, thinking about McNab. ‘She may, of course, have played a part in some or all of this. After all, she was an employee of Go Wild.’

‘You have DNA from the hideout?’ Bill asked.

‘I do, and I can compare it with that collected at the crime scenes,’ she tells him. ‘Also, analysis of the vomit suggests the person hiding in that room was probably the person who was sick in the arena. However, that doesn’t mean she’s not implicated in their deaths.’

They moved on to discuss what was in Ava’s investigative report. The question was, could it be published as Ava wanted, now that they had been told not to publicize the case?

One thing Rhona had learned over the years was that DI Bill Wilson didn’t make decisions without careful consideration. Plus he always put his front-line officers first. And, Rhona thought, Bill was definitely unhappy about the way McNab’s disappearance was being handled, which was bound to affect any decision he made.

‘Have you spoken to Ava since the announcement of Mark’s death?’ he said.

‘I tried her mobile, but her brother answered and told me she wasn’t there.’

‘Is she avoiding us?’

Rhona didn’t think so. She was more concerned that Ava wasn’t being permitted to talk to them.

‘The boy’s worried about Nadia. If he thinks his sister broke her promise and told anyone about her . . .’ Rhona ground to a halt.

‘Ask Ava to send the piece to her London editor. Tell her to make sure he mentions that the reporting came from Glasgow, where the first Go Wild body was found. Hopefully any interested parties will think she’s here.’

‘And Nadia?’