‘Edinburgh’s MIT are flooded. They have officers out of the jurisdiction working with Interpol and others missing owing to ill health. They needed cover,’ Baarda said. ‘No mystery there.’

‘Except this isn’t a murder case. It’s a disappearance with no sign of foul play or a struggle. Come on, you know more than you’re telling. Share.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘You shrugged. A shrug is an affectation. It’s rarely involuntary, like widening your eyes when you’re shocked. You were trying to appear casual and deflect. It’s a dead giveaway.’

Baarda sighed. ‘I was given the heads-up that she’s someone’s daughter-in-law.’

‘Businessman, celebrity or politician?’ Connie asked.

‘Does it matter?’

‘Only if you want an accurate profile of her abductor. If she disappeared for political reasons, it’ll be a different personality type to someone who’ll kidnap for financial reasons. If it’s someone prominent in lawmaking or enforcement, it could be a revenge scenario. I could list endlessly, but it’d be faster to summarise with yes, it matters.’

‘Head of a global tech company, widely known for his philanthropy, more political contacts than I could name … and I take your point.’

‘But somehow that’s been kept quiet so far. Not even a hint of a media leak.’

‘My guess is that everyone involved believes this is an extortion attempt and that a leak could mean a sudden and tragic end to Elspeth’s life. I was as surprised as you that I was paired up with a profiler. As far as this being at the taxpayers’ expense goes, I’m sure contributions will be made that far outweigh the actual cost to the country, but this way we have the entire police facilities and intelligence at our disposal.’

‘I see,’ Connie murmured, moving closer to him and lowering her voice. ‘You know, I can’t profile someone we’re not sure exists. Sounds to me as if Elspeth was living a high-pressure life. The sort of life where you might just hop on a train then hitch a lift somewhere until you’re well and truly lost.’

‘Do you think that’s what she did?’ Baarda asked.

‘I’m a forensic psychologist, not a psychic. I’ll need to meet with the family tomorrow if I’m going to help. Can you set that up?’

‘Sure, but not until morning.’ He looked at his watch. ‘It’s too late to call anyone now. I hired a car. I can give you a lift back to your hotel if you like?’

‘That’d be good,’ Connie said. ‘Thank you.’

‘Not at all. There wasn’t much choice of vehicle left, I’m afraid. I had no option but to take the bright yellow monstrosity over there.’ He gestured to the far side of the square.

Connie stared blankly. ‘No one warned you?’ she asked.

Baarda frowned.