‘They scheduled another appointment for next week, but Dr Bailey doesn’t think Dr MacLeod is likely to turn up,’ had been the boss’s worried response.

‘You could go and see her?’ Janice offered, after McNab had related the story.

McNab shook his head. ‘She doesn’t like seeing my mug on Skype. Turning up at her door wouldn’t go down well.’

‘Get Chrissy to go then,’ Janice suggested. ‘Rhona won’t turn her away.’

She’d waited until McNab, the caffeine addict, had got what he needed; now she pressed for hers.

‘So, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get McNulty on his latest domestic,’ she said.

‘It was a way to get him in here.’

‘But not what we really want him for,’ Janice said, reminding McNab what this morning’s performance was really about. ‘You ready?’

Checking his watch, McNab nodded. ‘Okay, let’s go.’

The room was packed. All were observing the board, the title of which was:

From Kabul to Glasgow

McNulty, a small cog in a big wheel, was up there along with his more important associates. In the centre was a circle with the title Sandman. Surrounding the unidentified head of the operation were three names or pseudo names. Glaswegians had a penchant for entertaining nomenclature. Wee Malky, one Malcolm Stevenson, Sparky, suspected title for Norman Watts, and last but never least, Stephen Bawbags McClusky. None of whom had yet been brought to court for drug trafficking.

DI Wilson was doing the intro. McNab only half listened, because he knew the story already. Glasgow had the highest percentage of heroin deaths in Europe. The path to Glasgow from Afghanistan was well trodden. Afghanistan produced over 94 per cent of heroin on the open market and production was at its highest for a decade. Afghanistan was the forgotten war, but only to uninformed Western populations. The USA had a minimum of 17,000 troops still there. The UK was about to up its contingent above the 9,000 mark.

The heroin now produced was 46 per cent purer than what many of Glasgow’s addicts had started out on, laced as it was back then with paracetamol. Hence one of the reasons for the current rise in deaths.

‘We can’t stop it being trafficked from Helmand province. We can try and stop it reaching Scotland’s streets, and locating the Sandman, as he’s known, is our key to this.’

McNab thought back to McNulty with his pasty face and tattooed knuckles. They had nothing on him apart from the fact he wasn’t a proponent of marital bliss.

He was suddenly aware that the boss was looking straight at him.

‘Well, Detective Sergeant?’

McNab made a guess at the unheard question. ‘McNulty’s still with us, sir, plus his partner, Jess.’

‘And?’

‘Things are progressing, sir.’ McNab’s lie brought a small expulsion of air from Janice.

‘Any mention of the Sandman?’