Bain assented with an indifferent wave of his right hand.

‘I’ve read all the clippings,’ Jasmine began. ‘And I appreciate you’ve been over this story many times before, so I’d like to take that all as read and approach it from another angle.’

‘Any angle you like, hen. It’s no’ gaunny make much difference because the facts are the same any way you look at them.’

‘Where were you going yourself that day?’

‘Fishing. I was heading down to a wee place I know in Galloway.’

‘Catch anything?’

‘Cannae remember. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it, in fact. See, when you’re asked a hundred times about one thing that happened that day, you forget everything else.’

‘What did you stop at the services for?’

‘Petrol, and I nicked into the toilets at the wee café place. I was walking through the car park when I saw them with the carrycot.’

‘How did they seem? Were they calm, agitated?’

‘Aloof,’ he responded. ‘You know, preoccupied.’

‘And you offered them help getting the carrycot into the car.’

‘Aye. They seemed to be having a bit of bother. I just asked if they were all right there and they shrugged me off. Never really gave it much thought at the time. Folk can be a bit stressed around weans. You shouldnae take the huff.’

‘Have you a weak bladder?’ Ingrams interjected, looking at Bain through the lens of Jim’s camera.

‘Whit’s that got to do with anything?’ Bain asked.

‘From here to Bothwell services must be about twenty minutes, tops. Just wondered why you had to pee so soon.’

‘I don’t know. Probably forgot to go before I set off,’ Bain offered, aiming a disgruntled look towards Ingrams.

Jasmine was feeling pretty disgruntled towards him too. It wasn’t going to help matters if he pissed Bain off.

‘Why do you think the incident stuck in your mind?’ she asked. ‘I mean, it was a few days later before the story broke.’

‘I couldn’t say. I’d probably forgotten about it by the time I was a mile doon the motorway. Then when I read about these folk being missing, it just kinda flashed up in my mind, total recall. I guess that’s why the polis do those reconstruction things, isn’t it?’

Ingrams moved a little closer with the camera and asked Bain if he wouldn’t mind standing up and turning around to look out the window for a few shots.

‘Want something a bit more interesting, you know? Looking towards the past sorta thing. If we just do a head-and-shoulders it’ll make you look like a criminal.’

Bain laughed a little uncomfortably but posed as asked.

‘That your car, the Astra?’ Ingrams asked, indicating the silver vehicle in front of the house.

‘No, it’s the neighbours’. Margaret’s away in ours.’

‘We’re the Civic.’