Frankie held up a hand to forestall him. “There’s more, sir. I’ve not read the notebook, it’s in shorthand, but the reporter, Josephine Sables, has transcribed the contents.”

“We need that notebook as evidence!”

“Yes, sir, but they’ll only to release it if you open an official investigation into June Stevens’ death – and you’ll have to come at them with a warrant. The point is, though, June Stevens had identified some of the suspected abusers in her investigation notes. They include the minister of St Cuthbert’s and the sheriff, Anthony McCallum.”

“He’s identified as one of the abusers?” Corstorphine was incredulous.

“That’s not all, sir. The editor thinks that Oscar was employed as hired muscle to keep the orphanage abuse under wraps, stop any word of it ever getting out. He thinks that’s why Oscar killed June.”

“I think the editor should leave any detective work to people qualified to make such assumptions.”

“There’s more, sir. The editor claims that DI Rankin was under orders to keep June’s death a suicide, not investigate it fully. The notebook goes on to allege that there were more child deaths than the three that were officially recorded. The Courier reckons that five more bodies were buried in the grounds and then covered up by the building development works after the orphanage was demolished.”

Corstorphine sat silently, processing the information and trying to identify what might be real from a string of outlandish statements. “We can’t have the laird in for questioning, not on the basis of such an unreliable source as a dead reporter’s notebook – if that is even her notebook.”

“Sir. I don’t think we can do anything officially at the moment.”

“Why on earth not, Frankie?” Corstorphine’s patience was almost at an end.

“Because, sir, there’s one other thing I’ve not told you.”

“Well, get on with it, we don’t have time to play games.”

Corstorphine looked genuinely surprised as Frankie bent her head towards his ear to whisper Lord Lagan’s name. His shocked reaction was proof enough that he’d heard her correctly.

“There’s no way…”

“I didn’t think so either, sir, until I started wondering how such a cover up could have happened.”

Their eyes met, complicit in a shared look.

“OK, Frankie, this is how we are going to play it. We need real evidence, not the musings of a long dead reporter, otherwise we stand a very good chance of being removed not only from this case, but the force altogether. We have to find the children who were at that orphanage, we need them to come clean over what they knew.”

“I’ve already seen one person, the uncommunicative William Booth.”

“He was definitely one of the orphans?”

Frankie nodded.

“You think someone’s got to him?”

“Not sure, sir. If it was Oscar, then he won’t be worrying him now.”