The phone went silent again, Corstorphine could imagine the lord gauging how open to persuasion he might be. “What is the nature of these allegations?”

“I’m afraid I cannot provide any specifics, sir, but you would be well advised to have legal representation accompany you.”

“I see. Well, there’s obviously been some sort of misunderstanding. It’s too late for me to find the time today. Can we say tomorrow at 10:30am?”

“Yes, that would be fine, sir. Thank you for your assistance. As you say, I’m sure this is a simple misunderstanding that can easily be cleared up.” Corstorphine smiled as he imagined Lord Lagan listening to his words, unconvinced by the platitudes.

“So, this attempt on my life?”

“Probably nothing, sir, but I have to let you know of any threats. There have been a number of murders recently as you’re probably aware. Each of the victims had a connection to the orphanage. We’re just trying to make sure that anyone who was a regular visitor at the orphanage is given as much protection as we are able to manage until the murderer is caught. I’ll ask the Inverness police to provide a discreet presence.”

“Is this really a good use of limited police resources, nspector? It sounds to me as if this may be an overreaction.”

“That’s as may be, sir, but I don’t want to risk any more lives until we’ve caught the killer. I’d rather we were overly cautious at this stage, just in case.”

In case of what? Corstorphine really didn’t know. He had had no intention of having Lord Lagan in for questioning before the following day. The lord was going to be bait – the Inverness Ball was the trap and this was the single best plan he could conceive to catch a murderer who left no trace.

Corstorphine was locking his office door, preparing to leave, when he saw a car sweep into the station car park. Whoever it was had a uniformed officer as a chauffeur and was sufficiently high ranking that they waited until the driver opened the rear door for them. He was unsurprised to see the Assistant Chief Constable exiting the vehicle, pulling his cap over his head as he caught Corstorphine watching him through the glass. He waved a hand imperiously, indicating that Corstorphine open the door for him. Corstorphine sighed heavily, he’d known this was coming.

“What the bloody hell are you playing at, man?” The Assistant Chief was already well on his way to incandescence. Corstorphine could imagine him watching the news broadcast, his face moving past traffic-light red and into purple heart-attack territory before commandeering a car to talk to him directly.

“Can we talk in here, sir? It will be more private.” Corstorphine pointed towards the interview room, indicating the uniformed driver with a tilt of his head.