Skinner’s round

And how would you handle it differently?'

I'd bite my tongue, turn around and walk back down those bloody stairs.'

`Like hell you would, man. Your fuse is too short. As for Alex, she's your double in every respect. You tried to come the heavy father once before, I seem to recall, and she reacted in just the same way.

`Just spare a thought for Andy Martin as the catalyst for an explosion between you two.

There he was feeling guilty about saying nothing to you, yet leaned on by Alex to keep his mouth shut. Now his friendship with you is damaged, and Alex has buggered off and left him.'

Ski

He turned, smiling ironically. 'Best of it is, Jimmy, now that I've had a chance to think about it, they're probably dead right for each other. The boy Andy's relationships have been short-term because he's never found anyone who's interested him more than the job. It was Florida that made me realise it. Florida for a fortnight! I don't remember him ever taking a woman further than Portobello Funfair… and even then it was a quick whirl on the Waltzer and back up the road!

`Chief, what you have explained to me in your usual tactful way is dead right. I've been a stupid arse! I'll go and see Andy, and sort it out.'

But the Chief shook his head. 'Careful about that, Bob. You don't realise the effect all this has had on him. He might not be ready to sort anything out yet, and when he is, it might be Alex he wants to see first, not you.

`Transferring him is the right thing to do in the circumstances. And there are good man-management reasons for it too. It's time Andy stepped out of your shadow. He's a young Superintendent, on the fast track, and he needs to broaden his experience. So a spell as an area commander, reporting to Jim Elder, will do him good.'

Six

‘If you thought Morton and Masur were. high-powered, Alison, wait till you take a look at this lot.'

He brandished the list of celebrity pro-am competitors which Arthur Highfield had given him, as promised, a few minutes before.

`Listen to these. Manuel Ortiz, the Spanish Ambassador, Toby Bethune, the Sports Minister, Frankie Holloway, the movie actress, Norton Wales, the singer, Emerich Neuma

`The rest are the great and the good from the European business community, all from big organisations with the potential to make a lot of use of this place. Andy Martin's going to have his work cut out looking after that lot.'

He leaned back in the big chair at the head of the board table and looked around him. 'So what have we got? Alison, you go first.'

'I don't have very much, I'm afraid, sir. I interviewed four of the five who were waiting in the bar, Morton, Masur, Cortes and Wyman. Nakamura's English consists of three words, so Morton said… dollars, whisky and jig-a-jig. What's jig-a-jig, sir?'

Across the table, McIlhe

`Don't ask, Superintendent. So what did you find out?'

Higgins glowered at the two Sergeants, then turned back to face Ski

She paused. 'There doesn't seem to have been much conversation in the bar, sir. The way they all described it, Masur and Wyman sat at one table, Morton and Nakamura at another, and Cortes practised his putting on the carpet. Eventually, just after one-thirty, Morton said,

"Mickey must have drowned in that bath", and sent Williamson the steward, to find out what was keeping him.'

And that's how Williamson came to find the body, poor wee bugger.' Ski

`He's steadied up a bit, sir.'

McGuire leaned across to look up the table at Ski

The ACC smiled grimly back at him. 'You obviously haven't seen Tommy Williamson. I have. He used to be cocktail barman in the big hotel in North Berwick. He's a ski

He turned back to Higgins. The Famous Five are still waiting for me in the bar, yes?' She nodded. 'You still haven't told them that White was murdered?'

`No, sir, as you ordered.

`That's good. I want to look in their eyes when they find out.'

`You suspect one of them?' asked McIlhe

Of being involved? We have to. They knew that White would be here this morning. That Jacuzzi was his private fiefdom. It was the one place you'd be sure to find him alone.'

He switched his attention to the two Sergeants. 'What did you get out of the caddy-shed?'

`Nothing, sir,' said Mcllhe

They were all out on the piss in Aberlady last night, and they needed a wee pick-me-up, like.

The caddies joined them too, when they came in. They can sniff out drink anywhere.'

`So they were all there when White died?'

'Apart from anyone who went for a slash in the main building, boss.'

Ski

`Security, boss?' said McGuire. 'Insecurity more like. The place was wide open. The temporary urinals on the course aren't available yet, so the scaffolders and joiners have been allowed to use the clubhouse toilets.'

`So there have been guys coming and going all day along the corridor leading to the course?'

Mario McGuire nodded his head. 'That's right, gaffer. Any bugger dressed like a workman could have walked in there.' `How many men were working today?'

`We didn't count them, but I'd say around a dozen steelworkers, and four joiners. That right, Neil?'

McIlhe

Are they still there?'

Aye, sir. We left the DCs to finish taking names and statements, and them to finish their beer.'

`Right. You two get back over there, and find out if any of them were away from the caddy-shed, for any reason, between one and one thirty-five. And find out if anyone saw anyone who shouldn't have been there, or anyone they didn't recognise or who looked out of place.