“You’re speaking from experience?”

“I’ve got a younger brother, if that’s what you mean.”

Siobhan thought about this. “Do you think you should tell him?”

“Who?”

“Your brother.”

“Tell him he was always the apple of our dad’s eye?”

“No, tell him what’s happened here.”

“That would entail locating his whereabouts.”

“You don’t even know where your own brother is?”

Rebus shrugged. “That’s the way it is, Siobhan.”

They heard footsteps on the stairs. Kate came back into the room.

“He’s asleep,” she said. “He’s been sleeping a lot.”

“I’m sure it’s the best thing,” Siobhan said, almost wincing as the cliché trickled out.

“Kate,” Rebus interrupted, “we’re going to leave you alone now. But I’ve got one last question, if that’s all right with you.”

“I won’t know till I’ve heard it.”

“It’s just this: I’m wondering if you can tell us exactly when and where Derek’s car crash took place?”

D Division headquarters was a venerable old building in the middle of Leith. The drive from South Queensferry hadn’t taken too long-the evening traffic had been heading out of the city rather than in. The CID offices were quiet. Rebus reckoned everyone had been pulled to the school shooting. He found a member of the admin staff and asked her where the files might be kept. Siobhan was already stabbing at a keyboard, in case she could find anything that way. In the end, the file was tracked down to one of the storage closets, moldering on a shelf alongside hundreds of others. Rebus thanked the admin clerk.

“Happy to help,” she said. “This place has been a real graveyard today.”

“Just as well the villains don’t know that,” Rebus said with a wink.

She snorted. “It’s bad enough at the best of times.” By which she meant understaffing.

“I owe you a drink,” Rebus told her as she turned to go. Siobhan watched her wave a hand, not looking back.