Lawson shook his head. "Doesn't look good, Robin. First thing they're going to ask is why you weren't in Grangemouth too."
"I don't get on with my mother-in-law. Never have. So Diane uses my work as an excuse when I don't show up. But it's not like it was the first time. It's not like I was trying to get out of it so I could drive across to Glasgow and kill Davey Kerr, for Christ's sake." He pursed his lips. "Any other night, I'd be home and dry. But last night?Shit. I'm screwed if they get a whisper about what Kerr did to Barney."
Lawson reached out for a mug and poured himself a coffee. "They won't hear it from me."
"You know what this business is like. Bloody gossip central. It's bound to get out. They'll start unraveling Davey Kerr's past, and somebody will remember that my brother died saving him after a stupid suicide attempt. If it was your case, wouldn't you want to talk to Barney's brother? Just in case he'd decided the time was right to settle the score? Like I said, I'm screwed." Robin turned away, biting his lip.
Lawson put a sympathetic hand on his arm. "Tell you what. Anybody from Strathclyde asks, you were with me."
Robin looked shocked. "You're going to lie for me?"
"We're both going to lie. Because we both know you had nothing to do with Davey Kerr's death. Look at it this way. We're saving police time. This way, they're not going to expend time and energy looking at you when they should be looking for the killer."
Reluctantly, Robin nodded. "I suppose so. But?
"Robin, you're a good cop. You're a good man. I wouldn't have you on my team otherwise. I believe in you and I don't want your good name dragged through the mud."
"Thanks, sir. I appreciate your confidence."
"Think nothing of it. Let's just agree that I came round to your house and we had a couple of beers and a few hands of poker. You won about twenty quid off me and I left around eleven. How's that?"
"Fine."
Lawson smiled, chinked his mug against Robin's and walked away. That was the mark of leadership, he believed. Figure out what your team needs and deliver it before they even knew they needed it.
That evening, Alex was on the road again, heading back to Glasgow. He'd eventually made it home, where the phone was ringing off the hook. He'd spoken to both sets of grandparents. His parents had almost seemed embarrassed to be so thrilled, in the light of what had happened in Glasgow. Lynn's mother and father had been incoherent, devastated by the horror of their only son's death. It was still far too soon for them to take any consolation from the birth of their first grandchild. The news that she was in the neonatal unit only seemed another cause for grief and fear. The two phone calls left Alex in a zombie state beyond tiredness. He'd e-mailed their friends and workmates a simple announcement of Davina's birth, then he'd unplugged the phone and crashed out.
When he woke, he couldn't believe he'd only been asleep for three hours. He felt as refreshed as if he'd been out cold round the clock. Showered and shaved, he'd grabbed a quick sandwich and the digital camera before heading back to Edinburgh. He'd found Lynn down in the neonatal unit in a wheelchair, gazing happily at their child. "Isn't she beautiful?" she'd demanded at once.
"Of course she is. Have you had a hold of her yet?"
"The best moment of my life. But she's so tiny, Alex. It's like holding air." She flashed a look of anxiety at him. "She's going to be OK, isn't she?"
"Of course she is. Gilbeys are all fighters." They held hands, willing him to be right.
Lynn gave him a troubled look. "I feel so ashamed, Alex. My brother's dead, but all I can think of is how much I love Davina, how precious she is."
"I know exactly what you mean. I'm elated, and then something reminds me of what's happened to Mondo, and I come crashing down to earth. I don't know how we're going to get through this."
By the end of the afternoon, Alex too had held his daughter in his arms. He'd taken dozens of photographs, and he'd showed her off to his parents. Adam and Sheila Kerr hadn't been up to the journey, and the fact of their absence reminded Alex that he couldn't stay cocooned in the