indsay surveyed the living room with satisfaction. Everything was ready. Bottles and glasses were set out on a side table with mixers and a bucket of ice. The chairs were arranged so that she could see everyone if she stood in front of the fire. Very Hercule Poirot, she mocked herself as she went through to the study to check that there were no problems there either. She found Sophie sprawled across the divan reading the latest Jeanette Winterson and Alex sitting at the computer, a fierce frown of concentration on his face.

"Glad to see you're making the best of it," Lindsay remarked.

Alex looked up with a scowl. "You didn't give me a lot of choice, did you? Huckling me off here to do your dirty work. When am I going to get my money back? You robbed me!"

"I didn't rob you," Lindsay said mildly. "Think of me as a kind of bank. You'll get your money back soon enough."

Alex ignored her and said, "Hey, Sophie, got any more games? I'm getting kind of fed up with Batman."

Sophie dropped her book and got up. "Sure, Alex, just a minute. No one here yet?" she asked as she rummaged in a drawer to emerge with another disc.

"They're due any minute," Lindsay replied, nervously checking her watch.

"Good luck," Sophie said.

"I'll come and get you when I'm ready," Lindsay promised on her way out of the door. She paced up and down the hall, smoking continuously. Ten minutes passed before the doorbell pealed out.

Lindsay leapt for the door and opened it to reveal Claire and Cordelia. "Come in, come in," Lindsay invited them, ushering them into the lounge. They both looked striking. Lindsay felt like a scruff in her jeans and Levi shirt and wished she'd had the sense to raid Sophie's wardrobe again.

"This all looks very organised," Claire commented coolly as Lindsay poured Scotch and water for her and Cordelia. "Don't you think you should tell me exactly what is going on? After all, I am footing the bill."

Lindsay bit back the angry retort that sprang to mind and smiled. "The element of surprise is vital," she said. "I'm afraid you'll have to trust me. But I think I can promise you that, by the end of the evening, we'll have a much clearer idea of who killed Alison Maxwell and why."

"Very mysterious," Cordelia said sarcastically. "You always did have a penchant for the dramatic, Lindsay. Let's just hope you don't pull your usual trick of accusing the wrong person."

Lindsay flushed. Cordelia's raking up of the murder case that had brought them together was deeply unsettling. Lindsay fought to control herself and said, "Only once, Cordelia, only once. And I didn't actually accuse the wrong person over the Derbyshire House murder. I can't help it if people take my questions the wrong way."

"Well, let's hope you get it right this time," Cordelia retorted.

The conversation was cut short by the sound of the doorbell. Lindsay returned moments later with Jim Carstairs, Jackie's lawyer. His only concession to being out of working hours was to swap his pinstripe suit for a sports jacket and cavalry twill trousers. He looked uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks for coming on a Sunday evening, Jim," Claire greeted him.

"This is all very irregular," he complained. "I hope you know what you're doing, Claire."

"Me? I'm just a spectator like you, Jim. This is Lindsay's show. And we're all waiting with bated breath to see what she has for us." There was an edge of sarcasm in Claire's voice that grated on Lindsay, making her all the more determined to prove herself.

"I've never found orthodoxy a virtue in itself," Lindsay muttered as she poured Jim a glass of red wine. "Look, I know you're all as keen as I am to get Jackie out of prison. I'd thought of going straight to the police with the evidence I've got, but then I thought it would make much more sense to do it this way. After all, Claire, it was you yourself who warned me right at the beginning that my job was not so much to find the real killer as to cast enough doubt on Jackie's conviction to pave the way for an appeal. After tonight, I think we'll be able to do a little better than create reasonable doubt. You see, I've never thought it was enough just to get Jackie out of jail. If she's released on appeal, there will always be the wagging tongues who'll say she did it but she was lucky enough to get off. Ordeal by innocence, as Agatha Christie calls it. But I think I'd like to nail whoever did it. That settles all the doubts for good and all."

Claire looked surprised and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything Jim said sagely, "Very commendable. I'm just not sure this is quite the right forum to do it in."

"Well, I hope to prove you wrong," Lindsay retorted.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Cordelia asked, strolling round the lounge with an expression of patronising superiority on her face.

"I'm just waiting for Ruth Menzies and her husband Antonis Makaronas to join us. You'll remember, Ruth gave evidence at the trial. She was the one who heard Jackie and Alison quarrelling. And where Ruth goes, Antonis follows. Once they are here, I want to outline what my enquiries have uncovered." Lindsay checked her watch. "They should be here any minute now," she said abruptly, turning away and pouring herself a stiff Scotch and water.

"Have you uncovered new evidence since we last spoke?" Claire probed.

"I think so," Lindsay confirmed. "We'll see when everyone else is here. I'm sorry, Claire, but I really want to be able to do this my way. Please trust me."

"We don't seem to have a great deal of choice," Cordelia cut in. "May I have another drink?"

"Of course, please help yourself," Lindsay said stiffly. Cordelia must be more worried about Claire then she was prepared to show, Lindsay thought with mild surprise as she watched her former lover pour herself a large whisky.

The doorbell rang again, and this time, Lindsay ushered in a mutinous-looking Antonis and Ruth, who looked as if she were about to burst into tears. Antonis opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, Lindsay offered them both drinks. As she poured their glasses of white wine, Antonis grumbled, "I don't understand why you asked Ruth and me to come tonight. Jackie killing Alison had nothing to do with us."

"I explained to Ruth on the phone," Lindsay sighed. "I have come up with some new evidence about Alison's murder, and I thought Ruth might be able to cast some light on it, with her having been in the building that afternoon. You know how it is - something that seems perfectly normal at the time can take on an entirely different significance in the light of new evidence. I really appreciate you both coming. Now, if you'd all like to sit down, I'll give you a brief resume."

Antonis frowned, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he ushered Ruth towards the sofa. He sat next to her, and Jim joined them. Cordelia chose the armchair facing the door, and Claire sat opposite. Lindsay stationed herself in front of the fire and faced the audience.

"A week ago, Claire asked me to investigate the murder of Alison Maxwell. Ruth, Antonis, I'm sorry I was less than frank with you initially. But I didn't want to stir up too much attention in case people were put on their guard. I hope you'll forgive me." She paused, and took in their reactions. Ruth looked terrified. Antonis was scowling, while a smile played round Cordelia's lips. Both lawyers gazed intently back at Lindsay.

"I don't think I need to rehash all the details of the murder. But I'd just like to remind you all of the timetable on that fatal afternoon. Jackie had been with Alison most of the afternoon. They'd had a row, then they'd kissed and made up in bed. Jackie left about quarter to six because Alison was expecting a visitor. On her way out of the building, she stopped and had a cigarette. She had a lot on her mind and she wanted to be clear about what she was going to say to Claire when she got home.

"At about five to six, Alison's mother saw Jackie leave the building. Mrs. Maxwell was having problems getting into the building because she couldn't get any response from her daughter's entryphone. Eventually, after about ten minutes, someone let her into the block. Some time between five and ten past six, she discovered Alison's dead body." Her audience shifted uncomfortably in their seats as she reminded them why they were there.

"Unless you subscribe to the official line that Jackie Mitchell killed her, someone else got into that flat in the crucial twenty minutes and strangled Alison Maxwell. The only clue to that person's identity was a glass with half of a thumbprint on it. It wasn't Jackie's thumbprint. And it was the only thing in the whole case that didn't point decisively at Jackie. But without a set of suspects, the print was in itself worthless. It could have belonged to anyone in Glasgow. The police had their killer, or so they thought. So they didn't have any incentive to pursue the point.

"Now, right from the start, Claire was convinced that Jackie had not murdered Alison, and I have to say I agreed with her the first time she explained her reasons to me. Everything I have learned since has only confirmed that opinion. Claire came to me because Alison and I were once lovers, and because with my contacts at the Clarion I could be expected to pick up gossip and information that was denied both to the police and to private detectives.

"What she didn't know when she hired me was that I knew where the bodies were buried. You see, I knew where Alison hid her secret diary." She registered the momentary flash of fear that crossed Antonis' face and the trembling of Ruth's wine glass. That told her one of the things she wanted to know. The chances were that Ruth knew about her husband's affair, but that Antonis was unaware that she knew. Taking a deep breath, Lindsay continued.

"Her diary was an unsavoury and rather childish record of her sexual conquests. Alison made notes from the first time she decided she fancied someone. She catalogued the seduction and the subsequent affair, right through to its ending - I've got a copy of it right here." Lindsay produced the diary pages from a folder sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "The original is in a safe place," she lied.

"I realised that the key to Alison's death probably lay in those diary pages. Initially, I eliminated anyone whose affair with Alison was over, as long as she hadn't taken any kind of revenge on them. I was left with a handful of suspects. A couple of them were quickly removed from the list when it turned out they had sound alibis for the time of the crime.

"I was left with a few possibilities. Firstly, there was a journalist whose career Alison had damaged. They'd had an affair, and when he cooled off, she spread a rumour that he had raped her. As a result, he lost his job. As long as Alison was alive, he lived with the constant fear that she might tell her lies to his wife. I checked out his alibi for the time of the crime and found it was very weak." Lindsay looked around the room. Ruth was staring into her lap where her hands were shredding a tissue. Antonis was leaning back in his chair with a look of superiority on his handsome face. Claire and Cordelia were studying Lindsay with matching looks of concentration and interest. Jim Carstairs was busily making notes.

She took a deep breath and continued. "Secondly, there was a surgeon whose career and marriage she could have wrecked. She started an affair with him shortly after he performed a minor operation on her, something which I'm sure the General Medical Council would have been interested to hear about, not to mention his wife. Again, when I made inquiries, it became clear that he could equally well have committed the crime.

"And thirdly, there was Antonis, who stood to lose everything if she turned on him..."

Before Lindsay could say more, Antonis had leapt to his feet. "That is a filthy lie," he shouted. "How dare you suggest me! Alison was our friend. I would never betray my wife with her!" He took a step towards Lindsay. "Take that back!" he roared.

To everyone's astonishment, Ruth piped up quietly but firmly. "Sit down, Antonis. There's no need to make a fool of yourself. I know all about it. It's all right. I know you didn't kill Alison."

Antonis turned to face her, dumbfounded. Ruth patted the seat next to her. "Sit down, my love," she said softly. Blindly, he obeyed and slumped into the sofa, head in his hands. Ruth put a hand on his shoulder and gazed hatred at Lindsay.

Lindsay discovered she'd been holding her breath and slowly let it out. She'd been right about one thing. Please God, she'd be right about the rest. "There were, of course, other possibilities," she continued. "Even though Claire hired me, it was well within the bounds of possibility that she was engaged in a risky double bluff to mask the fact that she had in fact killed Alison."

Claire shook her head wearily. "You really can be most absurd, Lindsay," she remarked. "Trying to pin a murder on me simply because I'm living with your ex-girlfriend is very tacky. Not worthy of you at all."

"Bear with me, please," Lindsay said.

"I really don't see why we should," Cordelia said belligerently.

"I think we should hear Lindsay out," Jim commented, looking up from his notes. "We've already got the makings of an appeal here, and as Jackie's lawyer, I want to hear what she has to say."

"Thanks, Jim," Lindsay replied. "If I can pursue the idea of Claire for a moment. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Claire knew exactly how obsessed Jackie was with Alison and realised that while Alison was alive, their relationship had little chance of survival. She could easily have resolved to kill Alison. And she had no alibi for the crucial time. She could have gone to Alison's flat, waited in the rubbish chute cupboard till she saw Jackie leave, then slipped in and killed Alison. I'm not suggesting she was trying to frame Jackie, by the way. As far as she knew, Jackie was well clear of the building, and Claire had no way of knowing that Alison was expecting another visitor almost immediately. So, Claire could have had means and opportunity. And she certainly had motive."

Claire shot a venomous look at Lindsay as Cordelia blurted, "This is ridiculous. I've never heard anything so stupid in all my life. My God, Lindsay you really have excelled yourself this time."

"Look, Cordelia. I was hired to do a job and quite frankly, I don't give a damn what you think of how I've done it," Lindsay snapped angrily. "But I intend to finish it in my own way whether you shut up and let me get on with it or not. Now, I'd like to return to Ruth and Antonis. Ruth too had a perfect motive for murder. Her best friend was sleeping with her husband, whom she loves with a blind passion. I think all her anger would have been directed at Alison, a woman who had betrayed her in such a cavalier fashion. I suspect she exonerated Antonis, because she knew only too well how good Alison was at getting what she wanted. Ruth was in the building on the afternoon of the murder. We have only her word for when she actually left. Haven't we, Ruth?"

Lindsay stared at Ruth, who was gazing at Lindsay with the horrified stare of the rabbit transfixed by the stoat. Relentlessly, Lindsay continued. "You haven't really got an alibi, have you?"

Ruth swallowed hard then croaked, "Yes, yes I have. I phoned one of my clients at six o'clock, and he rang me back ten minutes later. I was at my gallery, I was... You've got to believe me!" Her voice broke on a note of rising hysteria.

"It's not much of an alibi, is it? It only takes five minutes to get from Caird House to your gallery, after all," Lindsay said coldly. "You could easily have killed Alison, phoned your client from her flat then raced off to the gallery to receive the phone call you hoped would give you an alibi." Ruth stared at her in mute horror, her hands gripped so tight on her glass that her knuckles showed white.

Lindsay paused to light a cigarette then continued, aware that her audience was hanging tensely on her every word. "Up until yesterday, this was all I had. A collection of suspects with no hard evidence against any of them. The only evidence that might tie any one of them to the murder was half a thumbprint on a glass. But short of secretly obtaining fingerprints from them all, I was stuck. Then, as a result of inquiries into a completely separate matter, I found someone who can crack this case wide open. I found a witness. I found the one person who saw Alison Maxwell's murderer leave the flat, a good ten minutes after Jackie Mitchell." Lindsay looked round at her audience. Claire looked stunned, Cordelia sat up straight, and Ruth was frozen with fear.

Lindsay walked across the room to the door. "His name is Alex, and he's a rent boy. That's why he didn't go to the police at the time. He thought that no one would believe his story, because the police were convinced they already had the killer. He didn't want to get himself into trouble, so he kept his head down. But there's no doubt about it. Alex was in Caird House visiting a client on the afternoon of the murder. He left his lover's flat just after the six o'clock news started on the radio, and he saw Alison Maxwell's killer. If you'll all wait here, I'll just go and get him."

She opened the door and called, "Sophie? Can you bring Alex through?" Lindsay turned back to the room as Sophie walked in with Alex behind her. He looked slightly apprehensive but excited.

Lindsay ushered him forward. "Alex, I want you to look very carefully at the people in this room. If you can see the person whom you saw leaving Alison Maxwell's flat on the evening of the murder, I want you to point to him or her. Take your time, now. I want you to be sure. Okay?" Convinced that he was going to point to Ruth, Lindsay watched him carefully.

He nodded. Slowly, his eyes travelled from face to anxious face. Then, almost in slow motion, his arm came up and pointed to Cordelia. "That's her," he said. "I'd swear it. I'd know her anywhere."