#Rankin. Standing in another man's grave. Page 29

There's always been a nasty streak (an obvious characteristic in a personality) in you,' he muttered going back to his reading.

     'She was taking the bus to Inverness (sea port town in the country of Inverness, of which it is the chief town, 156 miles from Edinburgh) for a party,' Clarke went on.

We've checked and it pans out (be a success).

But she told the driver she was feeling sick, so he stopped by a petrol station in Pitlochry (is a village in council area of Perth which is situated on the great northern road from Perth to Inverness) and let her off.

Sulky (feeling unhappy and not wanting to talk or to be with other people): was that a suitable description?

She had a record of truancy (absent from school without permission), took a few drugs. Parents split up. Dad's in Australia, mum lives in Lochend (is a mainly residential suburb of Edinburgh) with Annette's three brothers.'  

There's really not a lot for you to do here, John,’ she said, not unsympathetically (showing that you understand and care about someone's suffering).

Maybe you have. But in that case, someone needs to quash (to stop something from happening or annul) the rumor I've been hearing.

That you've applied to return to the fold (to the group that shares the same beliefs).'

     He stared at her. 'Who'd want a crock (nonsense) like me?'

     'A very good question.' She pushed her plate away from her. 'I need to be getting back.'