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

J o h n  R e b u s

Key Words to learn:

bedsit - a rented room that has bed, table, chairs and somewhere to cook

curmudgeon - an old person who is always in bad mood

misanthrope - someone who dislikes and avoid people

maverick - a person who thinks and acts in independent way

The character of detective John Rebus – complete with estrange (you feel that you don’t want to understand someone or don’t want any connection) to wife, young daughter and fragile sanity (good judgement and understanding) – seemed to spring fully from young English Literature graduate Ian Rankin as he set in his bedsit (a rented room that has bed, table chairs and somewhere to cook) in Arden Street, Edinburgh in March 1985.

The book’s title ‘Knots and Crosses’ came first, with the detective’s name coming out of that ‘picture puzzle’ of knotted rope and matchstick (the short wooden stick of a match, or a match itself) crosses of the title. Oxford had ‘Morse’ – a code, so Edinburgh would have ‘Rebus’ – a puzzle.

‘Knots & Crosses’ was not intended to grow into a series. In the first draft Rebus died at the end: but during the editing process Rankin decided to give him a reprieve (an escape from the bad situation).

This was just as well, as when sales of standalone novels ‘Watchman’ and ‘Westwind’ were slow, his publisher suggested reviving the detective, who repeated in ‘Hide and Seek’.

The word ‘curmudgeon’ (an old person who is always in bad mood) would have been invented for Rebus.

The flawed (a mistake or bad characteristic that stops someone or something from being perfect) but human detective we first meet in Knots & Crosses when he’s aged 40 s pretty much the character we see even in the most recent books when Rebus flirts with retirement before returning to the police force when the rules changed.

Rebus is a professional misanthrope (someone who dislikes and avoid people) made more cynical y the job he does. He delights in floating authority; he smokes and drinks; he doesn’t play by the rules.

He’s an ultimate maverick (a person who thinks and acts in independent way) cop who prefers ‘old school’ graft (work) to new-fangled modern- day policing methods. He’s a flawed, pessimistic, multi- layered character, a troubled, brooding (feeling sad, worried) soul and a cynical loner who can find no solace (help and comfort)  in faith, who’s obsessed with work, and happiest when popping up the bar of his favorite pub, the Oxford Bar, a glass of IPA in his hand.

The older Rebus had a little bit more flesh on the bones – literally and metaphorically; he’s a little more disillusioned, and fighting a few more demons – and not quoting quite so much Walt Whitman (Walter Whitman was an American poet and journalist) or Dostoevsky.

The Rebus novels are written in real time, so Rebus aged along with each book. As the series progresses, we learn more about him. Born in 1947, Rebus grew up in Cardenden, Fife, with his brother Michael, the sons of the stage hypnotist (a person who uses hypnosis as method of treatment or sometime entertainment), and grandsons of a Polish immigrant.  Rebus left school at aged 15 to join the army whiles his brother followed in his father footsteps. Rebus served in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, before being selected for the SAS (Special Air Service) in 1971 where he excelled in training but he left the army shortly afterwards which brought in a nervous breakdown. Following lobbying from the army, Rebus joined the Lothian and Borders Police in 1973. Rebus has been married, but divorced sometime in the 1980s. His ex-wife, Rhona, and his daughter Samantha, appear frequently in early novels.

We first meet Rebus in 1987 in Knots & Crosses when he is a Detective Sergeant working on the case Of the Edinburgh Strangler, a serial killer who had been abducting and strangling (to kill someone by pressing their throat so that they cannot breath) young girls. He is based at the (fictional) Waverley Road police station where he receives anonymous letters containing knotted ropes and matchstick crosses…

Siobhan Clarke.

Words to learn: 

loose cannon -  someone who behaves in an uncontrolled or unexpected way and is likely to cause problems for other people

mentor - a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advise over a period of time

limelight - public attention

Siobhan was a friend of Rebus, perhaps the closest he’d ever had – despite the age gap and the fact she didn't like most of the music he played.

We first meet Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke in ‘The Black Book’. Accordingly to Ian:  ‘I had found Rebus’s perfect working partner’, someone who respected him but could still be infuriated (to make someone extremely angry) by his reluctance (unwillingness) to stick to the rules; someone confident enough to their own abilities to be able to give as good as they got. It was not in Siobhan’s nature to remain ‘just another colleague’; she seemed to have other ideas entirely.’

Siobhan is the polar opposite to Rebus: not only is she English, but she’s much younger than Rebus, she comes from a middle class left- wing background and she has a university degree. She fits in perfectly with the modern police force and though the series we see her rise up the ranks until by ‘Saints of the Shadow Bible’, she outranks Rebus. As the series develops so does their friendship and the grudging (displaying reluctance and unwillingness) respect between the two: she is a worthy sidekick for Rebus.

Siobhan plays by the rules; she’s young and ambitious and she embraces the new techniques of policing. She is the perfect foil (comparison) to Rebus and has contrasting methods of investigation (Rebus takes the intuitive approach, Clarke follows strict police procedure). She appreciates his skills but she knows that he is a loose cannon (someone who behaves in an uncontrolled or unexpected way and is likely to cause problems for other people) and, particularly in the later books, it is Siobhan that tries to ‘manage’ Rebus so that his maverick tendencies don’t upset the ongoing investigations.

As the series progresses, Siobhan gradually comes more to the fore until she fully emerges in ‘The Falls’, which is a s much Siobhan’s book as Rebus’s’ they share the limelight (public attention) equally although working separately on different cases. Siobhan’s case involves role – playing games in cyber-space – a place where Rebus feels utterly lost. As Ian wrote in an introduction: ‘It was a way of allowing Siobhan to show her mettle (ability and determination). This would be her case, an opportunity for her to prove she’s as capable a detective as her mentor (a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advise over a period of time), but with a different set of skills. Perhaps the point I was trying to make is that Siobhan doesn’t need Rebus anymore. She’s happy to work with him, but as equals.’

Although there were hints of romance between Rebus and Clarke in early books, including a cringe (to feel very embarrassed) –making attempted kiss at the end of ‘A Question of Blood’. Ian has emphatically said: ’They will never jump into bed together.’

Malcolm Fox.

Words to learn:

meticulous - very careful and with great attention

rumblings - a continuous low sound, sign of anger

pernickety - giving too much attention to small details that are not important

teetotal - never drinking alcohol 

villain - a character that harms other people

priggish - a person who obeys the rules of correct behaviour

‘How can you do it? How can you spit (to force out the content of your mouth, especially saliva) on your own kind?’ (The Complaints)

Ian Rankin admits that by setting the Rebus novels in real time, he had placed himself in a straightjacket (anything that severely confines and constricts). In Scotland, detectives must retire at 60, so at the end of ‘Exit Music’ in 2007, Rebus has his retirement dinner and heads off into the sunset… or rather to the cold cases unit staffed by retired Lothian and Borders detectives.

After some time away from novel writing, Ian read a newspaper article about the Complaints and Conduct department of a UK police force; he was intrigued. These were cops that investigated other cops – Internal Affairs, and they were universally disliked and feared by their fellow officers. They operated as spies on the inside, setting up surveillance, following the rules to the letter – and making enemies that they would then have to work with again in the future. They were chosen from the regular police force but would have to have a particular mindset to do the job and be slow, cautious and meticulous (very careful and with great attention), in other words the direct opposite of Rebus. Ian wangled (to succeed in doing something) an interview with an ex-Complaints officer to find out more and it whetted (to increase someone’s interest in and wish for something) his appetite to create a new character, still very much at the heart of the Edinburgh police scene but an ‘outsider’. What if he took a cop from Complaints and turned his life inside out – making him the victim of an investigation, forcing him to cross the line, take action and break the rules? And so Malcolm Fox was born.

The first Fox book is called simply, ‘The Complaints’. At the time of writing it, everyone in Edinburgh seemed to be voicing some complaint or other; if it wasn’t rumblings (a continuous low sound, sign of anger) about the roadworks surrounding the tram reinstatement, then it was the crisis with the banks or even just the awful weather. Fox is not ‘Rebus lite’, he is his own man and very different to rebus psychologically. He is hardworking and pernickety (giving too much attention to small details that are not important); a team player, not cynical like Rebus, and not a drinker. Long teetotal (never drinking alcohol), he is an interesting character who is somewhat repressed: he is divorced, has a difficult relationship with his father who is in a care home, and he and his sister are distanced. In fact it is when his sister’s boyfriend is murdered and Fox himself becomes a suspect that his world implodes: the hunter becomes the hunted. In ‘The Complaints’ and the next Fox book ‘The Impossible Dead’, Fox is established as a very likeable hero – one of the good guys, but this changed in the subsequent book.

‘Standing in another Man’s Grave’ saw Rebus return, the age for retirement raised and Rebus with the chance of re-applying for his old job. But would he be seen as a fit applicant by ‘The Complaints’? Fox investigates the skeletons that come rattling put of Rebus closet. Thus Ian’s two main characters meet on page, and Fox becomes the villain (a character that harms other people) of the piece, the antagonist: his priggish (a person who obeys the rules of correct behaviour) morality trying to block the maverick Rebus at every turn. ‘I know a cop gone bad when I see one. Rebus has spent so many years crossing the line he’s managed to rub it out altogether.’ (Standing in another man’s grave)

Ian turns this on its head in ‘Saints of the Shadow Bible; Fox and Rebus are forced to work together, and gradually come to an understanding of what makes the other tick in such a way that there is a grudging empathy between them. Fox is rehabilitated for the reader, and Rebus is back on the force, with Fox not far behind him.

P r o l o g u e.

(Rest In Peace) Jackie Leven. (Jackie Leven - Scottish songwriter and folk music singer)

The track was called 'Another Man's Rain.' That was what Jackie was singing about: standing in another man's rain.

Words to learn:

pall-bearers - a person who helps to carry a coffin

hard facts - when it is true/real and not imaginary

cop shop - police station

CID - Criminal Investigation Department- the part of UK police that does not wear uniform

snippet - a small and interesting piece of information

I (1, number of Roman system).

He'd made sure he wasn't standing too near the open grave.

Closed ranks of the other mourners between him and it. The pall-bearers (a person who helps to carry a coffin) had been called forward by number rather than name - six of them, starting with the deceased's son. Rain wasn't quite falling yet, but it had scheduled an appointment. The cemetery was fairly new (less than very), sited on the south-eastern outskirts of the city. He had skipped (avoided) the church service, just as he would skip the drinks and sandwiches after. He was studying the backs of heads: hunched shoulders (bended into a rounded shape), twitches (uncontrolled movements), sneezes (when liquid come out of your nose and mouth in a way you cannot control) and throat-clearings. There were people here he knew, but probably not many. A gap appeared between two of the mourners and he caught a glimpse of the graveside. The edges of the grave itself had been covered with sheets of green cloth, as if to mask the hard facts (when it is true/real and not imaginary) of the matter.  Words were being uttered (said) but he couldn't catch all of them. There was no mention of the cancer. Jimmy Wallace had been 'cruelly taken', leaving a widow and three children, plus five grandkids. Those kids would be down the front somewhere, mostly old enough to know what was going on. Their grandmother had given voice to a single piercing (sound that is high, loud and unpleasant) wail (long, high cry) and was being comforted (the state of feeling better after feeling sad).

Christ (Jesus), he needed a cigarette.

How well had he known Jimmy Wallace? Hadn't seen him in four or five years, but they'd worked in the same cop shop (police station) a decade or more back. Wallace was uniform rather than CID (Criminal Investigation Department- the part of UK police that does not wear uniform), but the sort of guy you'd talk to anyway. Jokes and gossip and the occasional snippet (a small and interesting piece of information) of useful information.

He'd retired six years ago, which was around the same time the diagnosis appeared, along with the chemo (chemotherapy) and hair-loss.

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Words to learn:

shed - simple building used for a particular purpose
put away - to send someone to prison
linger - to take a long time to leave
a lift - a free journey in another person's car

Born with his trademark humour…

Maybe so, but better to be miserable and alive. He could feel the pack of cigarettes in his pocket, knew he could back away (to move backwards away from something or someone) a few yards, maybe hide himself behind a tree and spark up. The thought reminded him of schooldays, when there had been dike (a wall, esp a dry-stone wall) sheds (simple building used for a particular purpose) blocking the view from the headmaster's (someone who is in charge of a school) window. Teachers occasionally arrived and asked for a light, or a cigarette, or the whole damned pack.

A well-known figure in the local community...

Well known for criminals he'd helped put away (to send someone to prison), too.

Maybe a few of the old-timers had come to pay their respects. The coffin was being lowered into the grave, the widow giving cry again, or perhaps it was one of the daughters. A couple of minutes later it was all over.  He knew there would be a mechanical digger hidden nearby. It had dug the hole and would be used to fill it in again. The mound of earth had been covered with more of the green baize (material made from wool) cloth. All very tasteful.

The majority of the mourners didn't linger (to take a long time to leave). One man, face heavily lined, mouth permanently drooping (hanging down as from exhaustion, less happy and energetic), stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black woolen coat and approached with the smallest nod of recognition.

'John', he said.

'Tommy', Rebus replied, with another nod.

'Got to be us one of these days, eh?'

'Not yet, though.'

The two men started walking toward the cemetery gates.

'Need a lift (a free journey in another person's car)?'

Rebus shook his head. 'Car's outside.'

'Traffic's a nightmare - as per (as usual).'

Rebus offered a cigarette, but Tommy Beamish told him he’d stopped a couple of years back. 'Doctor advised me they stunt your growth (to stop something from developing to kill a person).'

Rebus lit up and inhaled. 'How long have you been out of the game now?' he asked.

'Twelve years and counting.  One of the lucky ones. Too

                                                                                    
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Words to learn:

Cold Case - a criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains on the books, police departments are opening Cold Case units whose job is to re-examine cold case files

to conjure up - to make a picture or idea appear in mind

tailbacks - a line of vehicles that have stopped or are moving only very slowly, because of an accident or other problem on the road in front of them 

at large - generally

standing in - to take person's place at an event

many like Jimmy - get the gold watch, and soon after they're on a slab (a broad flat square or rectangular piece of wood).'

     'A cheery prospect.'

     'Is that why you keep working? I heard you were in Cold Case (a criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains on the books, police departments are opening Cold Case units whose job is to re-examine cold case files).'

Rebus nodded slowly. They were almost at the gates now.

The first of the cars was passing them, family members in the black, eyes fixed on the road ahead. He couldn't think what else to say to Beamish. Different ranks, different cop shops.

He tried to conjure up (to make a picture or idea appear in mind) the names of colleagues they might both have known.

     'Ach, well…' Perhaps Beamish shared his difficulty. He was holding out his hand. Rebus shook it. 'Till the next time, eh?'

     'So long as it's not one of us in the wooden suit.'

     With a snort, Beamish was gone, turning his collar up against the falling rain. Rebus stubbed the cigarette out (to stop a cigarette from burning by pressing the burning end against a hard surface) beneath his heel, waited a couple of moments, then headed for (to go in the direction of) his car.

     The traffic in Edinburgh was indeed a nightmare.

Temporary lights (temporary traffic lights i.e. road works), road closures, diversions. Long tailbacks (a line of vehicles that have stopped or are moving only very slowly, because of an accident or other problem on the road in front of them) everywhere. Most of it to accommodate the construction of a single tramline between airport and city centre.  While stationary (not moving), he checked his phone for messages, unsurprised to find there were none. No urgent cases required his attention: he worked with the long dead, murder victims forgotten for the world at large (generally). There were eleven investigations on the books (belong to organization) of the Serious Crime Review Unit.  They went as far back as 1966, the most recent dating from 2002. Where there were graves to visit, Rebus had visited them. Families and friends still left flowers at a few (some, a small number), and the names on any cards had been jotted into his notebook and added to the file - to what end he wasn’t entirely sure.

When he turned on the car's CD player, Jackie Leven's voice - deep and visceral (based on deep feeling and emotional reaction) - emerged from the speakers. He was singing about standing in (to take person's place at an event) another man's grave. Rebus's eyes narrowed. For a moment he was back in the cemetery,

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Words to learn:

Fife - an administrative area and historic county of Scotland

sidelines - if you do something from the sidelines, you are not actively involved in something
letting down - to disappoint someone by failing to do what you agreed to do
surveillance - the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police
pulled out - to remove from fixed position or to move away
A&E - Accident and Emergency: the part of hospital where people go when they injured and need treatment quickly
posting - a job, often within the same organization that you are working for, which involves going to a different town

content to be staring at heads and shoulders. He reached over

(to reach above or beyond) to the passenger seat and managed to wrest (to get something with effort or difficulty) the lyric booklet (booklets which come inserted into the Compact Disc case)  from its case. The track was called 'Another Man's Rain.' That was what Jackie was singing about: standing in another man's rain.

     'Time to get your ears checked,' Rebus muttered to himself. Jackie Levin was dead, too. A year or so younger than Rebus. They shared a Fife (an administrative area and historic county of Scotland) background. Rebus wondered if his school had ever played the singer's at football - almost the only time kids from different schools might meet. It wouldn't have mattered: Rebus had never been picked for the first team, consigned (to send) instead to offering encouragement from the frozen sidelines (if you do something from the sidelines, you are not actively involved in something) as tacklers and goals went in and insults were traded (insult each other or say rude things to each other). 

     'And standing in every bastard's rain,' he said aloud. The horn was sounding from the car behind. Its driver was in a hurry. He had meetings waiting for him, important people he was letting down (to disappoint someone by failing to do what you agreed to do). The world would crash and burn if this traffic didn't start moving. Rebus wondered how many hours of his own life he had wasted like this. Or sitting on surveillance (the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police). Or filling in forms, requisitions (the act of officially asking or taking something), and time sheets (a document on which workers record the number of hours they have worked). When his phone pinged with a message, he saw it was from his boss.

     Thought you said 3!

Rebus glanced at his watch. It was five minutes past the hour. Twenty more minutes would see him at the office, more or less. In days gone by (passed by) , he might have had a siren and flashing light.  He might have pulled out (to remove from fixed position or to move away) into the oncoming lane (lane that's going in the other direction you are) and trusted to the fates that he wouldn't end up in A&E (Accident and Emergency: the part of hospital where people go when they injured and need treatment quickly). But these days he didn't even have a proper warrant card (a card that is proof of identification and authority carried by police officers), because he wasn't a cop. He was a retired cop who happened to work for Lothian and Borders Police (is an area in south east Scotland along with Scottish borders) in a civilian capacity. 

His boss was the only member of the unit who was still a serving officer. A serving officer and not at all happy about his latest posting (a job, often within the same organization that you are working for, which involves going to a different town) nursing the geriatrics (someone who is old and weak). Not happy either about the three p.m. meeting and Rebus's tardiness (slow and late in happening or arriving).

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What's the rush? Rebus texted back, just to be annoying (to make someone feel angry). Then he turned up the music , repeating the same track as before. Leven still seemed to be standing in another man's grave.

     As if rain wasn't bad enough...

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II

Words to learn:

clues - a sign or some information that helps you to find the answer to the problem
wheeze - a high, rough noise made when someone cannot breathe easily
a shade - slightly
prodigious - extremely great in amount

He shook himself free of his overcoat and let it drip across the floor of the office to the hook on the far wall.

     'Thanks for taking the trouble,' Cowan said.

     'Apologies, Danny.'

     'Daniel,' Cowan corrected him.

     'Sorry, Dan'

     Cowan was seated on one of the desks, his feet not quite reaching the floor, exposing a pair of red paisley-pattern socks (Paisley is the largest town in the west of central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area. Paisley pattern or Paisley design is a type of ornamental device known as a 'cone') above gleaming black leather shoes.

He kept polish and brushes in the bottom drawer of the desk. Rebus new this because he'd opened the drawer one day when Cowan was out of the room, having already checked the two drawers above it.

     'What are you looking for?' Elaine Robison had asked.

     'Clues (a sign or some information that helps you to find the answer to the problem),' Rebus had replied.

     Robison was standing in front of him now, handing him a mug of coffee. 'How did it go?' she asked.

     'It was a funeral,' Rebus answered, placing the mug to his lips.

     'If we can get started,' Cowan snapped (to say something suddenly in an angry way). The grey suit didn't look right on him. Its shoulders seemed over-padded (a layer of soft material used for protection or to give shape) and the lapels too wide. He pushed a hand defiantly (not willing to accept criticism or disapproval) through his hair.

     Rebus and Robison took their seats alongside Peter Bliss, whose breathing sounded labored (needing a lot of effort, often because someone is tired) even when at rest. But he'd had the same wheeze (a high, rough noise made when someone cannot breathe easily) twenty years ago, and maybe the twenty before that, too. He was just a shade (slightly) older than Rebus and had been in the unit longer than any of them. He sat with his hands clasped across his prodigious (extremely great in amount) stomach, as if daring

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Words to learn:

spring on him - to tell or ask someone something when they do not expect it 
reckons - think or believe
dye - to change the colour
vintage - a group of people who were active during the same particular period
deflected - to prevent something from being directed at you
acknowledge - to accept
reference - a statement of a person's good qualities, written by someone who knows the person well, that is to send to a future employer

the universe to spring on him ( to tell or ask someone something when they do not expect it) something he hadn't seen before. He'd certainly seen plenty like Detective Sergeant Daniel Cowan, and had told Rebus as much on Rebus's first day with the unit: ' Thinks we’re beneath his station (position). Reckons (think or believe) he’s too good, and the bosses know it and have stunted (to prevent from growing or developing) him here to take him down a peg or three (to show someone that they are not as important as they thought they were).' 

     Prior to retirement, Bliss had reached the rank of detective inspector - same as Rebus. Elaine Robison had been a detective constable, and blamed the lack of higher achievement on the fact that she'd always put family before career.

     'Quite right too,' Rebus had told her, adding (after he'd known her a few more weeks) that his own marriage had lost its fight with the job early on.

     Robison had only just turned fifty. Her son and daughter had left home, graduated from college and moved south for work. There were framed portraits of them on the desk, alongside other photos showing Robison herself posing at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (is one of Australia's most well-known and photographed landmarks) and seated at the controls of a light aero plane. 

She had recently started to dye (to change the colour), not that Rebus saw anything wrong in that.  
Streaked gray (to have long noticeable lines of different colour), she would still have looked ten years younger than her age and might even pass for thirty-five - same as Cowan.

     Cowan, he reckoned (think or believe), had arranged the chairs.

They sat in a straight line in front of his desk, so that they all had to look up at him.

     'Wearing those socks for a bet, Danny?' Rebus asked from behind the mug.

     Cowan deflected (to prevent something from being directed at you) to comment with a thin smile. 'Do I hear right, John? You've applied for rejoin?' He waited for Rebus to acknowledge (to accept) the truth of this. The retirement age had been raised, meaning those of Rebus vintage (a group of people who were active during the same particular period) could reapply. 'Thing is,' Cowan continued, leaning forward a little, 'they'll come to me for a reference (a statement of a person's good qualities, written by someone who knows the person well, that is to send to a future employer). Way you are going; it won't be a fan letter.'

     'You can have my autograph anyway.' Rebus assured him.

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Words to learn:

kirk - the Church of Scotland
Crown Office - is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland
Lothian and Borders - is an area in south-east Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian along with the Scottish Borders
brandishing - to wave something in the air
clipping - the piece that has been cut from a newspaper
never mind - something that you say to tell someone that something is not important

It was hard to tell if Peter Bliss's wheezing had just taken on a different timbre (quality of sound) or whether he has stifling a laugh. Robison looked down into her lap (the upper part of the legs of a person who is sitting down) and smiled. Cowan shook his head slowly.

     'Can I remind you all,' he said quietly, 'that this unit is jeopardized? And if it closes down, only one of us will be welcomed back into the body of the kirk (the Church of Scotland).' He pointed a finger at his own chest. 'A result would be nice. Progress of any kind would be nice.'

     They all knew what he was talking about. The Crown Office (is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland) was setting up (to prepare something for use) a specialist Cold Case Unit for the whole of Scotland. If it scooped up (to get something or gather and remove) their workload, their jobs would be history. The CCU (Cyber Crime Unit) would have at its heart a database of ninety-three cases dating back to the 1940s, including all the ones from the Lothian and Borders (is an area in south-east Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian along with the Scottish Borders) police authority. With the CCU up and running (operating), questions were bound to be asked about the usefulness of the smaller Edinburg team. Money was tight (if money is tight, there is only just enough of it). There were already mutterings (complaints that are made to only a few people) that dusting off (to prepare something for use, especially after it has not been used for a long time) old unsolveds (that has not been solved) did little but drain cash from current (and more urgent) inquiries in and around the city.

     'A result would be nice,' Cowan repeated. He leapt (to make a large jump or sudden movement) from the desk strode around it and plucked (to remove) a newspaper cutting from the wall, brandishing (to wave something in the air) it for effect. 'Cold Case Unit in England,' he intoned. 'Suspect charged for the murder of a teenager committed almost fifty years ago.' He paraded the clipping (the piece that has been cut from a newspaper) in front of their faces. 'DNA (a substance that carries genetic information in the cells of the body)… crime-scene analysis… witnesses whose consciences have been gnawing away at (to gradually reduce or spoil something) them. We know how that works, so how about making it work?'

     He seemed to require an answer, but none was forthcoming. The silence lengthened (to become longer) until Robison broke it.

'We don't always have the resources,' she countered (to react to something with an opposition opinion), 'never mind (something that you say to tell someone that something is not important) the evidence'. Hard to apply DNA tests to anything when the victim’s clothing got lost somewhere down the line (in the past).'

     'There were plenty of cases where we do have clothing, though, aren't there?'

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