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believed in his heart that his Da was right. Uncle Don had topped himself, finally losing the battle with his inner demons. But now, his detective’s instincts were going crazy. There had to be something else going on here. The thought of this possibility made his heart pound like a drum inside his chest.
     
    *
     
    When DCs Alice Mann and Dan Clifton returned to the McLarens’ house in Giffnock, Jenny McLaren was much more subdued. Her sons sat on both sides of her at the solid wood dining table, making her appear small and fragile between their large, ungainly forms.              
                  Ewan McLaren was a well-built lad of seventeen. He didn’t hesitate to recount to the detectives every single detail of the day he’d spent with his father at the Glasgow Fair.
                  ‘Dad drove us to the station and we took the train into town.’
                  ‘Is your car missing too?’ Dan Clifton interrupted, looking at the boy’s mother.
                  She shook her head. ‘The Audi is still in the garage and the Fiesta is sitting out on the driveway. But it looks as if Nathan took his house keys with him.’ This thought made tears begin to pool in her eyes.
                  Clifton made a note in his pad. ‘Okay. Carry on.’
                  ‘Cormac had arranged to meet his pals at the McLennan Arch at eleven. It was so busy there when we arrived that it took us about twenty minutes to find them. Cormac headed off into the park. We’d decided to keep in contact with each other on our mobile phones.’
                  ‘So you remained with your father for a while longer?’ Alice clarified.
                  Ewan nodded. ‘Aye, Dad and I had a bag of chips and wandered around the stalls for a while.’
                  ‘What was your father’s mood like on Saturday? Was he enthusiastic about the trip?’ Alice asked.
                  Ewan shrugged. ‘We chatted and joked a bit. There were lots of groups about who looked as if they were on a mission to get pissed. Dad and I had a laugh about that.’ He shot a cautious glance at his mother. ‘It was a really hot day and there were plenty of lassies in shorts and bikini tops. Dad pointed a couple of the bonny ones out to me.’
                  Jenny visibly bristled.
                  ‘That was because he was trying to be pally, you know? Not because Dad is a sleazebag or anything.’ Ewan gazed down at the table top. ‘Then I bumped into a friend of mine and we left Dad by the river. It was near to where the university have their rowing club.’
                  ‘Aye, we know where that is,’ Dan Clifton replied. ‘Did your father say how he was going to spend the rest of the afternoon?’
                  Ewan looked up. His eyes were glistening. ‘No and I never even bothered to ask.’
                  ‘I saw him later,’ Cormac interrupted. ‘We were on the dodgem’s and Dad walked past. He waved at me and my pal, Billy. He looked like he was headed back towards the arch.’
                  ‘Going out of the park?’ Alice stated.
                  ‘Aye, I suppose so,’ he conceded.
                  ‘What time was this?’
                  ‘About 3pm maybe?’
                  ‘I didn’t see Dad again until we met back at the station,’ his older brother added. ‘He called me on my mobile at about half five. I was ready to come home by then. It was a really hot day.’ Ewan laid his palms out flat on the table. ‘Dad had bought three burgers from a van and we ate them on the train. We chatted like normal and got home at seven.’
                  Dan looked at Jenny. ‘Has there been any change in your husband’s behaviour over the past few months? Any small