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that. Fancy a game?
    — No, Elspeth says with stony finality. — Do you remember the last time we played Monopoly as a family? At my ma’s that Christmas?
    Franco is suddenly taciturn, as the boys come through from their rooms. — What happened? George asks.
    — Never you mind, says Elspeth.
    Franco recalls how they had placed a bottle of the Famous Grouse whisky in the middle of the board, the idea being that when somebody landed on Free Parking, they would have a nip. He seemed to land on it a lot. Then Joe had cheated, claiming he had rolled a ten instead of an eleven, thus positioning himself on Park Lane, intending to add it to the Mayfair he already had. Frank had picked up the bottle and sent it crashing down over his brother’s head, to the shock of Elspeth, June, Joe’s ex Sandra, and their mother,Val. They’d taken Joe to the hospital, where he had received twelve stitches. This recollection makes Franco change his mind. He pulls out Mousetrap. — No seen one ay them for years, he says, opening the box.
    — You used to hate that game, Elspeth recalls. — You eywis said that it was a lot of work to go round the board, just to set the thing off, and it didnae always work.
    — I quite fancy a wee game, but, for auld times’ sake, Frank suggests. — This is posher than the one we had. I don’t mind of the man in the bath, and he looks at the plastic accessories, which George and Thomas are already eagerly assembling on the board.

8
     
THE INCIDENT
     
    The next morning Franco rises early, looking out of his window to the end of the street and the small bridge, which crosses over the Water of Leith, leading to the rugby stadium. It is strange that the river winds all the way out to Leith and the Firth of Forth, down by the docks. Once again, his perception of the neighbourhood shocks him. With its cheap, shoddy, pebble-dashed dwellings, this is one step above a council scheme.
    Picking up his US cellphone, he notes that the battery is running down and realises that through packing in haste, he’s only brought a US charger. Nonetheless, he calls Melanie, taking a chance that she might be up late. She answers immediately. — Hey, you!
    — Hey, honey, how’s things? Franco feels his accent bland out. — How are my girls?
    — We’re all good. It’s just tough to know what to tell them. I settled for ‘an old friend of Daddy’s is ill’, I couldn’t think of anything else.
    Franco considers this, acknowledging, — Good move; it’s probably for the best.
    Melanie spills into an anecdote about Grace, and then Frank tells her that they’d been playing Mousetrap. When itseems as if his phone is going to give up, they say their goodbyes, and he goes to the kitchen to make breakfast.
    Elspeth is surprised to come through and find him in her domain, making an egg-white-and-Swiss-cheese omelette, sporting an apron depicting the body of a fat woman in her underwear. She has never seen him so much as boil a kettle before. — New talents, she remarks.
    — Can I interest you guys in any of this? he says, that slight American affectation still in his voice.
    Elspeth declines, but Greg, trying to smooth down a tuft of hair as he enters, enthusiastically takes up the offer. Bolting back his food, Franco then briefly vanishes, only to re-emerge in a zipped sweater, ready to go outside.
    — So where are ye off tae this early? Elspeth asks.
    — Thought I’d take a wee stroll intae toon, then maybe head doon tae Leith, see if there’s any old faces kicking about.
    Elspeth remains silent, issuing him with a spare key. He can see that trademark intense activity buzzing behind her eyes as she processes the potential ramifications of this.
    When Franco departs, Greg comments, — Your brother is like a completely different guy! Had a great chat with him about his creative process.
    — You see the best in people, Greg, Elspeth says coldly. — You don’t know what he’s really like.
     
    Franco sets about