‘Who?’
‘Howard Corbyn,’ Rebus repeated.
‘I’ve never heard of him.’
‘Is that right? Well, he’s a property developer.’ Rebus turned towards the auditorium and raised his voice a little. ‘Aren’t you, Mr Corbyn?’
He was seated in the front row of the Grand Circle, Siobhan Clarke next to him, the pair of them just about visible beyond the stage lighting. Corbyn nodded and waved, and Alan Yates swallowed a gulp. Perspiration made his face gleam.
‘Willie Mearns watched the pair of you,’ Rebus went on, turning towards Yates again. ‘Three visits when you knew the theatre would be empty. A handshake in the lane at the end of the third. Flats, commercial use, maybe a super-pub–Mr Corbyn wasn’t sure what he would do with the place, but he wanted it if the price was right. You just had to shut down Cinderella. A real-life tragedy would do the trick. You could get back at Celia Jagger for her snub, and maybe even put her lover in the frame–all you had to do was take that photo from his dressing-room and place it in hers–just singed enough to look the part. You think we can’t lift fingerprints from a half-burned picture, Mr Yates? You’d be surprised what we can do these days with anything less than cinders.’
Yates was looking at the floor, as if willing it to reveal an escape route.
‘No disappearing act for you,’ Rebus warned him. ‘But you might want to take one last good look around. Because you know where your reputation’s going to be from now on?’
‘Where?’ Yates couldn’t help asking, his voice cracking.
Instead of answering, Rebus looked up to where Siobhan Clarke was sitting.
‘Behind you!’ she called down.
‘Behind you,’ Rebus repeated quietly, leading Alan Yates from the stage.
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About the author
Ian Rankin is an internationally #1 bestselling novelist and the recipient of an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger for fiction, a Diamond Dagger for career excellence, and the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife.
ianrankin.net
Also by Ian Rankin
The Inspector Malcolm Fox Series
The Complaints
The Impossible Dead
The Detective Inspector Rebus Series
Knots & Crosses Hide & Seek
Tooth & Nail (previously published as Wolfman)
A Good Hanging and Other Stories
Strip Jack
The Black Book
Mortal Causes
Let It Bleed
Black & Blue
The Hanging Garden
Death Is Not the End (a novella)
Dead Souls
Set in Darkness
The Falls
Resurrection Men
A Question of Blood
Fleshmarket Alley
The Naming of the Dead
Exit Music
Saints of the Shadow Bible
Even Dogs in the Wild
Other Novels
Witch Hunt
Blood Hunt
Bleeding Hearts
Watchman
Doors Open
Dark Entries (graphic novel)
Praise for Ian Rankin’s
THE BEAT GOES ON
“One of the great literary crime solvers of our time. The brooding Rebus of the dark novels never completely disappears.… But Rankin exposes other facets of this music-loving, pint-imbibing crazy diamond.… Rebus is a Van Morrison kind of detective. No guru, no method, for him, just sharp eyes, a good nose, and one foot in front of the other on an often-treacherous path. Put The Beat Goes On in your guest room for the pleasure of a traveler, weary or insomniac, who needs a stout companion for an evening’s adventure.”
—Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Crisply clever.”
—Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times
“An enjoyable collection, frequently displaying the playfulness that is characteristic of the author.”
—Barry Forshaw, The Independent (UK)
“Hugely satisfying.… Each tale—thanks to Rankin’s skill at scene-setting and character—proceeds at an almost leisurely pace, until a pivotal paragraph produces a surprising conclusion. The sardonic humor shines brighter than in the complex novels too. However, it is Rankin’s portrait of Edinburgh, a city with a split personality and a looming literary heritage, that is most impressive. No one mixes lightness and darkness better than him.”
—Mark Sanderson, Evening Standard (UK)
“Sharply observed, economically written.… For Rankin fans used to a regular diet of Rebus, this collection makes up for the year off the author took after the 2013 novel Saints of the Shadow Bible. For the uninitiated with short attention spans interested in sampling one of the finest crime fiction practitioners going, it’s an excellent place to start.”
—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
“All of the stories are tightly wrought and entertaining. Rankin moves ahead at great speed to deliver work that is potently inspiring, bringing readers a gem in each one.… His fans should add this tome to their other books in the series immediately.”
—Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum, Bookreporter
“It’s a very welcome return for Rebus that should tide fans over—until his next full novel comes out.”
—Laura DeMarco, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Rebus is genuinely fun to read no matter how dark his cases become.… The Beat Goes On is a deeply satisfying read and evokes the spirit of Edinburgh and Scotland in all its glory.”
—Roisin O’Connor, Independent on Sunday (UK)
“Rewarding.… A welcome addition to the Rankin canon.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Neat, pleasing, inventive.… They are well-made stories, a pleasure to read, one after the other, the work of a practiced and professional craftsman.… If you are a fan of the novels, you won’t be disappointed.”
—Allan Massie, The Scotsman (UK)
Further Copyright Information
‘Dead and Buried’ © John Rebus Limited 2013
‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A Good Hanging (And Other Short Stories, Featuring Inspector Rebus) © 2002 by Ian Rankin. Reprinted by permission of Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. All rights reserved.
‘My Shopping Day’ © Ian Rankin 1997 (first published in Herbert in Motion and Other Stories in Great Britain in 1997 by Revolver)
‘Facing the Music’ © John Rebus Limited 2002 (first published in Beggar’s Banquet, 1992)
‘Trip Trap’ © Ian Rankin 1992 (first published in 1st Culprit by Chatto & Windus, 1992)
‘Talk Show’ © Ian Rankin 1991 (first published in Winter’s Crimes 23 by Macmillan, 1991)
‘Castle Dangerous’ © Ian Rankin 1993 (first published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, October 1993)
‘In the Frame’ © Ian Rankin 1992 (first published in Winter’s Crimes 24 by Macmillan, 1992)
‘No Sanity Clause’ © Ian Rankin 2000 (first published in the Daily Telegraph, December 2000)
‘Death Is Not the End’ © Ian Rankin 1998
‘Tell Me Who to Kill’ © Ian Rankin 2003 (first published in Mysterious Pleasures, Little, Brown & Company)
‘Saint Nicked’ © Ian Rankin 2002 (first published in the Radio Times, 2002)
‘Atonement’ © John Rebus Limited 2005
‘Not Just Another Saturday’ © John Rebus Limited 2005
&
nbsp; ‘Penalty Claus’ © John Rebus Limited 2010 (first published in the Mail on Sunday, 2010)
‘The Passenger’ © John Rebus Limited 2014
‘A Three-Pint Problem’ © John Rebus Limited 2014
‘The Very Last Drop’ © John Rebus Limited 2010 (written to help the work of Royal Blind)
‘Cinders’ © John Rebus Limited 2014 (first published in the Mail on Sunday)
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Author’s Note
Dead and Buried
Playback
The Dean Curse
Being Frank
Concrete Evidence
Seeing Things
A Good Hanging
Tit for Tat
Not Provan
Sunday
Auld Lang Syne
The Gentlemen’s Club
Monstrous Trumpet
My Shopping Day
Talk Show
Trip Trap
Castle Dangerous
In the Frame
Facing the Music
Window of Opportunity
Death Is Not the End
No Sanity Clause
Tell Me Who to Kill
Saint Nicked
Atonement
Not Just Another Saturday
Penalty Claus
The Passenger
A Three-Pint Problem
The Very Last Drop
Cinders
Discover More Ian Rankin
About the Author
Also by Ian Rankin
Praise for Ian Rankin’s The Beat Goes On
Further Copyright Information
Copyright
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2015 by John Rebus Ltd.
Copyright information for individual stories appears here.
Excerpt from Even Dogs in the Wild copyright © 2015 by John Rebus Ltd.
Author photograph by Hamish Brown
Cover design by Nneka Bennett; photograph by Dusica Paripovic/Getty Images
Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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First ebook edition: August 2015
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ISBN 978-0-316-29684-7
E3-20180817-JV-PC