Ian Rankin's "A Question of Blood" Quiz

Answer: He had scalded his hands.

Inspector Rebus was being treated for scalded hands, although the doctor was skeptical of his story that he had fallen into a hot bathtub. His injuries led some people to believe that he might have been involved in the death of an ex-convict who was killed in a fire.

Answer: He had attacked Detective Clarke.

Fairstone had been stalking Clarke since she provided evidence against him in court. He had followed her home one day and punched her, leaving her with a black eye. Rebus had been seen with the victim shortly before his death, although he claimed that his motive was simply to talk to Fairstone and that he had left him alive.

Answer: A school shooting

A school shooting on the outskirts of Edinburgh had left two teenagers dead and one injured. Rebus was asked to assist with the investigation because the shooter, who had apparently committed suicide at the scene, had served in Northern Ireland, as had Rebus. Clarke was included as an assistant to Rebus who was hampered by his injured hands.

Answer: Waterskiing

The suspect had used his boat to make frequent trips to Amsterdam, which had led the investigators to believe that he had been a drug smuggler, especially since a large amount of narcotics had been found on his boat. Inspector Rebus thought that they may have been planted, however, since they didn't find any other evidence of smuggling.

Answer: A member of the Scottish Parliament

Jack Bell, MSP, was the father of James Bell, the only survivor of the school shooting. The elder Bell had recently been caught in a solicitation scandal and was only too eager to deflect attention from that issue. He used the shooting to launch a crusade against the lack of security in schools.

Answer: Diamonds

Inspector Rebus suspected that the military personnel were there to suppress any evidence that suggested that the alleged shooter was a victim of post-traumatic stress related to his time in service. It turned out that they were there to recover diamonds which they believed the suspect had stolen from a helicopter accident scene.

The diamonds were being used to bribe combatants in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a fact that the military didn't want made public.

Answer: Goth

Rebus believed that jealousy over Miss Teri may have been the motive for the shootings; the confessed shooter denied this, stating that he shot the victims because they were different from him, but he had more in common with them than with Miss Teri's Goth lifestyle. Miss Teri was responsible for providing Rebus with the clue that solved one of the cases; the diamond necklace she wore was a gift from the alleged shooter, and it made Rebus realize that the suspect had been using his trips to Amsterdam to unload diamonds rather than smuggle drugs.

Answer: A teenager's bedroom

Inspector Rebus was a bit shocked to find out about the live feed from Miss Teri's bedroom, but he found himself drawn to it, and he stayed up at night, watching her sleep. Rebus thought that jealousy over the website could have provided a motive for the shooter since at least one of the victims had it bookmarked on his computer.

Answer: He was overjoyed to find that she was alive.

The readers and Inspector Rebus were led to believe that Detective Clarke was killed when the helicopter of one of the suspects crashed into the Firth of Forth. He was overcome with emotion upon finding that she hadn't been onboard.

Answer: Spatter pattern

The testimony of the school shooting survivor wasn't initially suspicious; it appeared to fit the evidence. But after a forensic analysis of the crime scene, it was determined that the shooting couldn't have happened as the boy claimed, due to the blood spatter pattern.