THE jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering bookkeeper Suzanne Pilley has retraced her last known movements before she went missing.

They followed the route the 38-year-old took to work in Edinburgh city centre on May 4, 2010, the day she disappeared.

David Gilroy, 49, from Edinburgh, walked behind the jury of eight men and seven women after they arrived by bus in the area where Ms Pilley was last seen alive.

Gilroy denies murdering her on May 4, 2010, in Edinburgh, or elsewhere, hiding her body and driving away with it in the boot of a car. He further pleads not guilty to trying to cover up the alleged killing.

Jurors were taken by bus from the High Court in Edinburgh to the entrance of the Jenners store in South St David Street. After arriving at about 2pm they were led along the route by Mark Heron, senior scene examiner with the Scottish Police Services Authority.

They walked the short distance north towards St Andrew Square, pausing briefly outside the Sainsbury's store on the corner of Rose Street.

From there, the jury, lawyers, court officials, trial judge Lord Bracadale and the accused made their way towards Thistle Street, which was cordoned off by police from its entrance at St Andrew Square to Hanover Street. The group then entered the building of the offices of Infrastructure Management, where Ms Pilley worked as a bookkeeper.

They were taken through the building, including Ms Pilley's office and the basement garage. The tour lasted around 40 minutes.

One of Ms Pilley's colleagues earlier gave evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh and told how she was surprised to find out about explicit emails between Gilroy and Ms Pilley.

Helen Liddell said she had not been aware of any relationship.

The trial heard Ms Liddell, a financial administrator at Infrastructure Management, accessed the emails after Ms Pilley's disappearance.

The 50-year-old said: "I discovered emails from David Gilroy, to and from Suzanne." She told the court she was "very surprised" by the contents of the emails. "They were having an affair, a relationship," she told the court.

"Were they explicit in any way?" asked Mr Prentice of the emails. Ms Liddell said they were.

The court heard Gilroy had been in the office on May 4 and made a comment to Ms Liddell about Ms Pilley not being in work. He was said to have been holding Allen keys.

Asked how he appeared at that point, Ms Liddell said: "Agitated. He was shaking. He was rattling the Allen keys."

The murder charge alleges Gilroy assaulted and injured Ms Pilley by unknown means in Thistle Street, or elsewhere, resulting in her death.

Prosecutors also allege Gilroy attempted to defeat the ends of justice, taking various steps to avoid detection, arrest and prosecution over the alleged killing.

Gilroy, of Edinburgh, denies the charges. The trial continues.