‘I thought about telling you this at the start of our conversation,’ Mallon said, ‘but I knew you’d want to get things off your chest about Kelly and Smith Berry, so I decided to hold back a little bit until you’d had your say.’ He paused. ‘Charlie Vanucchi came back on the Nellie Byrne murder with a name for Pat Mossop.’

‘So which of his fellows is it?’

‘It’s none of them. But Vanucchi told Mossop the identity of the man who was with Nellie before she was killed. Now he’s our prime suspect.’

‘So who is it?’ Swallow asked, professional interest asserting itself in spite of his exhaustion.

‘You’re not going to believe this, but it might change your plans a bit. It’s a fellow we both know. It’s Kelly.’

‘Kelly?’ Swallow could not believe his ears. ‘Kelly? Nigel Kelly? Major Nigel Kelly? So what are we doing about that information?’

Mallon looked at the wall clock.

‘Right now he should be in the Bridewell, I imagine. “Duck” Boyle and Mick Feore and half a dozen men in backup collected him from his bed, or more accurately from the bed of one of his lady friends in Mount Pleasant, a little earlier this morning.’

His smile broadened just a fraction.

‘So I imagine that we’ll get our interview with Mr Smith Berry very soon. Very soon indeed.’

Chapter 40

It was a rarity for two suspects to be held separately but simultaneously in the city in two parallel murder investigations. Nobody in G-Division could recall such a thing happening before.

Swallow had got four hours of passable sleep, a hot bath and a change of clothes at home in Thomas Street before returning to the Castle in the early afternoon.

‘You look a bit better all right,’ Mallon commented drily. ‘I’ve got your warrant for Werner. I’ve put a few men across at the Bridewell in case any of the crowd from the Upper Yard try to do anything dramatic about Kelly. But Johnny Vizzard is waiting in Exchange Court to go with you to the New Vienna.’

Vizzard was the newest recruit to G-Division. He would be a good G-man in time, Swallow reckoned, but he was still raw. Assisting in an arrest for a murder case would be a learning experience for him.

‘What’s happening with Kelly over at the Bridewell, chief?’ Swallow asked.

He chided himself silently as he asked the question. The uppermost thought in his head was more to do with nailing the secret service man than bringing the Alice Flannery murder investigation to a successful conclusion. He was allowing emotional distress to cloud his professional judgement.