He told Cuckoo everything. All about Tess and their meetings at Kettner’s and especially what she’d discovered regarding his brother. He missed out the bit where he and Tess slept together, because a gentleman never tells, and besides, how could he possibly explain that they’d slept together and yet there was still no romantic attachment? That they’d slept together and that while it had meant everything to him, it had apparently meant nothing to her?

Otherwise, everything else came out.

‘OK,’ said Cuckoo, when Abbott had finished, choosing his words carefully, still unsure where he fitted into all this. ‘So that must have come as a shock.’

‘That my entire childhood was a lie? You might say that. I went to see my dad afterwards.’

‘Oh yeah? And how did that go?’

‘Ups and downs. The main thing was that years ago he was visited by the guy who ran Chris down, and that guy said there was a second perp in Scutter’s car.’

‘OK . . .’

‘A big fat bloke, according to the driver.’

‘And this fat bloke – he was never found?’

Abbott shook his head. ‘Never mentioned, never looked for, never found, never punished. Scutter goes to jail. This other bloke’s a ghost.’

‘What about your dad? Did he report it to the police?’

‘He said that he did, but that the police never did anything about it.’

‘OK, but did he follow it up? I mean, this was his son. Your brother.’

‘I asked him about that. He said that the police got narky with them. Said they must be mistaken. Told them to leave well alone. All that kind of stuff. I tried pressing him on it, but he started to get a bit anxious. The nurse turned up, saw that he was a bit distressed and wasn’t best pleased. She said I was upsetting him.’ He looked away with a heavy heart. ‘Which, I guess, I was.’

‘I don’t suppose it’s ever a good look to be seen upsetting your wheelchair-bound father?’

‘You suppose right. I was given my marching orders.’

‘She didn’t happen to get a whiff of your breath, did she?’

‘Well, if she did, she didn’t say anything.’

Cuckoo gave a slightly derisive snort. ‘You’re not pulling the wool over anybody’s eyes, you know. You might think you are, with your secret little drinks. Vodka doesn’t make your breath smell, is that it? But you’re not fooling anybody. They all know.’

Abbott shrugged. Not sure if he cared.

‘And so, on top of grieving for Nathan, you’ve now got this?’ said Cuckoo.

‘This being what? The boozing.’

‘Well, yes, that. Also, this being the stuff about your brother.’

‘I guess I have.’

Cuckoo made a noise – a disgusted noise. Shook his head.

‘You think she shouldn’t have told me?’ Abbott asked him.