“We know you and Archie were meant to be getting a Hogmanay special, Billy,” Logan continued. “Back on the telly. Big payday. That would’ve been handy with a new baby in the house.”

Billy pushed a finger and thumb up under his glasses, wiping the sweat from his eyelids. “That was… Archie was keen, I just… I went along with it for his sake, really.”

“Interesting that you say that,” Logan continued. “See, we had a chat with the producer. Nice lassie. Younger than my colleague who spoke to her was expecting. Very open and chatty. According to her, the whole idea of the reunion was yours. You pitched it to them, and then you developed it alongside their in-house team.”

Billy drained the last few dregs of water from his cup, stalling for time. “I mean… once it was set-up, I got involved with it all, obviously. It made sense at that stage. And, I mean, I had to. Contractually.”

“It was your idea from the start, Billy,” Heather said. “The producer told us that getting Archie on board was the hard part. You were there from day one. But, you convinced him in the end. Talked him into it.”

Logan picked up the story. “And that’s when it all fell apart. Isn’t it, Billy? They found out about his porn business. The BBC. Found out his dirty wee secret. And they couldn’t have that, could they? No’ on their Hogmanay flagship. No’ another sordid sex scandal. No’ so soon after Yewtree. That wouldn’t do at all. So they canned it.”

“How did that make you feel, Mr Pinnock?” asked Heather, her tone softening, her head cocking to one side. “To get so close to that big comeback, and have it so cruelly snatched away from you? And for something that wasn’t even your fault. That must’ve been a kick in the teeth.”

“I’d have been bloody furious,” Logan said. “Livid. There’s no saying what I’d have done, but I’d have been out for payback, no doubt about it.” He sat forward, resting his arms on the table, closing the gap between them. “Is that what you did, Billy? Got a bit of payback? Was he asking for it, like Darren Priestley?”

“No.”

Logan pulled a face that suggested he was impressed. “I see you’ve got the hang of the yes or no answers at last. That’s good. But I don’t believe you,” he said. “See, when my colleague DC Neish and I turned up at your shop earlier, you didn’t react in the way I’d expect you to have reacted. Especially knowing now that you had a new baby to worry about. There was no concern that something had happened at home, or that your wife had been involved in an accident, or anything like that. Why was that?”