‘There was stuff on it. Stuff I need. Data.’ I slumped back down. ‘Shit.’

‘Christ, son. There’s no pleasin’ you, eh? Tech says he can save whatever’s on the drive. But I wouldnae try callin’ yer burd wi’ it.’ He dropped the phone on to my stomach. ‘Luck o’ the Irish, ya Paddy bastard.’

I finished my wine.

‘Commander Knight thought I’d be furious about that phosphorus grenade.’ General King brought his face closer to mine and winked. ‘Not a bit of it. Burned all the evidence and got those New IRA yahoos in trouble. Two birds with one stone, eh? Best not make a habit of it, though. Scares Downing Street half to death.’

He refilled my glass and stared at me, tilting his head to appraise me as one might an animal before slaughter. Where to put the knife? How deep to thrust it? I’d been back in London for twelve hours. My wounds were as raw as the day they’d been cut.

‘I’m glad we have this, ah, opportunity, to clear up any outstanding personal matters. Tell me, McLean. Is there anything in particular I can help you with?’

He was good. I gave him that much. I thought about all the questions that still remained, but decided instead to ask him the one I knew he’d answer; one that would determine all that followed.

‘How did you know, sir?’ I said, nursing the wine. He kept still, close, watching me. ‘How did Frank – Commander Knight, I mean – how did he know to send me to the cottage in Donegal in the first place?’

‘The devil,’ he said, sitting back in the dining chair, ‘is always in the detail. But if it’s all the same with you, I’ll let Commander Knight delve into the specifics.’ He reached for his wine, crossing his legs under the table as he did so. He paused, calculating, I supposed, the cost of continuing. ‘What I will say, though, is that it’s a bloody good job Doctor Levy didn’t have a telephone. Never mind a computer.’ And then a broad grin spread across his face. ‘Apparently Commander Knight had been watching him for years. And then his daughter wrote him a letter. A bloody letter. Can you imagine?’ He turned the glass in his hand, first examining the wine, and then my reaction. ‘She was unstable by all accounts. Tried to kill herself once before. Looks like this time she followed through. Shame she didn’t survive, though. She’d have made a good gift for the Americans. God knows we could do with some credit at the White House, what?’ He sipped the wine. There was a knock on the dining room door as it began to open. ‘And talking of the Devil, that will be him now.’

King’s batman put his head into the room and cleared his throat.

‘Commander Knight, sir. Shall I …?’