‘Have you been down to see Marshall yet?’ Moses asked. It was my usual practice to see every client when they arrived in court, discuss the criminal charge with them, and generally hold their hand. I shook my head. ‘I couldn’t go through with the whole Judas thing,’ I said. ‘He’d rumble me straight away and refuse to go up to the court. I’m only going to see him when Patsy Barnes is in the room.’

Moses glared at me. ‘D’you think that’s wise?’ he said. ‘I mean, who’s going to protect you?’

I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. I’d been holding my breath without realizing it. ‘Bancho and the armed police officers are protecting me,’ I said. ‘Duncan’s also got something up his sleeve he won’t tell me about in case I inadvertently reveal it to Patsy.’ By now I was feeling tired, tense, and frustrated that I had to leave these details to Bancho without any input from me. It was agreed that the only person I could be seen talking to was Moses because Patsy Barnes had already seen him.

The mobile she had given me started to ring.

‘Hello?’ I said. There was complete silence except for the sound of her soft breathing–she was waiting for me to speak. ‘It’s all arranged.’ I spoke quickly anxious to get this conversation over with. ‘The fiscal had to serve new charges on him for the abduction of DI Sam Jones.’ She giggled. I waited for it to stop, tapping my foot. ‘Graham Marshall—’ I began. ‘Kevin Milne,’ she interrupted, the giggling stopping as suddenly as it had begun. ‘Kevin Milne,’ I appeased her, ‘will be brought into Court Ten at two thirty. There will be you, me and Sheriff Clerk Alex Grant. It was the best I could do.’

‘I’ll be there,’ she said, and hung up the phone. I had no doubt she would be, just as I knew she would tell me where Glasgow Joe was afterwards. If she didn’t tell me I would beat it out of her, whether Bancho was watching or not.

Moses and I walked into the courthouse in silence. The guards at the entrance made us walk through the metal detectors. As usual I set it off. I put the office keys I had forgotten I was carrying into the plastic tray, and walked back through. This time it stayed quiet–it seemed like a warning. We walked to Court Ten in silence. Moses had insisted on accompanying me, and, since Patsy Barnes was aware of his existence, I couldn’t see any harm in it. I glanced at Moses. A smile was on his face; he was going to enjoy himself regardless.

‘What’s so funny?’ I glared at him. ‘What’s so funny?’

He swallowed hard. I knew it was taking all his self-control not to laugh again; nerves affected him like this.