‘And he’s still unconscious, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking me for an account of his movements.’ Hanna nodded. ‘He saw your people here; he went to the Chronicle office where he spoke to a man called Don Jackson; he saw Dr Winstanley, who conducted the post-mortem on Salton’s body; and he saw Dr Collins, Salton’s physician. I last saw him at the Blue Water Casino at about midnight.’

Hanna grabbed for that one. ‘Was he winning?’

I shook my head. ‘He wasn’t gambling.’ It wasn’t going to be as easy as that for Hanna. There could be many reasons for the attack on Ogilvie but he certainly wasn’t mugged and robbed because he’d made a killing at the casino.

‘Why did he want to see Winstanley?’

‘To hear what he had to say.’

‘But he knew what he’d say.’ Hanna ticked off points on his fingers. ‘When he came here, Ogilvie saw Inspector Rose, who showed him the police report, the pathologist’s report and a transcript of the inquest. All Winstanley’s evidence was there.’

‘Do you believe everything that’s said at an inquest? Some day, I’d like to hear your opinion of Winstanley’s professional qualifications and his fitness to be a pathologist. In fact, I wouldn’t mind hearing it now. That body was far gone and Winstanley was a damned sight too certain in his evidence.’

‘Is that what Ogilvie thought?’

‘He thought the pathologist’s report was a joke,’ I said flatly. ‘What did you think?’

‘What I think doesn’t matter,’ said Hanna.

‘It should matter,’ I retorted. ‘If you had anything to do with the investigation.’

‘I was called in when David Salton’s body was discovered.’ He spoke reluctantly. ‘The fisherman who found it passed downwind of Salton’s boat – he smelled the body. That’s what made him investigate. Yes, Mr Kemp, the body was far gone, as you say.’

‘And you let Winstanley get away with that?’

‘I don’t control the conduct of inquests and I’m not responsible for their findings. Dr Winstanley’s testimony was given under oath.’

I leaned forward with my hands flat on Hanna’s desk and said, ‘Do you know what I think? I think the idea was to get rid of Salton fast – rush the inquest, stop the rioting in the streets and bury Salton so he could be forgotten. And you know damned well that a policeman is not bound by the findings of an inquest. That’s one legacy the English legal system has left you.’

He said stiffly, ‘I obey the orders of my superiors.’

‘Oh yes – Commissioner Barstow, who has Prime Minister Conyers breathing down his neck. Were you actually ordered not to press too hard?’