Doggett says, “For the benefit of the tape, suspect is nodding.” He asks the lad to explain himself, but Barry refuses to look up. His shoulders are shaking, but he’s not saying anything.

Tyler has seen this before. It’s always the young ones that freeze.

Doggett glances at him for a moment and then goes on, in a softer tone than Tyler has ever heard from him before. “You need to talk to us, lad. All right? I think you realize how serious this is, don’t you? Now, you’re clearly no stranger to trouble, but by all accounts you’d put all that business behind you. You’ve got a home, an apprenticeship—that’s no small thing these days. I’m surprised you’d jeopardize all that. Mr. Simmonite weren’t too thrilled to hear we were taking you in, so you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when we take you home.” Here he pauses for a moment before going on. “That’s assuming you get to go home. Right now, that’s looking far from likely.” Doggett reaches down to two more evidence bags at his feet and places them one by one onto the table. A bottle of lighter fluid. A large box of kitchen matches. “All this stuff . . . things aren’t looking so good for you.”

Barry mumbles something.

“What was that, Barry, lad? You need to speak up for the tape.”

“I said, it was just meant to be a laugh.”

Doggett nods. “We’ve all been there, haven’t we, DS Tyler?” He winks. “Well, maybe not DS Tyler, he’s too much of a Boy Scout.” He breaks off to raise his eyebrows at Tyler. Tyler mouths a “Fuck off,” and Doggett stifles a grin.

“But I’m still young enough I can remember how it was,” he goes on. “Still, you’re not a little boy anymore, so you know how serious this is. A man is dead.” Doggett’s tone hardens. “One of my police officers is in a critical condition in the hospital.”

Barry shuffles in his seat but still says nothing.

Call-Me-Hels shuffles in her seat. “DI Doggett, I . . .”

“Be quiet!” Doggett snaps, and she does so, closing her mouth and sitting back. “Now,” Doggett says, turning back to Barry, “I don’t think you meant for anyone to get hurt, did you, Barry? But you need to start talking to us, telling us how this all came about. What the connection is with the body we’ve found. Because the only other alternative is I book you for murder. Right here, right now.”