‘I would say, from the legal point of view, that’s a very risky thing to do.’

‘“From the legal point of view”? That’s rich, coming from you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I think there’s a law against diagnosing people with cancer when they haven’t got it.’

‘Are you talking about yourself? And your rather shabby bit of play-acting this morning? I’ll have you know that the treatment recommended by me, with Jeremiah’s healing assistance, has had remarkable successes.’

‘Oh yes?’

‘Some of our patients have had a completely clean bill of health at the end of it.’

‘No cancer in their bodies?’

‘No cancer in their bodies,’ he confirmed.

‘Hardly surprising when they didn’t have any when they started the treatment, is it?’

‘Jude—’

‘And when did you decide their treatment was complete – that they were cured? When they got suspicious about what you were up to? Or just when their money ran out? There’s no way round it. You two are a pair of quacks, playing one of the oldest con tricks in history.’

‘I don’t think you’re really in much of a position to say that, Jude.’

‘Why not?’

‘Touch of the pot and kettle. Making an appointment with a doctor on the pretence of having breast cancer when you haven’t got it is … well, certainly immoral. I think a good lawyer might be able to prove it was criminal.’

‘I think a good lawyer,’ Jude snapped back, ‘would have a much easier job proving that diagnosing someone with breast cancer when they haven’t got it is criminal.’

‘I haven’t diagnosed you, Jude. I am awaiting the results of a blood test.’

‘Which I bet will be negative now. Anyway, since when has a simple blood test been an adequate proof that someone has cancer?’

‘I am afraid, Jude, that you do not have nearly as much medical knowledge as I have. New techniques are being developed every day. I know a lot more about them than you do. And I know that I have done nothing illegal in your case.’

‘Possibly not. Yet. But let’s put my case to one side. I only came to see you this morning as a means to an end. And, so far as I’m concerned, the exercise worked very well. I got the information I wanted. And that information does not concern me. It concerns Bill Shefford. And particularly the circumstances of his death.’

Jeremiah looked rather nervously at his colleague, but the doctor was unfazed. ‘I can guarantee that neither of us had anything to do with Bill Shefford’s death. He died in an accident at his place of work. Neither Jeremiah nor I have ever even been to that garage. As I say, we could not possibly have had anything to do with his death.’

‘But suppose he committed suicide?’

‘That’s pure speculation on your part.’