The solicitor looked up at her for a moment, and then said, gently, ‘It would be extremely unusual for contact to be allowed between you while you were in custody on such a serious charge. I know how concerned you are about his reaction, but I really will put forward everything you’ve said, and I’m sure he’ll understand that you are as bemused as the rest of us.’

Lightman listened to this in faint surprise. He hadn’t expected sympathy from the hotshot lawyer. He might have anticipated a cheerful dismissal of her concerns, but the quiet, soothing voice was unexpected.

It seemed unexpected to Louise, too, who gazed at him, blankly, and then said, ‘All right. Thank you – so much – Patrick.’ And then she turned away, her hand over her eyes.

The lawyer said nothing as Lightman took him to the relatives’ room. His expression looked pensive, and Lightman wondered what he was working through in his mind.

There were still traces of tears in Niall Reakes’s eyes as they entered. His reaction to the solicitor was somewhere between relieved and angry.

‘The chief has agreed to let you speak to Mr Moorcroft,’ Lightman said. ‘But he remains your wife’s solicitor.’

Niall Reakes, who had been in the process of getting up, looked sharply at Lightman. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means that we can speak, but without the privilege of solicitor–client confidentiality,’ Patrick Moorcroft explained.

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Lightman said. He caught the solicitor’s wry look. He was clearly aware that their conversation would be listened to.

By the time Lightman had shut himself into the observation room, Niall Reakes was saying, heatedly, ‘… why in the hell she called you. You’re my friend, not hers.’

‘I’m also the only solicitor you both know,’ Patrick said in a measured tone. He placed his briefcase upright on the table. ‘She probably didn’t know who else to call.’

‘Well, she’ll have to find someone else,’ Mr Reakes said, his voice high-pitched and unsteady.

‘She’s asked me to represent her, Niall,’ Patrick said, slightly more firmly. ‘I’m her solicitor.’

‘You’re joking,’ Niall said, half laughing in disbelief. ‘They’ve arrested her. They think – they must have a reason. Why are they holding her if she hasn’t done something?’

Patrick looked, momentarily, almost awkward. And then he said, ‘The question over what she may have done rests on where the young man died. He was found to have died in your home, rather than outside it.’

‘Oh my God,’ Niall said, putting his hands up to his face. ‘I knew it. I knew she was …’ He suddenly turned to Patrick. ‘She was sleeping with him, wasn’t she?’

‘That remains unclear,’ Patrick said. ‘He died in – in the bed alongside her.’

‘For God’s sake!’ He shook his head, violently. ‘You can’t represent her. There’s no way.’

‘Niall …’