‘Oh, didn’t you know I knew?’ Cardilini asked, smiling back at Carmody. ‘How do I know? Is that what you would like to ask? Did your mate, Burnside, tell me? How could I know unless through you and your mates or . . .?’ Cardilini left the sentence hanging; he was enjoying Carmody’s lost composure. He felt he was seeing the child in the young man for the first time. Carmody sat, pulling at his lip. Cardilini warmed to him.

‘A young boy told you this?’ Carmody asked.

‘Maybe,’ Cardilini parried.

‘A boy Mossop’s age?’

‘Maybe.’

‘So like Mossop it could be a lie,’ Carmody stated.

Cardilini smiled, satisfied. ‘I don’t think so, maybe this boy knew right from wrong,’ he replied smugly.

‘Did the boy tell you what was happening?’

‘He told me what happened, yes.’ Cardilini continued his bluff.

‘If the boy told you what happened I don’t understand why you want to pursue any of this?’ Carmody asked, genuinely perplexed.

‘A crime’s been committed. I’m a policeman. And there are other boys who need protecting.’ Cardilini wondered which of Carmody’s scaly mates was now going to be accused of speaking to him. He didn’t care.

‘You think you’re protecting that boy, exposing him like this? You have no idea. I don’t even believe you’re doing this because you’re a policeman, you’re just following your own self-interest, like everybody else. Well that’s not good enough. Your self-interest fails to protect the ones that need protecting.’

‘And you’re protecting them, are you?’ Cardilini demanded.

‘I’m not harming them,’ Carmody replied.

‘I’m willing to forget the whole thing if you get Mossop to retract,’ Cardilini said. ‘Besides, Mossop’s story is already suspect and the new witnesses are in trouble.’

‘How?’

‘Because they didn’t see anything, because there was nothing to see. So things will get nasty for a while, the finger will be pointed at you eventually, the school will dump you real quick. You have an opportunity to withdraw your troops or suffer a loss.’

‘What about the story of the boots and rifle? What’s going to happen with that?’

‘Why? Is it true?’

‘I don’t know anything about it.’

‘Sensible boy. Now is Mossop going to retract his story?’ Cardilini asked.

Carmody looked out to the park then turned to Cardilini. ‘What Edmund was doing has possibly resulted in three boys taking their own lives. You understand that?’ He demanded.

‘Yes,’ Cardilini shot back.

‘Did you check with his previous school?’ Carmody asked.

‘They were glad to see the back of him. That’s why his reference was glowing.’

‘Was he ever going to be stopped?’ Carmody was now looking directly at Cardilini. Gone was the smugness, gone the arrogance. Instead, Cardilini saw a strong, youthful demand for justice.