Colliver hesitated. The easy ride he’d been given by Cole was long gone. For the first time he thought carefully before he gave his answer.

‘I . . . I suppose when I was interviewed I didn’t fink I’d be charged, did I?’

Michael saw a smile appear in Colliver’s eyes. It betrayed an otherwise perfect poker face. Michael read its meaning. Colliver had hit a home run with his answer.

Or at least he thought he had.

‘I’m sorry.’ Michael was careful to hide his own amusement. ‘Could you explain what that means?’

‘I’m sayin’ there was a difference between my “no comment” interview and when I gave my statement to the police. The difference was I was charged when I gave up O’Driscoll ’n Kash. Before that I was just arrested. For somethin’ I’d not done. So I didn’t need to put ’em in it then, did I? When I was interviewed. I didn’t need t’grass then. But once I was charged? Once I was gonna be tried for murder? Different story, mate.’

Colliver’s arrogance had returned. He was confident he had delivered a winning argument. Michael could not have asked for more.

‘That is interesting, Mr Colliver. So the big difference – the thing that made you talk, that made you tell the police everything you knew – was the fact that you had been charged with murder and now faced a trial.’

‘That’s right. Yeah.’

Colliver sounded less certain. Michael’s continued confidence had deflated his own.

‘Mr Colliver, do you know what a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing is?’

‘What?’

‘You heard me, Mr Colliver. A PTPH. You know what it is, don’t you?’

‘Why don’t you remind me?’

‘Happily, Mr Colliver. A PTPH is a hearing at which you are asked whether you plead guilty or not guilty, after which your trial date is fixed and a host of other dates are set down, by which point certain parts of the case preparation must be complete. Ring any bells?’

No response. Michael was sure that Colliver had no idea where this was going.

‘OK. Well, unless you correct me – or Mr Epstein does – we’ll assume I’m right and that you had a PTPH in this court in January of this year, where you pleaded not guilty to murder and at which a trial date was set for June. Right?’

Michael glanced towards the jury when Colliver did not answer. Just for a moment. Long enough to be sure that they had the point.

‘Again, I’m not being corrected. So in January of this year everything had changed, like you said. You had been charged. You had a trial date. And yet still you had not mentioned Darren O’Driscoll or Simon Kash. Why is that?’

‘Because I weren’t bloody interviewed again, was I? Where was I supposed to say it?’

This time Michael did not try to hide his smile.

‘Have you ever heard of a Defence Statement, Mr Colliver?’

‘No.’ Colliver’s petulant answer suggested a man who had reached his limit.