‘So was that what Friday was, then? Afterwards, in the cells? Were you struggling to get back in character?’

‘Something like that, yeah,’ Kash replied, still smirking. ‘Not that it triggered enough alarm bells for you to work this out for yourself, though. Fine forensic mind my arse. If the tables were turned, let me tell you, I’d have known then.’

‘I bet you would,’ Michael replied. ‘So Colliver was telling the truth. What about Jay Price? He was lying through his teeth. Was that down to you?’

‘Me? Nah, that was just a little present Terry gave us. He must have thought his story wouldn’t be believed on its own, so he got his mate Price to make up a load of bollocks about a confession to corroborate it. Lucky he did. Without Price telling a load of lies you’d have had a lot less to go after Colliver with.’

‘And the phone evidence?’

‘It’s like you said that day, ain’t it?’ The smirk again. This time worse than before. ‘Just because my phone weren’t there, it don’t mean I weren’t.’

‘But . . . but, why?’ Draper finally joined the debate. Her shock – her disbelief – was making her falter. ‘The Galloways, they did nothing to you.’

‘They served a purpose,’ Kash replied. ‘Just like you two. The Galloways had a reputation in that world. A standing. Now I’ve got it. It’s a big jump up the ladder, all for a couple of hours’ work.’

‘But O’Driscoll, he just pleaded to the killing?’

‘People ain’t stupid, love. They might believe the story for a minute or two. But word gets out. I’ll get my credit, don’t you worry.’

Michael nodded. Everything now made perfect sense.

Little Simon Kash had never existed. The boy for whom he had risked so much was a myth. And all that was left was the smirking sociopath sitting across the table.

He had just one more question:

‘If this is all true, why did O’Driscoll’s brother come after me?’

Kash laughed again. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Revelling in his deception, in his own cleverness.

‘Yeah,’ he laughed. ‘That one was nearly a spanner in the works. That was Pat trying to stop you cross-examining Darren. They knew I was gonna let you attack him. That I was making out I didn’t want to, but that in the end I’d pretend to cave. They couldn’t stop me doing it – wouldn’t dare try – so they thought you’d be the weak link; that they could take you out and I’d never be the wiser about who did it. Fucking idiots. It didn’t work out too well for them anyway, did it? Not from what I’ve heard.’

Kash held his hands up at head height and clapped again. A slow, deliberate round of applause.

‘So bravo, Mr Devlin. You were the perfect choice all the way round. The perfect little puppet.’

The clapping stopped. Kash placed his hands on the table and pushed down, rising suddenly to his feet.