‘Jenny.’ Michael responded in kind, taking her hand and shaking it gently. ‘It’s nice to meet you at last.’

‘And you. It’s exciting to be working with you.’

Michael did not know what to say to that, so he just smiled in response and gestured for her to sit.

‘What can I get you?’ he asked, still standing.

‘Espresso Macchiato, please.’

‘Anything to eat?’

‘Can I be bad and have a chocolate muffin? I need the sugar hit.’

‘Whatever keeps you going,’ Michael joked.

Michael headed back to the counter and placed the order. When it was ready he carried the tray back to the table.

Draper had settled in while Michael was at the counter. A single A4 lever-arch file was now on the table ahead of her. Next to it was a thin laptop. Next to that an iPad. And next to the iPad an iPhone. Michael wondered why anyone would need all three devices at once. A subject for another day.

‘You’ve come prepared.’

‘I wouldn’t want to give a bad impression the first time we meet.’ Draper smiled coyly. ‘Plus I thought you’d want to hit the ground running.’

‘We need to,’ Michael replied. ‘We don’t have long.’

‘We’ll get you up to speed in no time.’

‘Here’s hoping.’ Michael sat forward in his seat and clasped his hands between his spread legs. ‘Now, tell me what you think of Simon Kash?’

For the next hour Michael and Draper discussed various aspects of the case. The allegations. Kash’s character. What had happened up to now and Derek Reid being replaced.

Draper had agreed that Reid was more than up to the task. But in the next breath she was saying how happy she was that Michael was the replacement. How privileged she was to work alongside such a brilliant young QC.

Michael ignored the flattery. Perhaps she meant every word, but barristers are adept at massaging each others’ ego face-to-face while saying something very different when out of earshot. And he also remembered Reid’s warning.

‘So you don’t think Kash is innocent?’ Michael asked.

The conversation had come full circle, returning to Draper’s answer to Michael’s original question.

‘I didn’t say he wasn’t innocent,’ Draper replied. ‘I’m just not convinced that he is. Not like Derek was convinced. Not like Ross.’

‘How old are you, Jenny?’

‘Thirty-one. Why?’

‘And how long have you been in your chambers?’

‘Eight years. Nine if you count pupillage. Again, why?’

Draper was certainly confident. Perhaps overconfident. It did not concern Michael. Faith in oneself was a big part of what they both did for a living.

‘It’s just unusual to hear someone as young as you – as inexperienced, at least relatively – openly disagreeing with the likes of Derek Reid and Andrew Ross.’

Michael realised as he spoke that his meaning might not be clear. He continued.

‘It’s refreshing, I mean. A lot of people in your position would have just agreed with their leader’s assessment. Especially if that leader is Derek.’