‘Did he fight the case?’

‘The murder allegation, yeah. He ran a defence of provocation, claimed the victim had laughed at him during the discussion and that was sufficient provocation that he should only be guilty of manslaughter.’

‘Sorry? He fought a trial on the basis that being laughed at in an argument was a defence to murder?’ Levy did not hide her disbelief. ‘Well if that’s the kind of legal advice Blunt was giving out I’m surprised someone didn’t kill him sooner.’

‘You’re not the first to say that,’ Ryan replied, glancing across the room in Steven Hale’s direction. ‘And in fact Longman blew the defence out of the water anyway when he addressed the jury before verdicts, virtually guaranteeing Penfold’s conviction for murder.’

At first Levy did not speak as she carefully assessed the facts.

It sounded promising.

‘It certainly sounds like Penfold has the capacity for pre-planned extreme violence. And a willingness to kill if he thinks he’s been wronged. But what about the manner of the killing? In his local pub? There was no way he wasn’t getting named for that, while our new hero has been exceptional at covering his tracks so far. That doesn’t fit, does it?’

‘It is the one discrepancy, ma’am, yes,’ Ryan replied. ‘Although it isn’t fatal. For once thing, Penfold may have been a victim of overconfidence last time. From what the file indicates, he was feared by everyone in his local area. Basically the local gangster. There’s a good chance that he thought no one would dare to identify him. And if that’s wrong, remember he was in prison for fifteen years. That’s a long time to plan and prepare if he’s after revenge, and to find out better ways to avoid detection.’

Levy listened carefully. She agreed. Career offenders learn from their mistakes; they will rarely make the same one twice. Penfold had been easily caught the first time. If he was clever – and if he was their guy then he was certainly that – he would have learned to be better in the intervening years.

‘So just to be clear on this, Longman was the trial judge and Blunt was Penfold’s lawyer, right?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Ryan replied. ‘Penfold was convicted of murder and Longman sentenced him to life with a minimum of fourteen years. He ultimately served fourteen and a half. Released six months ago.’

‘How old is he now?’

‘He was thirty-two when he was convicted, so he’s now forty-seven.’

‘Which makes him young enough. What about his history? Apart from the offence itself? Is there anything to suggest he’s capable of any of this?’

‘There is, ma’am. Convictions for violence going back to his mid-teens. A reputation as a fighter. Bare knuckle stuff, for money. And he was a suspect in two murders where nothing seemed to stick. Witnesses refusing to cooperate. That sort of thing. Based on what he has done and on what he’s suspected to have done, Penfold is one violent bastard.’