‘Because there wasn’t one, Ben. The only can that’s turned up is this one, which was found in a wheelie bin down the road. And if this is the right one, then it wasn’t put there by accident.’

Fry had called a meeting of what was left of her team. They were waiting for Murfin, but he was finishing a phone call, typing one more paragraph of a vital report, trying to make the point that he had too much work to do already.

‘Right, there are things to be done in the Darwin Street arson enquiry,’ she said.

‘Such as?’ asked Murfin.

‘We need to chase up forensics from the fire scene – particularly that sitting room. Brian Mullen swears that he never went in there that night. If we find any evidence of his presence in the room after the fire started, then we can demonstrate that he’s lying.’

‘Right.’

‘Obviously, somebody will have to interview this Jed Skinner. That should happen as soon as possible, before it occurs to Mullen to contact Skinner and they get their story straight.’

‘I’ll do that, if you like,’ said Cooper.

‘No, let Gavin go.’

‘OK. What, then?’

‘You can come with me to the hospital. I want your opinion on Mr Brian Mullen.’

‘Really?’

‘Don’t look so surprised – it isn’t the first time I’ve asked for your opinion, Ben.’

‘Well . . .’

‘Also, Mullen’s story is that he arrived home from the Broken Wheel in a taxi, which dropped him off at the end of the street. I’ve already spoken once to the next-door neighbour, Keith Wade, but I want to know about a conversation they supposedly had. Wade must have witnessed Mullen going into the house on his abortive rescue mission. It would be useful if he happened to see his neighbour arriving in the street, too.’

‘From the taxi?’

‘That’s another thing –’

‘You want us to find the taxi driver.’

‘Exactly. Confirm the time and place he picked Mullen up, and where he dropped him off. And then I’d like to know what happened to Skinner. Did the driver see him outside the club? Did he and Mullen share a taxi, even?’

‘I wonder if Mr Wade is aware of any problems between Mullen and his wife?’ said Cooper. ‘If he lives in an adjoining semi, he might have been close enough to hear any arguments.’

‘We should ask all the neighbours that,’ said Fry. ‘Discreetly, of course.’

Cooper looked at the map to check the relative locations of the fire and the wheelie bin where the lighter fluid can had been found.

‘By the way, this isn’t the Shrubs,’ he said, pointing at the map. ‘The area’s called that because of the names of the streets.’

‘I know that.’

‘Well, since when has Darwin been a shrub?’

‘It’s close.’

‘Close? In an evolutionary sense, or what?’