‘She shouldn’t have had to, Ali.’

‘My business will survive this. So will the family name. But do you honestly think that Jocelyn is going to be everyone’s favourite fundraiser, or playdate mum?’

Layla grinds out her cigarette. ‘You’re going to lose her if you’re a dick about it, Ali. Fix this up before she packs her bags for good.’

Saffron rang him on Thursday. Not a particularly good morning for Bish. He had gone from cutting down to just one drink a day to going cold turkey. It introduced the reality of a drinking problem.

‘Are you there, darling? Did you know that Anthony Walsh is the district judge on the Charlie Crombie case? Remember him from school?’

A. J. Walsh and Bish had never travelled in the same circles. Walsh had been a demigod back in those days, while Bish was awkward in his own skin, his personality a deterrent to the well-adjusted and well-connected. Being friends with Elliot hadn’t helped. The same Elliot who now met Bish outside the Strood courthouse, his crumpled suit marked with food stains.

‘Aren’t you supposed to be babysitting Sarraf?’ Elliot asked.

‘It’s not a babysitting job.’

‘Really? I understood you’re not supposed to let him out of your sight until you’ve found Violette and Eddie.’

‘I know what I’m doing, Elliot.’

Elliot studied him. ‘Don’t piss off Grazier.’

‘Why? Because he’ll make sure I never work in this town again?’

‘This is personal for him.’

‘Personal in what way?’

‘In a none-of-your-business way,’ Elliot said.

‘I’d say my daughter being on that bus makes it my business.’

‘Did you hear A. J. was running the show today?’ Elliot asked, changing the topic.

Bish found himself under the scrutiny of a young journalist he recognised from the campground and the Boulogne hospital. She’d been outside Buckland as well. She walked over and offered him her business card: Sarah Griffith. He didn’t take it.

‘Let’s talk about Eddie Conlon sooner rather than later,’ she said. Owen Walden had got it wrong. Sarah Griffith didn’t work for one of the rags, but for an online news and entertainment paper. Not that it made a difference. The confident woman standing in front of him was no different from the hacks he’d come across over the years. Age was irrelevant when it came to integrity. And for the life of him, Bish couldn’t find a wisp of integrity in revealing Eddie Conlon’s identity.

Elliot, still beside him, reached across to take her business card. ‘Sarah Griffith?’ he said.

‘Yes.’

He handed back the card. ‘Just committing your name to memory.’

In the foyer, Bish saw Crombie’s parents and reintroduced himself. Arthur Crombie was holding a suit for his son. They seemed relieved to see Bish.

‘The barrister has managed to get us a few minutes with him,’ the reverend said. ‘Apart from that, she’s not making much sense to us.’

‘Unlike the Kenningtons, Russell Gorman has chosen not to drop the charges,’ Bish explained. ‘So this hearing is to determine whether bail will be set.’