‘It seems to me,’ said Okoro, taking a seat opposite Priest, ‘that this case has turned into a bit of a mess, for both sides.’

‘Yes,’ said Priest, motioning for Georgie to also sit down. ‘Although I think that might be a slight understatement.’

‘Hagworth contacted me over the weekend and suggested we hold settlement talks,’ said Okoro. ‘He seemed rather triumphant at that stage, presumably because he was labouring under the misapprehension that his client was still alive.’

‘Doubt he wants to talk now.’

‘I have a message to ring him back from yesterday.’

‘Don’t rush to talk to him.’ He flicked a switch underneath the desk and fired up a PC. Dual screens whirred into life. ‘He can bloody well stew for now.’

‘There’s nothing to talk about anyway,’ said Okoro, leaning back in the chair. ‘We don’t even know who the executors of Alexia’s will are yet. This case is going to be well and truly dumped on the back burner.’

‘Maybe,’ said Priest vacantly. The legal aspect of it, perhaps, but there’s a much bigger picture here. He ripped open the envelope Maureen had given him and found a note inside written delicately with a fountain pen—

CAFE OLIVERO, CHANCERY LANE 10 A.M.

‘Something interesting?’ Okoro asked with a raised eyebrow. Priest realised he had been staring at the note.

‘No,’ he said, stuffing the paper into his pocket. ‘Nothing interesting.’

Georgie piped up: ‘Tomas emailed me – the case is obviously preying on his mind; the email came in at quarter past four this morning. He wants a conference with all of us to work out where we go from here.’

‘OK. Georgie, set up a conference for tomorrow afternoon, but late, I’ve got things on after lunch. I take it you filled Okoro in regarding the burner we found.’

‘She did,’ Okoro said before Georgie could answer. ‘Let me get this straight: you took out three men in a gym and then chased someone down a dual carriageway?’

Priest nodded, like it was no big deal. ‘Unfortunately, I lost the phone, but not before I saw some interesting dialogue between our friend Mr Ali and someone called USER3412.’

‘Simeon Ali was being pressurised into giving evidence,’ Okoro mused.

‘Come on, now,’ said Priest, turning to one of the computer screens and watching Okoro out of the corner of his eye. ‘It’s not as if we didn’t suspect that.’

‘Doesn’t make him dishonest,’ Okoro pointed out.

‘True. But it does still make him dead.’

Okoro whistled, leaning back further in the chair which was already struggling to accommodate his massive frame.

‘So what now?’ asked Georgie.

‘Now,’ said Priest, ‘we do exactly what you suggested, Miss Someday.’ Georgie looked blank. ‘We apply to strike out Alexia’s case on the grounds that a fair trial is no longer possible.’

‘That’s not going to work,’ Okoro remarked.