‘Briefly. Before my mother realised she couldn’t afford the fees.’

‘I see. I did not know that. Even so, perhaps you’re not fully aware… John has always been – let’s use my sister’s expression for it – highly strung. His parents had to bring in psychologists after Charlie died, you know. I don’t claim to be a mental health expert, but it seems to me that Lula’s passing has, finally, tipped him over the…’

‘Unfortunate choice of phrase, but I see what you mean,’ said Strike, writing Bristow off rocker. ‘How exactly has John been tipped over the edge?’

‘Well, many would say that instigating this reinvestigation is irrational and pointless,’ said Landry.

Strike kept his pen poised over the notepad. For a moment, Landry’s jaws moved as though he was chewing; then he said forcefully:

‘Lula was a manic depressive who jumped out of the window after a row with her junkie boyfriend. There is no mystery. It was goddamn awful for all of us, especially her poor bloody mother, but those are the unsavoury facts. I’m forced to the conclusion that John is having some kind of breakdown, and, if you don’t mind me speaking frankly…’

‘Feel free.’

‘… your collusion is perpetuating his unhealthy refusal to accept the truth.’

‘Which is that Lula killed herself?’

‘A view that is shared by the police, the pathologist and the coroner. John, for reasons that are obscure to me, is determined to prove murder. How he thinks that will make any of us feel any better, I could not tell you.’

‘Well,’ said Strike, ‘people close to suicides often feel guilty. They think, however unreasonably, that they might have done more to help. A murder verdict would exonerate the family of any blame, wouldn’t it?’

‘None of us has anything to feel guilty about,’ said Landry, his tone steely. ‘Lula received the very best medical care from her early teens, and every material advantage her adoptive family could give her. “Spoiled rotten” might be the phrase best suited to describe my adopted niece, Mr Strike. Her mother would have literally died for her, and scant repayment she ever received.’

‘You thought Lula ungrateful, did you?’

‘There’s no need to bloody write that down. Or are those notes destined for some tawdry rag?’

Strike was interested in how completely Landry had jettisoned the suavity he had brought to the table. The waitress arrived with Landry’s food. He did not thank her, but glared at Strike until she had passed on. Then he said:

‘You’re poking around where you can only do harm. I was stunned, frankly, when I found out what John was up to. Stunned.’

‘Hadn’t he expressed doubts about the suicide theory to you?’

‘He’d expressed shock, naturally, like all of us, but I certainly don’t recall any suggestion of murder.’

‘Are you close to your nephew, Mr Landry?’