Mackerel let De Corrado lead him out of the house. He took two bottles of pinot as he walked by the shelves near the doorway – Davey wouldn’t notice them missing.

Their footsteps crunched on the gravel as they walked to an unmarked BMW, parked right next to his third-hand hatchback.

‘Sit in the front if you want, Mack,’ she said. ‘I’ll get someone to drop your car off tomorrow morning. For now, I think you and I need to have a good little talk.’

He gave her directions to Big Mane’s and she pulled away from the house.

‘Talk to me, man. What do I need to know?’

‘“His world”,’ said Mackerel to the window. ‘Interesting phrase.’

‘Can we skip the part where you lie to my face and I pretend to believe you? I’d like to get to where you give me some subtle clue that may or may not implicate your family.’

‘I’d never implicate my family,’ said Mackerel.

‘Ah, so they are up to something?’ countered De Corrado.

‘No, not at all. Never have been, never will be. You’ll not find a more upstanding family than the Dempseys of Shacktown. But . . . if they were involved in something . . . I promise you, Shelby would know nothing about it.’

‘Is Davey crooked?’ said De Corrado bluntly.

‘No, of course not,’ said Mackerel. ‘But if he were . . . do you really think a woman like Shelby would have stuck around?’

‘You actually sound like you believe what you’re saying,’ said De Corrado. ‘I’ve seen the worst of human nature, Mackenzie. You’d be surprised what people will compromise on, in order to keep what they have. Look at that mansion, all that glittering finery. How far would you be willing to go to protect that? When you have it all – a big house, a family, respect, a smoking hot husband . . . don’t give me that look . . . Mack, people will go a long way to protect their pretty things.’

‘I’ve seen the worst of human nature too, detective,’ said Mackerel softly. ‘And Shelby isn’t like that.’

They pulled up outside Big Mane’s place – it was only a short drive from Homeward. He hoped Big Mane hadn’t stayed up for him. He’d taken his role as Mack’s best friend very seriously, and fretted about him whenever Mackerel took risks. Like breaching curfew.

She turned the car off. The wind blew so hard the car rocked, giving the inside an almost cosy air. ‘You know, you talk a lot more when you’re not around your family,’ said De Corrado. ‘Back at the hospital I thought you must’ve had a speech impediment or something. But listen to you, you speak beautifully.’ She was patronising him.

‘I’m used to talking to cops,’ he said. ‘There’s something about never being believed that I find fun.’