‘Online, I’d imagine. There’s a whole black market out there for historical weaponry. Mostly driven by re-enactors and fantasists, in my opinion. But you can buy functional antique pistols if you look hard enough, and there are plenty of people who offer advice on how to recommission old guns. So I imagine there’s any number of ways of getting hold of a working antique pistol if you try hard enough.’

‘I see. Then can I ask you something else?’

‘Go ahead,’ Elliot said. ‘Always happy to help the police.’

‘If I said “faith” and “hope” to you, what would say?’

‘Well, “charity”, as I’m sure anyone would.’

‘And does that phrase mean anything to you?’

‘“Faith, hope and charity”? It’s a saying, isn’t it? From the bible, I suppose. I can’t say it has any special meaning for me.’

‘It’s from the first book of Corinthians, chapter thirteen, verse thirteen. But “Faith, hope and charity” is the old-fashioned translation of the text from the King James Bible. In modern versions, the phrase is “Faith, hope and love”.’

‘Is it indeed? You learn something new every day. Now is there anything else I can help you with?’

‘One last question. Could you tell me where you were yesterday morning between five and six a.m.?’

‘Where was I between five and six yesterday morning?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Are you being serious?’

‘If you could just answer the question.’

‘I was in the same place I always am between those hours. I was in bed. Fast asleep.’

‘Have you any way of proving that?’

‘That I was asleep? You could ask my wife, Daisy, but I imagine she was asleep as well.’

‘So you can’t prove you were in bed?’

‘Of course not, any more than I’m sure you can. I, like you, and pretty much everyone else in this country, was asleep in my bed between five and six yesterday morning. Now, are we done?’

DS Malik was pleased to hear an edge of irritation finally enter Elliot’s voice, so she agreed that they were indeed done, thanked him for his time and hung up, and took a moment to replay the conversation in her head. Once again Elliot had seemed mostly unfazed by her line of questioning, but there was one thing she felt was significant. When she’d asked for his whereabouts between 5 and 6 a.m. on the morning that Iqbal had been murdered, he’d given his answer without asking why she wanted to know. In DS Malik’s experience, nearly everyone when asked for their movements at certain times responded by asking why the police wanted to know. It was simple human nature. They were curious. But Elliot hadn’t been.