‘But you will, sweetie, you will. Now, I must speak to Norton. I’ll let you know the upshot.’

As Jazz left the room, she did wonder for a second if Issy really was psychic.

David was dozing when he heard the bolt of his cell door being pushed back. He felt exhausted. He could hardly remember the last time he’d had a decent night’s sleep.

He opened his eyes and saw the beautiful lady detective looking down at him.

‘Hello, Mr Millar, how are you feeling?’

David rubbed his eyes as the inspector sat down on the end of his narrow bunk. ‘Groggy. Always happens when I come off the booze.’

‘David,’ Jazz began gently. ‘We have a small problem with your confession.’

‘Really? What?’

‘Do you still stand by the fact this was not a premeditated murder? That you found the aspirin in the pocket of your jacket and acted on the spur of the moment?’

‘Yes, absolutely.’ David nodded.

‘You see, Angelina told me this morning you are allergic to aspirin, too. So it’s very doubtful you’d be using them as the painkiller of choice for yourself, isn’t it?’

David’s shoulders slumped forwards. ‘Shit,’ he mumbled.

‘David, did you kill Charlie Cavendish?’

‘I . . .’

‘Is that a yes or a no?’

‘The point is, Inspector, I may have done. You see, I honestly can’t remember much about that night.’

‘Do you remember stopping on the way to the school and buying some aspirin tablets with the intention of killing Charlie?’

‘No . . . I . . .’

‘David,’ Jazz said quietly, ‘who are you trying to protect?’

‘No one! I . . .’ He shook his head vehemently. ‘No one.’

‘Rory didn’t tell you something whilst you were in the Lakes, did he? For example, that he’d mistakenly given Charlie some aspirin tablets himself?’

‘God, no! Of course not! Listen, Inspector, Rory’s the victim here.’

‘The problem is, so is Charlie. And by making a confession that is so full of holes, you’ve actually made us all wonder whether it was done to protect Rory.’

‘No, Inspector!’ David looked genuinely frightened now. ‘That really isn’t the case. My son is innocent, he hasn’t done anything. I . . .’ David put his head in his hands and started to sob.

‘You didn’t go to the school with a packet of aspirin with the intention of murdering Charlie Cavendish, did you, David?’

He shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t. But really, the fact his father’s a fuck-up who thinks he might have killed someone has nothing to do with Rory. Nothing at all. Please, leave him out of this. He’s taken enough!’

Jazz put a comforting arm on his shoulder. ‘I know. I’m going to send you home now, David. You need a good night’s sleep. And then, tomorrow, when you’re calmer, I’ll come and see you at your house. Okay?’

‘You’re releasing me?’

‘Not really. You came to us of your own free will and we haven’t arrested you yet. One of the duty sergeants will run you home. I know your car’s still in the Lakes. I’ll be round tomorrow about eleven.’ She stood up and turned to walk out of the cell.