Now, at nearly ten in the evening, Vic rang Dr Peter Mason, Freddie’s GP. He apologised for the lateness of his call and told him what had occurred.

‘I hardly know what to say,’ said Mason. ‘I’ve been dealing with Freddie for years. I liked the man. I suspected that he was suffering from serious stress issues, which is why I referred him to Dr Archer, but this goes way beyond anything I would have imagined.’

‘How about Mrs Shields?’ Vic asked.

‘Not my patient, Detective. Freddie told me that when she moved in with him, she decided to stay with her old GP. He’s Dr Lane-Sykes from the Carvery Road practice, I believe.’

‘Did you ever suspect that Mr Shields was being untruthful at all?’ Vic asked.

Dr Mason was silent for a while. ‘I have to say there were times when I believed him to be hiding certain details from his past. He clammed up when I mentioned his early family life and refused to talk about the possible causes of his adult sleepwalking. I did consider some kind of neglect, or even abuse.’ He paused. ‘I had hoped that Dr Archer would be able to help, now I feel terrible about referring him to her. Please give her my best wishes for a speedy recovery.’

Vic stared at his notes. He could hear Jackman’s team at the other end of the big office, still working, and wondered how often two murderers struck in such a small place simultaneously. Pretty rarely, he hoped. Earlier, Charlie Button had presented him with a grin and a slice of pizza. He had accepted both gratefully. It had felt like coming home.

His desk phone rang.

‘Sarge! We’ve picked him up. We’ve got Shields. We’re bringing him in now, ETA ten minutes. Mind, he’s raving like a bloody lunatic!’

‘Okay, I’ll inform the custody suite so they can clear the area. Get him processed, if you can, and straight into the soft cell. The custody sergeant will organise a medic to assess him.’

‘They’re going to really love us. And on a Friday night too.’ Vic heard shouting in the background and smiled.

‘You might well have landed a killer, mate, so I love you even if no one else does.’

He decided it was time to get a caffeine hit and strolled along the corridor to the machine.

‘Are we all on overtime tonight?’ said a familiar voice.

He smiled at Marie. ‘Looks that way. Though my bad boy is on his way to the custody suite. How about you?’

‘Jammy git!’ she said. ‘Ours is still who knows bloody where.’ She lost her smile. ‘And he’s got a kid with him.’