‘The points you raise are noted, Mr Peacock,’ I said. ‘But a police officer was shot dead at his home last night. As you probably know, his name was Dave Prentiss and he was a member of the organised crime task force that has just launched an investigation into your client’s business affairs. For that reason it was deemed necessary to arrest him as quickly as possible along with a number of other individuals.’

Slack seemed far less stressed than his brief, whose face was shiny with sweat. He sat there, calm and composed, in a V-neck sweater that revealed a thatch of grey hairs on his chest. Sandpaper stubble coated his jaw, and there was plenty of baggage beneath his watery eyes.

‘My client had nothing to do with that poor man’s death,’ Peacock said. ‘He was at home in his flat when it happened. You can confirm it by speaking to the concierge at the block and by checking the security cameras there.’

The ghost of a smile crossed Slack’s face and he said, ‘But you know that already, Detective Jefferson, because you’ve got my flat under surveillance.’

I gave him a closed-mouth grin.

‘No one has accused you of actually carrying out the murder,’ I said. ‘I’m sure the days when you allowed your own hands to get dirty are long gone. But we believe the shooter was acting on behalf of someone who paid him. The same someone who’s behind the death threat text messages. And you need to convince us that it isn’t you.’

‘My client doesn’t have to convince you of anything,’ Peacock said. ‘The onus is on you to back up your suspicions and accusations with proof and it’s obvious that you can’t. You’ve already seized his phones and computer and come up with sod all as I understand it. So it’s simply not good enough to claim that he’s so anxious to stop you probing his affairs that he would resort to slaughtering police officers.’

‘You’re talking as though your client is an upstanding member of the community,’ I said. ‘But we all know that he’s a ruthless gangster who’s almost certainly been directly or indirectly responsible for dozens of killings over the years.’

Slack’s smile got bigger but his lawyer affected an expression of pure outrage.

‘May I remind you, officer, that despite the best efforts of the Metropolitan Police, Mr Slack has never been convicted of any crime,’ Peacock said. ‘What’s more, you’ve never produced a shred of evidence linking him to any criminal activity.’