‘He definitely said it was a man he was meeting, did he, Gary?’

‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure he did. He didn’t say his name, but he said it was a bloke.’

‘You sure he didn’t give you a name, or any other details about him?’

‘Positive.’

‘There was no phone on him when he was discovered, but you say he definitely had one in the pub?’

‘Yes, in fact he had two, there was another one in his briefcase.’

‘We didn’t find a briefcase either. Can you describe it for us, Gary?’

‘Fake reddish-brown leather with brass-effect clasps and handle. Attaché style. A cheap one, maybe forty or fifty quid. Looked pretty new to me.’

Wilmott had already searched Google images for cheap briefcases. He showed me the first couple that came up on the search and there it was, almost identical, and priced at £49.99.

‘Yeah, just like that one. In fact it could be that one. He mentioned that he was very pleased with what it achieved for him.’

Cowley’s thighs moved slightly away from mine, maybe only a millimetre or two, but enough to let the hairs on my own thigh take a big gasp of air. I took the chance to move my leg slightly away from him. He gave his larger ear a quick twiddle and then exhaled somewhat theatrically. As he did, his thigh pressed more fully against my own and once again I had claustrophobia of the upper leg. He turned and looked me in the eye.

‘And you are absolutely sure that he had this briefcase with him when he left the pub? Think hard about this, Gary. It’s very important.’

I feigned a quick reflective glance towards the window before replying:

‘One hundred per cent. I can see him now leaving the pub with the briefcase swinging on the end of his right arm.’

‘Okay, Gary, very good. Now tell me, what was Mr Jones’s demeanour like when he left the pub? Did he seem anxious or worried or anything of that nature, Gary?’

‘No, he was fine. I think he was a bit pissed off that he had to leave early, but no, he seemed his usual self. I don’t know him that well, but, yeah, nothing untoward.’

‘Did Brendan give you anything, Gary? No documents or notebooks or diaries? Nothing like that?’

‘No, like I say, we just met up for a drink. It wasn’t work-related or anything.’

‘And what did you and Brendan talk about, Gary?’

‘Err, I remember at one point he seemed very interested in whether a video recording of a conversation that had copyright music on in the background would need the permission of the recording artist to be admissible in court. We talked a bit of football, a bit about electric vehicles and he had quite a few questions about the private lives of the secretaries at my work.’