‘Of course he does, but by the rules, THE rules. Not by you bending the rules. And because of what you’ve done, he may well get away with it.’

‘Come on!’

‘He may well get away with it. Is that what you want me to tell McAllister?’

‘Tell him you couldn’t find anything. He’ll believe you.’

‘I got you your chance in this case. You fucked up. Now you want me to lie for you. You want to make me as bad as you are. Is that what you think of me?’

The younger man had for some time realised he could not talk his way out of his predicament. He had to get away from his father’s anger and that awful stare, preserving such self-confidence as he could.

‘Why don’t you do what you’ve always done? Exactly what you bloody want and to hell with everyone else. McAllister is a superintendent, so what? I’m your son, damn it. Or is the job more important to you than I am? I guess we’re going to find out.’

Driving himself to his feet, David Taylor was hit by a wave of nausea. He knew that what he had said was horribly untrue, and worse still, unfair. He was heading for the door when his father’s voice stopped him.

‘David, when you go into the witness box, you will be telling the truth, won’t you?’

‘What do you think?’

These were the words which most troubled Bob Taylor as he walked towards his home. He did not know what to think. As he turned up his collar against the rain, he didn’t know what to do either.

Bob Taylor was not alone in having a bad night. As the policeman headed home, James Muirhead was in the centre of the city in a largely deserted car park. He had gone for dinner alone as he wished to reflect upon the week’s events. Now he wished he hadn’t bothered. He had been unable to establish any clear picture of where the case was going other than confirming to himself that things were going on behind the scenes. Since he was driving, he had no wine and consequently had not enjoyed the meal. Now he had a flat tyre. He had called the RAC who had informed him that they would be on the scene as soon as possible. Unfortunately, they were busy and this could take a couple of hours. He had decided to change the wheel by himself. Not a smart move.