‘Don’t play games with me, constable. When he confessed.’

‘Yes, we were alone.’

‘The rest of the time there were at least four of you in the interview room.’

‘Yes.’

‘And when four of you were present, Gallagher repeatedly and constantly denied involvement in the death of Kevin Boyle?’

‘You could say that.’

‘I just did.’

The battle was joined.

‘There was a tape recorder present. Wasn’t there?’

‘Yes.’

‘Yet that tape recorder does not seem to have heard any confession from Mr Gallagher?’

‘It was only switched on when the CID were present.’

‘What is the normal procedure when a person says something important, something incriminating?’

‘I’m not sure I understand.’

‘I’m sure you do. Are police officers still issued with notebooks, despite this technological age in which we live?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then let me try again. What is the procedure when someone, such as a prime suspect in a murder inquiry, says something important, something incriminating?’

‘You make a note of it in your notebook, if you can.’

‘Why?’

‘So you have a record of it and to act as an aide memoire.’

‘Did you make a note?’

‘No.’

‘Could you have noted it down?’

‘Not in the interview room.’

‘Why not?’

‘If I had tried to take out my notebook and write down what Gallagher had said, he would have seen me and he would just have denied it.’

‘So you thought about noting it?’

‘Well no, not really.’

‘And are you seriously suggesting that by not noting the comment you thought Mr Gallagher was more likely to admit it?’

‘No, I suppose not.’

‘So you chose to ignore – procedure?’

‘I just didn’t make a note of it. I didn’t think it was necessary.’

‘Have you ever ignored any other police procedures?’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Your father was a policeman, a senior policeman.’

‘My father is dead.’

‘I know that. I knew him. He was a fine officer. It was a tragedy he killed himself. Why did he kill himself?’

‘I’ve heard you were hard Mr Muirhead. I didn’t know you were ruthless. Is there nothing you won’t do to win? We haven’t been able to bury my father yet and you drag his memory into this just to upset me, soften me up...’

Cowden intervened. ‘Calm yourself, Constable Taylor. Mr Muirhead, this line of questioning is disgraceful. What is the relevance, if any, of this and think before you answer. I intend to note it carefully – very carefully indeed.’

‘I won’t pursue it.’

‘What?’

‘I won’t pursue it – for the time being.’

Lord Cowden was seething with rage. Not because of the questions or their nature. Not because there was a compassionate side to his nature. Not even because he thought that the evidence of a policeman should simply be accepted. He knew Muirhead was up to something and, yet again, he did not know what.

During the lull occasioned by this exchange, Taylor had taken the opportunity to suck in a few calming breaths. This bastard couldn’t know – could he?