‘I haven’t been up to anything. All I’m trying to do is keep the business going and that is not easy. That was all I meant. Please, just trust me. I know what I am doing.’

‘Trust you! Trust you! Trust you to do what? Haven’t you done enough already? Done enough harm? You’re acting as if nothing has happened. As if we are all to pretend that nothing has happened. Well, I’ve pretended for too long. Pretended to be deaf, dumb and blind. No more. No more. Trust you! After all this, you want me to trust you. No, I will not trust you to do anything. Now I’m going to do things. Things that need to be done. Things that should have been done – a long time ago.’

‘There’s no need for you to interfere.’

‘Interfere! Just remember who you are talking to and don’t you ever, ever accuse me of interfering.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...’

‘Just remember this. I’m not taking a back seat any longer. I will be watching you, watching your every move. And I intend to get some answers – for myself.’

‘Look, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just upset. You won’t do anything silly, will you ?’

‘Silly? No I won’t do anything – silly.’

His every instinct told McGarry this was foolish and dangerous. If the authorities had been able to prove a fraction of the things he had done in the past, most of his life would be spent as a guest of Her Majesty. His police file ran to several pages. Suspected of involvement in armed robbery, extortion, serious assaults and even a suggestion that in the midseventies he had been the getaway driver when a notorious gangland figure had gunned down a rival right in the centre of Glasgow one busy Saturday afternoon. Rumours abounded, but no one actually managed to see anything. A combination of luck, intimidation and the low cunning he had been blessed with had enabled him to avoid the inside of courts, never mind prisons.