Every pair of eyes in the room was now focused upon Sammy. The sand beneath his feet was shifting again. His mouth was dry. He would have taken a drink of water but he knew his hand would shake so much that the glass would have been empty before it reached his lips. He was trying very hard to look straight ahead of him but almost involuntarily his eyes flickered in the direction of the public gallery. He could not make up his mind if he was relieved to see there were no faces he recognised.

‘We’re waiting patiently, Mr McPhee.’

Sammy made one more attempt to stem the tide.

‘I wasn’t so sure at the police station. I was nervous. When I looked at him here I was sure.’

‘Are you nervous today?’

‘Of course I am. You’re making me nervous.’

‘So, what’s the difference?’

‘What difference?’

‘You were nervous at the police station and you weren’t sure. You’re nervous in court and now you are sure. Why? Why Mr McPhee? What has really happened?’

Too late. The ball was well and truly burst.

‘I had to.’

‘Had to do what, Mr McPhee?’

‘Say I was sure. They told me to say I was sure.’

Muirhead asked the question. The judge, the Depute and the jury mouthed the word in unison.

‘Who?’

‘The police. The police told me to say it. When they went over my statement last night, it said that I wasn’t sure about the guy I saw. They told me that was no fucking good, sorry about the language. I must be sure. I had to be sure. They had got the right guy, so why wasn’t I sure? They told me that I had better say I was sure or they would make my life hell.’

‘Did they say how they would make your life hell?’

‘No, but I just knew they would. I’m sorry. I just want to be left alone.’

‘And are you sure?’

‘No. It could be him, but no, I’m not at all sure.’

‘It might not be him?’

‘Maybe not.’

As Muirhead sat down, Sammy actually felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The Depute and the Judge badgered him for a time but he could not tell them to which police station he had been taken, he had been given no names and could only give a vague description of the officers. In truth, he did not try very hard to remember. In truth, he no longer cared. As he walked out of the building wearing his new suit and clutching his carrier bags, he had decided it was time to join Betty. He had had enough.

The Advocate Depute asked the judge to adjourn for the day as he wished to consider this unexpected development. His motion was granted. Apart from any other considerations, Lord Cowden had had enough excitement for the time being.

As the court room was emptying, Morton turned to Muirhead.