We went back through security. Douglas played with gold cufflinks protruding from his pinstripe sleeve as we walked back to the visitors’ room.

‘Stephen tells me you’re one of Melbourne’s best lawyers,’ I said.

‘That’s gratifying to hear from a colleague.’

‘Caleb wants to be a lawyer. Wanted. He could be a lawyer. He gets good enough grades. Got.’

Douglas rested his hand on the door and looked at me, with all the sincerity he could muster. ‘We’ll get your boy his future back. You have to keep faith.’

‘Stephen says Caleb is his own worst enemy.’

‘He should keep those thoughts to himself,’ Douglas said grimly. ‘This doesn’t mean he was Brunton’s.’

‘But how can I help him? What does he need?’

Douglas reconsidered the door and led me to a nearby seat. ‘I liked what you said when we met, about stories. The prosecution will present one story. One version of where Caleb was and what happened that day. We need to present another one. An alibi is still his best hope. You need to focus on who might have seen him during the time he was away from Penelope.’

‘Everyone had evacuated. Except Rosie Henderson.’

‘Have you gone back to Rosie?’

I sighed. ‘She won’t help.’

‘We need to hear more from Caleb.’

This was the closest I ever came to despair. Caleb’s refusal to clear himself was swinging more and more closely to an admission of guilt. At least he’d only expressed that to me. So far.

In the visitors’ room, Douglas tried his best. ‘Let me explain a few things to you, Caleb.’

I raised my pen, ready to note this down.

‘They need to prove mens rea. That means they need to prove you had criminal intent,’ Douglas spoke slowly.

Caleb looked evasive.

‘Our best defence will be going on the attack. For example, we can mention other fires that day. An electrical fault caused the Gippsland fire – why shouldn’t it be the same here? So you need to tell me if you saw anything that day that made you suspicious. You agree?’

I imagined I could see Caleb’s thoughts. He snarled. He was over this. Totally, totally over it. ‘I’m not a pyromaniac,’ he said. ‘Pyromaniacs don’t like sex. They like fires. I like girls. You need to check with Penelope.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Douglas demanded. ‘What do you know about pyromaniacs? Where do you get this information?’

Caleb looked indignant. ‘From Law and Order. In an episode online. They researched it really carefully.’

Douglas sighed. Helplessness wafted over me like smoke. Law and Order. But Douglas brushed it aside. Perhaps he was used to clients speaking like this. ‘They aren’t saying you’re a pyromaniac,’ he said simply. ‘They’re saying you wanted revenge on Penelope’s parents. I need to know how you’d describe your relationship with them.’