He grimaced. ‘Failed a few myself along the way. Took me longer to get the degree than it should have.’

‘I’d never have got it.’

‘Neither would I, probably, without Barnes Todd.’

‘Ah.’

He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled them back to show thick, strong forearms that had done some hard work in their time. ‘I haven’t been in practice long, as you can probably see. I’m making ends meet, but it’s going to be harder without Barnes.’

I nodded. I’ve never minded the autobiographical approach to a subject.

‘I worked for him, in the holidays and when I had to go part-time to earn money. Truck driving. He was a great bloke. Gave me a lot of help and encouragement.’

‘And his business.’

‘Yes. After I qualified.’

Hickie seemed anxious to talk, but you can never tell with lawyers. They’re likely to clam up at any moment, especially if you get pushy. ‘I want to ask a lot of questions,’ I said. ‘You’ll have to tell me when to stop.’

‘Sure.’

‘Was Todd doing well financially?’

‘He certainly was. And getting better all the time. He was expanding. Leasing property, developing. He was going into storage in a big way-that’s a coming thing. So I was handling contracts, conveyancing, a few court actions. A few problems came up, but we got along…’

I held up my hand. ‘I wasn’t accusing you of murdering him, Mr Hickie.’

He looked offended. ‘What? Oh, I get it. Well, I didn’t mean to sound defensive. It’s just that I’ve lost the man who put me on my feet personally, you understand? Also a friend and a client and a business associate.’

‘You were involved with him in a business sense?’

‘Just in a small way. But it might’ve grown into something bigger. It still might, if Felicia wants to keep Barnes Enterprises running.’