By spring, the lawyers had dug up enough records to fix several long-standing errors about Lucas’s identity and work history.

Some money questions were still under review.

An independent accountant had been brought in to look at the disputed trust payout records; Patrick’s part in it would be judged on evidence, not on his family’s accusations.

I was relieved there was no tidy verdict.

It meant we were doing something different from the way Patrick had always worked: slowing down long enough to separate the truth from the version that suited whoever shouted loudest.

Lucas also made up his mind about housing.