Three days of intense activity in the investigation into the disappearance of Kenmare sheep farmer Michael Gaine came to an end in 45 seconds at the rear of Killarney Garda Station last night.
Following his release without charge, that is how long it took the suspect, aged in his 50s and known to Michael Gaine, to be driven through the gates in the back of an unmarked garda car.
A statement from the Garda Press Office 20 minutes later confirmed the man's release.
It is important to state that this man is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
It was an anticlimactic end to a phase of the investigation that began on Friday night, but this conclusion was not unexpected.
Questions may legitimately be asked about the conduct of aspects of the investigation in its early stages.
Equally, in those early days, it is important that people who pose those questions bear in mind that it was a missing person's case at that stage, with no evidence that Michael Gaine, also known as Mike, had met a sinister end.
The discovery of material on Mike Gaine's farm on Friday night - later confirmed to be human tissue - effectively flicked the switch on a pressure cooker for the investigation team.
On the one hand, the discovery of the material was an endorsement of the assessment they made just over a fortnight earlier that Mike Gaine was dead.
On the other hand, though, the timing of the discovery of the human tissue wasn't of their choosing.
It forced their hand to play a card - the arrest card - that they may ordinarily have preferred to hold and play at some point further down the line, at a later date.
The 'back office' function of the investigation, which was being conducted from an incident room at Killarney Garda Station - and away from the media spotlight in Kenmare - had been gathering momentum, having been supplemented with extra detectives from throughout the Kerry Garda Division and supported by detectives from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
However, the discovery of partial remains eight weeks into the investigation - rather than at the start as is usually the case - may have created its own inevitable momentum.
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, it was sometimes difficult to keep up with the pace of developments: the arrival of the Garda Technical Bureau; the arrival of an excavator to dismantle the slatted units covering the second slurry pit in the farmyard; the line of gardaí sifting through material with shovels and pikes; the garda searches of the fields where slurry was spread on Friday night; and the garda divers going through the bulk tank that was used to spread the slurry.
The results of all these had to be gathered, processed and analysed.
The arrest of the man on Sunday afternoon created a deadline situation, where this work had to be completed within a maximum of 24 hours, so that matters of evidential value could be put to the suspect.
That is how garda questioning in an arrest and detention situation works.
Hence, the not-unexpected end to the man's detention last night.
The arrest 'pressure cooker' has been switched off or, at least, turned down. The investigating team can now take stock and assess, before moving forward again.
Finally, it is important to remember Mike Gaine's family and friends.
They have had to take on board details of a gruesome and repulsive nature in relation to the discovery of partial remains.
The least they are entitled to is hope that the investigation will establish what happened to Mike Gaine and will bring whoever was responsible for his death to justice.
