‘I’m meeting him at the padlocked railing at the Albert Dock at eight o’clock. Chances are, he’ll stand me up and off I’ll wander back to my car further on past the Coburg Marina. I’m sure this is where he’s hit his victims in the past, away from the public and CCTV cameras. We’re going to have six concealed marksmen in and around the place where I’m going to park my car.

‘When I’m not in that place, I’ve got a constant string of plain-clothes officers around me. As long as I’m out I’m never going to be more than three metres away from an armed colleague. I’m going wired for sound and wearing a discreet body cam.’

She saw his thoughts playing out across his face and said nothing.

‘You told me last night that you know the grid of streets where he’s operating from. Why not make a series of raids?’

‘Barney Cole’s Grassendale Park grid was a great piece of deduction but it’s flawed. There are ways in and out that mean the place we’re looking for mightn’t be in that rectangle. It’s not a foregone conclusion that Barney’s got it one hundred per cent right. Your idea’s a valid one but it’s a risk we can’t afford to take. Say The Ghoul is operating inside the grid – if he gets we’re closing in on him, he’ll panic and run away and we’ll lose him. The other option is he stays put and tries to balls it out; either way, if we make a mistake, we’ll be bringing Francesca Christie out in a body bag.’

‘I see.’

But quite the opposite seemed true to her.

‘Thomas?’

There was a knock on the door.

‘Go away, I’m busy.’ Thomas spoke with a note in his voice that the world wouldn’t recognise but that she knew clearly, and it spoke of the depth of his anxiety and fear. The guilt inside her intensified.

‘Thomas, please, come and sit with me.’

He was still for what felt like a long time but he moved towards her, slowly, and sat down.

‘You’re killing me, Eve.’

‘I didn’t come here expecting you to dance for joy. It’s not ideal, I grant you that. But I did come here hoping to level with you and give you something to hang on to. When I went down in the Williamson Tunnels with three psychotic members of the Red Cloud, that was infinitely more dangerous than tonight’s exercise. When I was in the Bell Tower of the Anglican, Karl Stone nearly lost his life. Think about it, Thomas. I could list you example after example of me taking unnecessary risks in the past. I’ve got great cover and backup tonight. The dress rehearsal is getting organised right now.’