‘Maybe we need to pay another visit to the agency,’ Jane said.

‘Christ, I’m wearing the carpet out there. Who do you need to talk to now?’

‘Simon Quinn. We should ask if he can tell what all the numbers mean, and explain about the hotels.’

When they approached him with their request, Tyler was unenthusiastic.

‘You don’t think we should wait for the drug squad to have a crack at them?’ he asked Spencer.

Spencer looked skeptical. ‘I honestly don’t think there is major dealing going on in the agency, guv. I mean, they may do a couple of lines here and there but Justine Harris has said that Foxley could straighten himself out when he needed to. So it doesn’t sound like he was a complete addict.’

Tyler sighed. He was looking ragged. ‘OK. Fine. But don’t waste too much time on it.’

Tyler had had a tough morning and although the chief superintendent hadn’t mentioned anything to the team, he knew that he was probably going to be replaced. The worst scenario would be if he was replaced by DI Miller. They had an unpleasant argument when Miller suggested that they had been too lenient on Justine. He had become angry, saying that he wanted to have Justine charged with assault of a police officer because when he had gone for an X-ray on his nose it turned out to have been broken. He didn’t care if she was represented by a big hitter like McDermott. It had taken considerable time for Tyler to talk him down.

Justine Harris’s alibi had been confirmed and Tyler had released her on police bail, pending further inquiries. She could be charged at a later date with the assault on Miller, but that wasn’t enough for him.

‘It’s not over with that woman,’ he said theatrically as he left the office. ‘Before I’m done I’m going to prove she’s a murderer.’

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The team were all processing the day’s duties. Jane had put in yet another call to Elliott but received no reply. She returned to making a list of what she and Spencer would need when they went to the agency.

The double doors into the incident room banged open as DI Miller, now with tape across his nose and a nasty black eye, came in wearing a grey peaked cap. There were a few mutters of ‘Afternoon, sir’ but everyone kept their eyes averted.

Miller went to his corner desk and removed his trench coat and cap. Jane could see from her desk that he was using a small hand mirror to check his appearance. She turned as one of the double doors into the incident room opened and McDermott walked in, this time without his velvet-collared overcoat, but wearing an elegantly tailored pinstripe suit and carrying an expensive-looking leather briefcase.