Jane tried to control herself. ‘There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. As I told you, I am working at a station in Belgravia that mostly investigates petty crimes. That’s all there is to it.’ She got up. ‘Please excuse me, I need to go to the ladies.’

As soon as Jane was out of sight, Mrs. Tennison lowered her voice. ‘Well, something has to be wrong. I have never seen her like this. And she’s lost weight.’

Mr. Tennison kept his eyes on the ladies and leaned closer to his wife, almost whispering: ‘If something’s bothering her, she’ll tell us when she’s ready.’

‘She never has in the past,’ Mrs. Tennison replied, not bothering to keep her voice down. ‘Oh dear God, what do you think she’s keeping from us now? I knew something had happened. Has she been demoted as well, just like her friend Spencer?’

Mr. Tennison quickly signaled for his wife to be quiet as Jane returned to the table. At the same time a waiter appeared with a cupcake on a plate decorated with icing sugar. To make it even worse, stuck into the cupcake was a candle with a silver 30 on it. Jane squirmed in embarrassment as her parents began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and some of the other diners and a couple of waiters joined in. Jane blew out the offending candle and forced herself to keep smiling as the cupcake was sliced into tiny pieces.

When her father took her hand and squeezed it, looking as if he wanted some kind of assurance that she was all right, she nodded.

‘Female officers still aren’t totally accepted in the force. I suppose I might have rattled a few cages.’

‘But you are dealing with it?’ he said quietly.

‘Yes, Dad, I am dealing with it,’ she said with more confidence than she felt.

*

The following morning Jane parked her Mini in the street behind the station. She went into the yard and saw Spencer Gibbs’ motorbike chained up in the bike shelter.

He’s in earlier than usual, she thought.

After a quick breakfast in the canteen, she went to the CID office. A cleaner was just finishing emptying Chinese food cartons from the bin beside his desk, but there was no sign of Spencer.

Jane nodded to the other members of the team already at their desks.

‘Is Gibbs in?’ she asked a young DC, Gary Dors.

‘No, he was at some gig with his band last night over in Camden Town.’

Dors was pale-faced, with a short haircut that made his ears seem to stick out.