Jane only had a small two-seater sofa and her own double bed. There was no way she wanted Spencer in bed with her so she put the cushions from the sofa on the floor, took a pillow off her own bed and blankets from the cupboard.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll be gone early to get a change of clothes.’

While she was trying to find a toothbrush for him in the bathroom cabinet, he lit a cigarette.

‘You know what, Jane? I think maybe my time is up. You and me have just been given the crumbs of the case to investigate. And the way Bellamy spoke to me was the last straw. Do you ever think back to those days with Bradfield?’

She was taken aback. ‘Don’t go there now,’ she said softly.

‘I do go there a lot, Jane. You know, after his death, I was drinking way too much. I was well looked after, I admit that, but I never really got over it. I loved that man.’

‘We all did,’ Jane said. She didn’t want to talk about it, so changed the subject. ‘How’s your band doing?’

He shrugged. ‘I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to be schlepping out to bars and pubs. The truth is I’ve lost interest in it.’

‘I think you’re just tired,’ Jane said.

‘Yeah, I’m tired because we were sent off to the agency and hung around to get the bloody diary an entire morning, and then it felt as if I was being accused of doing fuck all.’

Jane stood on tiptoe and gave him a hug. ‘I feel the same way, Spence, but maybe we are both just tired. Look, I need to get some sleep.’

‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’ll finish my cigarette, have a drop more to drink, and if you are sure I can’t keep you company in your bed . . . ’

‘Goodnight, Spence.’

From her bedroom, she heard him moving around the kitchen. The combination of seeing Dexter and Spence bringing up Bradfield had made her feel sad. She had experienced so much since those early days when she was fresh out of the training academy. Hackney seemed such a long time ago. Having worked in equally tough areas like Peckham, and then with the Sweeney, she felt, like Spencer, that she was going backwards through no fault of her own. After the grueling interview with DI Miller, it was almost as if she was back at square one.