Darren rolled his eyes at Jack’s lie. He didn’t know what Julia had done, but he knew that she was the strongest and most loving adult that had ever passed through his life. If she was running to another country then she’d not just made a mistake, she’d done something to change her life. And there was no way he was going to mess that up for her.

Once Jack reached his dead end, he sat back and relaxed.

“So what do you want to be when you’re older?”

Darren looked at Jack as if he was stupid. His hard eyes seemed to say I ain’t getting older.

Jack slipped to the edge of his seat and leaned toward Darren. The man by the door tensed as he readied himself for a potential assault.

“When I was adopted—” Jack’s words made Darren’s eyes widen—“I was saved from experiencing any of this. You’ve not been lucky so far, Darren, but what happens next is up to you. You either join a gang—being protected and feeling like you belong somewhere. Or you stay on your own and, in the end, be better than all of them. A respected man doesn’t shout and throw his weight around, Darren. A respected man is quiet and calm . . . and terrifying. Because you never quite know what he’s capable of. Be that man. Smile . . . and they will never see you coming.”

Jack smiled, his eyes crinkling to prove he was being genuine.

He stood quickly, making Darren jump a little. Then he held his hand out for Darren to shake. Darren stood, and shook Jack’s hand. Jack held on.

“DC Jack Warr. Remember the name. You ever need anything, you let me know.”

By the time Jack left the room, Darren was a different person.

Jack walked the battleship-gray corridor toward the squad room, thinking through everything they had. Laura would have sourced an image of the bus and a license plate by now, although that would more than likely have been changed. And based on the time of day Darren was arrested, Jack’s latest hunch was that Julia and the bus were probably heading north to get to Europe, rather than using Dover. Jack was buzzing—he’d single-handedly worked out how and where the women were traveling, and how they were transporting the money. Now what they needed were the false names the women were traveling under—then they’d have them. Then they’d have solved the biggest train robbery in history.

Jack entered the squad room with an uncharacteristic spring in his step and came to an abrupt halt. Maggie was sitting in Ridley’s office. She should have been in bed, resting before her night shift. Jack slowed to a snail’s pace.

Maggie stood to meet him.

“Penny called.”

She was looking at Jack in exactly the same way he imagined she looked at the relatives of dying patients, with an air of professionalism that allowed her to speak without becoming emotional.