Oddly, their discord was nothing personal on Hawkins’ part; the fifty-something northerner had been her most experienced DI and his instincts and work ethic were up there with the best, yet the two of them had just never gelled. Mainly because Frank seemed determined not to let it happen.

Hawkins had never worked out whether his problem was disdain for any woman in a position of authority, or just personal distaste for her, but he had been a constant ringleader for disruption while on the team, and gave her a rough time whenever the opportunity arose. As far as she could tell, he thought of her simply as gratuitous, pen-pushing management, but he was also smart enough never to voice the opinion in so many words.

‘So, Guv,’ Frank interrupted her thoughts, raising his steaming cup. ‘What can I get you?’

Hawkins reached her office a few moments later, finally holding the cappuccino Frank had so smugly produced, to find the chief superintendent waiting.

‘Antonia. There you are.’ Tristan Vaughn wore a dark suit perfectly cut to his near seven-foot frame. At forty-one the DCS was young for his rank, but his statuesque height and graceful demeanour lent him surprising credibility. ‘I was beginning to think you’d cancelled the morning brief.’

‘No, sir.’ Hawkins began gathering her notes from the desk, glancing at the clock on the wall. ‘But I don’t have long. Is it important?’

‘Well, that depends on the investigation. How’s it going?’

She drew breath, giving herself a moment’s thinking time. ‘No major breakthroughs yet, but it’s still early days. Actually, why don’t you sit in on the meeting? Everyone’s due to give updates from yesterday. We might have some news at least.’ She peered out into the operations room through a gap in the blinds, catching sight of Aaron joining an already-seated Amala.

‘No can do, I’m afraid.’ Vaughn tapped his wrist. ‘Running late myself. But I realized last night that we still haven’t done anything about replacing Mike. You’ve coped beautifully this far, but I imagine this new case will be a biggie, so I thought you might like some extra support.’

She smiled, relieved at not being made to ask. Vaughn was a pragmatist, which probably explained why they got on. ‘I definitely won’t say no.’

‘Great.’ He came forwards, looking for a moment as if he was going to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk, but then seemed to change his mind. ‘How about Chris Whelan?’