She turned to face Kask, hearing his words from their first meeting, before he’d known she wasn’t a customer: We are booked up for two months. There is other place on high street.

She scanned the office, noting the cheap desk, the worn, dirty furniture, the discoloured trail on the carpet tiles leading in from the door. This wasn’t the kind of establishment that could afford to turn business away, no matter how busy things were.

So why would they?

She wandered to the desk and discreetly began checking the documents scattered across its surface. They were mainly invoices or receipts, most wearing greasy fingerprints; all apparently genuine at a glance.

Her gaze arrived at the packages.

Without thinking she picked up the top box, felt its surprising weight. She shook, expecting to feel hefty car parts shift inside. But nothing moved.

She glanced up to see Kask staring at her. They locked eyes for a few seconds, Hawkins holding the package, Kask with both hands on the open window sill of the van. Then the garage owner reacted, pushing off the vehicle as it reversed out into the road, striding back towards the office.

Kask opened the office door. ‘That is private. Put it down.’

‘Of course.’ Hawkins withdrew her fingers and placed the box on the edge of the desk. ‘But I think you have some explaining to do.’

Silence descended as they both looked at the torn package.

And the white powder leaking from it on to the floor.

12

‘In,’ Hawkins commanded, watching panic build in Vladimir Kask’s eyes. ‘Quietly. Shut the door.’

The garage owner hesitated, his fingers still on the handle, and for a second Hawkins thought he was going to bolt. Then he sagged, a sigh deflating his shoulders, and he did as he was told, stepping into the office, closing the door.

‘Sit.’ She nodded at the tatty wheeled chair behind the desk, conscious that she’d have a job catching the Estonian if he changed his mind about complying. He was at least half a decade older, and not exactly a picture of health. But Hawkins’ heeled boots were hardly designed for speed.

Procedure said she should arrest Kask on the spot. Anything he admitted to her outside custody would be inadmissible in court, plus staying here meant she risked them being interrupted by one of his staff, who might realize their scam had been exposed.

Do something rash.

Hawkins watched the garage owner move around the desk, ignoring the twist of anxiety she felt at her situation. Most drug gangs weren’t known for their obedience once cornered. Kask was clearly in no doubt he’d been rumbled, but there was also no guarantee this subservience would last. Hawkins might be considered risky but unavoidable collateral damage.