Hawkins thought for a moment. It had seemed odd that Kask would suspend one of his mechanics, although at the time she hadn’t been able to quantify why. Now it made sense. The garage owner probably wasn’t authorized to eject a worker once indoctrinated, for fear they might blow the operation’s cover. Better that everyone remained on the payroll, under control, regardless of their effectiveness in the day job. But that also increased the chances that, if someone like Kowalski did try to run, or worse, tip off the authorities, they would put themselves at risk of being silenced – permanently. Speculation, however, could only take her so far, and they were getting off-track. Ultimately, the truth would come only from one source.

‘Who are these people, the ones making you do this?’

Panic once more lit Kask’s eyes. ‘I don’t have names. They … they don’t tell me.’

‘Where are they from?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Look,’ she fought frustration, unable to keep the impatience from her voice, ‘this is all off the record. I don’t want to arrest you or your workers, but I need to know what happened to Joel, and right now it looks like he upset whoever controls the drugs.’

He shrank further.

‘Come on.’ She banged the desk, making him jump, and sending a thicker stream of white powder towards the floor. ‘Joel Kowalski is dead, probably because of what’s going on here. Which makes you partly responsible.’ She leaned towards him, their faces inches apart. ‘What’s the connection?’

Kask’s eyes darted to his left, making Hawkins look up to see one of the young mechanics pass the office. For a second she thought he had heard her shout, that he would turn and see her intimidating his boss. If the boys realized what was going on, the alarm would be raised. And if any of their loyalties lay beyond these walls, a text or call would reach the main dealer long before she or her team could react.

The major players would be gone.

She turned back to Kask, whose stunned expression confirmed her worst fears. Either he really didn’t know what Kowalski had done to upset his adopted employers, or he was too scared to tell her. Either way, she wasn’t going to find out here and now.

Which left her no choice.

‘Fine.’ She reached for her phone. ‘Then you’re all under arrest.’

13

The front door opened and closed just after nine.

Hawkins left her seat at the kitchen table, moving across to grab dinner ingredients from the fridge. She arranged the pre-packaged steaks on the side, as familiar coat-shedding noises began in the hall, moved through the front room, and seconds later, Maguire arrived in the doorway.

‘Hi.’ Hawkins looked up, cringing as her attempt at a welcoming tone came out like someone managing constipation.

‘Hey.’ Mike stayed where he was. No smile, no stab at normality.