‘And you thought that by showing up here, you’d put me on the spot. Or get more out of me than if you just phoned.’

She smiled. ‘You’re a good detective.’

‘I know,’ he said. ‘Which is why I’m not going to jeopardize myself – and our living – by doing what you’re asking. Even if I wanted to.’ He took a sip of his coffee, an excuse to break eye contact. Too hot – he winced.

‘This isn’t right, Robin,’ he said. ‘Coming here to my family home when you know what you’re asking me to do could get me disciplined. These texts – Any news? Could you run a couple of searches for me? – they’ve got to stop.’

She felt a sudden sense of abandonment, a tug at her knees like a wave ebbing, leaving her stranded. ‘I thought you were on my side.’

There was a charged silence, broken by a mechanical shudder from the fridge.

‘I am,’ he said. ‘Which is why I’m trying to help you. In the right way.’

‘Come on, Gid, you agreed with me. You don’t think he did it either, so why …?’

‘You still don’t get it, Robin, do you? It’s not about Hinton and Farrell, it doesn’t matter whether you’re right or wrong.’

She snorted. ‘Now you sound like Freshwater.’

Gid paused. Like her mother, he had these moments sometimes – she’d seen them numerous times – when he halted mid-conversation and gathered himself. Where Christine seemed to be drawing on negative energy, though, Gid appeared to tap into some extra reserve of calm.

‘At the time, I agreed with you about Hinton, yes. Now, I’m not sure. But either way, like I said, it doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant.’

‘Have aliens stolen your brain?’

‘The problem,’ he held up a long-fingered hand, ‘is your attitude to Freshwater. To the team. I know a lot of other people feel the same as you – and I’m not saying I don’t – that he’s a careerist, that he’s petty and vain and only cares about how he comes across in the media and to the brass but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the guv’nor. You can’t just do your own thing when you’re part of a team, Robin. Even if you don’t respect him …’

‘And why would I?’

‘Even if you don’t,’ he said, ignoring her, ‘you have to respect the office. We, your team, respected your position; you had to respect his. That’s how it works, the Met – any serious organization. The structure is there for a reason. If you just take things into your own hands, no one knows where they stand. You respect the office because if you don’t, everything falls apart.’