He gave a harsh little cough of laughter. ‘I don’t even know where she’s living. All those years when I knew where she was sleeping every night, even when she was undercover. Even when she went to ground after Germany. And now, I don’t even know what bloody country she’s in.’ He hung his head and sighed. ‘The one time I needed to be good at my job, and I failed her.’

‘You couldn’t have known what was in Vance’s mind. Nobody could.’

He raised his head, his eyes wide and angry. ‘My job is to work with probabilities, Carol. That doesn’t mean discounting the improbabilities. And I didn’t even give them house room during that investigation. I was blinkered because I was convinced I knew Jacko Vance so well.’

The silence between them was like the air before a thunderstorm. ‘You just called me Carol,’ Paula said.

He looked thunderstruck. ‘God help you, then, Paula.’ His voice was husky with emotion.

‘I miss her too, Tony.’

Hesitantly, he reached out and put an arm round her shoulders. They seldom touched, he and Paula. Never hugged as a greeting or as a farewell. This was a moment that mattered to them both. ‘She’s got no bone to pick with you, Paula. She’ll be back in your life one of these days.’

She leaned her head on his shoulder and tried not to cry. After a while, she cleared her throat and stepped away. ‘You really think you know her? Nadia?’

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘I think so. It’s not coming, though. I’m going to have to tuck it away and make my subconscious do the work when I’m asleep. What we do know about her, looking at this picture, is that she liked to go out and have fun, and she had mates to do that with.’

‘How do you know it’s not just a one-off and she’s been stuck with Brittney and Bubble from Accounts for somebody’s camera-phone shot at the company Christmas party?’ Although her tone was teasing, deliberately trying to shift the mood, Paula genuinely wanted to know.

‘None of them is self-conscious or awkward with each other.’ He swung round and flicked through the menus. Tucked away behind the rest was another shot, on ordinary printer paper. ‘And look, there’s another one of the three of them. Different night, different outfits, very relaxed on a banquette.’ He was right. She’d missed that on her first cursory look at the board. ‘You need to find these women and speak to them. But you don’t need me to tell you that.’ He wheeled away and headed for the hallway. ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here, pointing out the obvious to you, Paula. Is this the investigative equivalent of the pity fuck? “Poor Tony, I should give him something to think about.”’