‘They’re convinced I’m a professional assassin. I’m the last person they’re going to be thinking about ripping off. Any less than that and they’re not going to introduce me to their money men. But with half a mill I can demand a sit-down. Then we can put names to faces so that when we take them down we can get their assets, too.’

‘And it has to be cash?’

Shepherd sighed in exasperation. ‘I can hardly give them a cheque, can I? The whole point is that I want to get cash into the system.’

‘Yes, I know that,’ said Willoughby-Brown, archly. ‘But I’m sure you understand my reservations.’

‘You don’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,’ said Shepherd.

‘This isn’t about a dozen eggs, though, is it? This is the whole hen-house.’

‘If Five is serious in wanting to destroy the O’Neills as a criminal force, they have to put in the effort. So far we have enough on tape to put half a dozen of them behind bars but not Tommy and Marty, not yet. And even if we do move against them with what we have, we don’t know where most of the money is. There’s the house in Bromley but that’s in Tommy’s wife’s name. The cars are leased, the businesses in shell companies. They never use credit or debit cards.’

‘We can get Tommy and Marty on conspiracy to murder,’ said Willoughby-Brown.

‘Not without me standing in the witness box, and that’s not going to happen,’ said Shepherd. ‘You know how it works. I gather evidence but I’m never in court.’

‘We could put you behind a screen. Work up a disguise for you. It’s been done before.’

‘Not with me it hasn’t.’

‘Okay, I take your point. We need to bait the trap and a few crumbs of cheese won’t do it. I’ll get the money sorted. Pounds, I suppose?’

‘Some pounds, some euros. The Hammer works Europe-wide.’

‘Seriously? You call yourself the Hammer?’

‘It makes what I do more memorable.’

‘I suppose you know best,’ said Willoughby-Brown. ‘The money might take a day or two – we’ll need the numbers registered.’

‘No consecutive ones,’ said Shepherd.

Willoughby-Brown flashed him a tight smile. ‘I’m not exactly a virgin at this, Daniel. Please give me some credit. What about when you give them the money? Can you be wired up?’

‘Not if Tommy and Marty are anywhere nearby,’ Shepherd said. ‘They use the latest counter-eavesdropping technology. And Tommy’s hardly ever here, these days. He’s almost always in Dubai. There’s no way he’ll be going anywhere near the money.’

‘What about the wife? Can we get to her?’

Shepherd shook his head. ‘They’re solid. They lead separate lives pretty much but she’s still Mrs O’Neill.’

‘What about getting Marty to talk on tape? We can be creative. I’d like some record of the money being handed over. I don’t suppose there’s any way we could get them to go with you when you do it?’