He looked relieved. “Thanks, Kate. And, by the way—Clive’s full of shit. I know you did that job properly. If anyone fucked up, it wasn’t you.”

Now all I had to do was prove that.

I spotted Tony Redfern’s surveillance team on my first pass of the Smarts’ warehouse. In that area, any child over two and a half would have clocked them straight off. Newish Cavalier, base model, with a whiplash radio aerial. Two clowns in suits trying to look tough. Pathetic. They blended in like Dolly Parton in a Masonic lodge.

I cruised round the block. Tony had been right about the absence of other obvious exits. The Smarts’ warehouse was flanked

I pulled up near the corner and studied the layout in my rear-view mirror. As I watched, a Transit van reversed into Fastfit’s loading area. The driver opened his door and got out. For some reason, I wasn’t too surprised to see it was Gary Smart.

Three minutes later, my car was in one of Fastfit’s bays, while I did the foreman’s head in with a series of inquiries about the prices of tires, shock absorbers and exhausts for my Nova. And my boyfriend’s Beetle. And my dad’s Montego. And, incidentally, while I got a good look at what Gary was up to.

Cardboard cartons about the size of a case of wine were being unloaded from the back of the van, then carried down between the stacks of tires to the foot of a flight of wooden steps leading up to the exhaust storage area. I began to see a tiny glimmer of light.

Stopping the foreman in mid-sentence, I thanked him profusely, and climbed back behind the wheel. I couldn’t help admiring Billy Smart’s forward planning. I drove about half a mile through the back streets before I found what I was looking for. I took my camera case out of the boot and walked into the block of council flats and headed for the lifts. I was in luck. I had to wait nearly three minutes, but at least the lift was working. I got in, trying to breathe through my mouth only, and got out on the top floor.

It took me a moment to get my bearings, then I chose my door. I knocked politely, and breathed a sigh of relief when an elderly woman answered the door. It opened three inches on the chain and she looked out suspiciously. “Yes?” she said.