‘So do you play against other people online?’ she asked. ‘Is that the reason for the big camera?’

‘Yep.’

‘Are you addicted? You said there was more to it.’ She looked right at him, and Flowers could tell she was keen to know more. Sterling was a good cop. She knew how to ask the right questions.

‘I’m not addicted.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m good at it. I’ve actually accepted a job offer, testing games for one of the big companies in Japan.’

Sterling’s eyebrows shot up. ‘What?’

‘Yeah. Pretty crazy, hey?’

‘Are you leaving the force?’

‘I am. That’s why I’ve been staying up so late. I had to do all these exercises where they tested my skills, and now I’m doing the in-house training.’

For a while Sterling just stared at him, and he could tell how shocked she was. ‘Does Ryder know?’ she said eventually.

Flowers shook his head. ‘He thinks that old concussion is giving me headaches, but it’s just the intense concentration.’

‘And lack of sleep.’

‘Yeah, that too.’

She continued to scrutinise him intently, as if she was seeing him for the first time. ‘So, what does the job involve?’

Flowers raked his hair back from his forehead and glanced at the desk. ‘I have to look for flaws in the game, mark down which sections are too easy so they can make them harder; note if there’s an audio noise coming in at the wrong time or from the wrong direction, those sorts of things. Quality assurance, I guess. This all happens while the game is still in the development stage.’

Sterling was shaking her head. ‘I didn’t even know that job existed.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty cool that I can earn money doing something I love. The money is really good too.’ Flowers looked down and flexed his fingers. ‘I’d still like to be a police prosecutor one day, but there’s plenty of time for that later. I want to take this opportunity now, before my fine motor skills slow down.’

‘That is fantastic,’ she said, and he could tell by the warmth in her eyes that she was genuinely excited for him. ‘You’re a dark horse, Mitchell Flowers. But, come to think of it, you do whip everyone’s butt at target practice.’

‘And to think I haven’t discharged my weapon in the line of duty yet . . . Not that I want to.’

Sterling looked back at the equipment and shook her head again.

‘Would you like to see it?’ Flowers asked, keen for her to know more about it now his secret was out. ‘We’ve got three hours to kill before we have to ring Ryder.’

‘Yeah, that’d be mad,’ she said, following him over to the desk and watching while he switched everything on. ‘This is so cool. Am I the only one who knows about it?’ she asked excitedly.