I hung up, then texted her the location. Jade immediately texted back to tell me she was already in contact with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. That’s what I admired about her. She got the job done. I wasn’t going to half-arse around with a couple of beat coppers checking out the place first. If Libby and Troy were in Lusaka Green, and whoever had taken them had accomplices, I didn’t want to give them the chance to harm my daughter or escape my justice. Better to employ shock-and-awe tactics than the softly-softly approach. If I was wrong, it would be easier to apologize after the fact than seek permission beforehand. I could only hope I’d got it right and my decision wouldn’t prove costly to my daughter. But what else could I do?

As I walked back to Callie, she asked, ‘What now? Wait here until the Lusaka Green address has been checked out or go in?’ She pointed at Ava’s. I looked at the nightclub, drinking it all in. The doors were closed and locked behind a security grille, the stained-glass windows on the ground floor dark, but I could see lights shining from the first floor. Eva was at home.

‘We go in.’

As we headed towards the side door that led to the first and second floors of Ava’s, I glanced at Callie who wore her stunned disbelief like a thin coat in a blizzard.

She caught me looking at her and slipped her hand into mine to give it a reassuring squeeze. Comforting me was uppermost in her mind. When she tried to pull away, I held on to it. She tilted her head, puzzled.

‘Callie, whatever happens, I want you to know that my feelings for you haven’t changed. I never lied about that.’

‘What did you lie about then?’

‘Ever the lawyer!’ I said ruefully.

Callie raised an eyebrow. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’

I sighed. ‘Eva is not a fan of mine. She may say some things … Just take what she says with a bucket of salt. And don’t let her intimidate you.’

Callie leaned forward to give me a warm if brief kiss on the lips. ‘I believe in you, Tobey.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes, I do.’