The senior officer paused, in two minds. ‘I may have something of use,’ he said tentatively.

‘What?’ asked Branko, fixing him with that unpleasant stare.

‘The address of where Jeta’s being kept safe. You know, the girl who Adebayo assaulted,’ he said, self-loathing coursing through his veins.

He slid a small slip of paper across the table which Branko picked up, looked at briefly, and then tucked in his shirt pocket. He smiled at the officer, showing discoloured and uneven teeth, the scar vivid on his cheek.

‘Helpful, my little friend, but doesn’t get you off the hook. Just buys you a little more time. Now fuck off.’ He produced his mobile phone from his pocket and began tapping at the keypad, no longer looking at the man in front of him, the meeting finished.

The senior officer stood and hurried from the café, not looking back.

22

‘So where are you taking me, Detective? Dior, Mulberry, Hermes? What lovely designer items are you planning on buying me?’ Pet asked with her impish smile.

‘Tandy. Then, after that, I may treat you to a new T-shirt and pants from Asda.’

‘You’re too kind. It’s fine: designer labels are for the emotionally weak. Tandy?’

‘Electrical supplier. I need to do a bit of DIY if the CIA won’t give me listening devices.’

The Tandy outlet store was on the trading estate close to Asda and sold all types of audio, visual and electrical items. They entered the large warehouse-sized store and Tom busied himself in the self-service racks with a basket until he was satisfied.

The only items Pet recognised were a half-sized mini camera tripod, a full-sized tripod, and a pair of binoculars. The other items were smaller and just looked like electrical wires and components.

‘So, what’s the plan then?’ Pet asked.

‘A little trick I learnt in Northern Ireland, once upon a time. We didn’t always have the resources we needed, so we learnt to improvise.’

Tom went and paid for the items while Pet waited by the exit.

‘All done, Detective?’

‘Yep. I could just do with clean pants and socks and some stakeout provisions; it could be a long night. Do you need anything? My treat.’

‘From Asda? You are so kind. No wonder you’re single,’ she said as they deposited the items in the car and walked to Asda.

They took a small trolley and Tom bought boxer shorts, socks, a plain grey T-shirt, a new baseball cap, and a selection of sandwiches, drinks and crisps. Pet shyly added some new socks and underwear and a tiny-looking Superman T-shirt to the basket, raising an eyebrow at Tom as she did so.

‘This is a weird-ass shopping trip, Detective.’

‘Stick with me, Pet, and I’ll show you a good time,’ he said, returning her smile.