‘I’ll try my very best,’ he replied and left the apartment, taking just his burner phone and the satellite and leaving the Sig in the grab-bag. He really didn’t want to be caught in possession of it; he had enough problems without risking a firearms charge as well.

*

Tom sat in the Passat in the Canaletto’s car park and took a moment to compose his thoughts. He snapped open his burner phone and dialled the number for Stan, who answered with his usual cheery, ‘CID office Kilburn, how may I help you?’

‘Stan, it’s Tom. I need to speak to you as soon as I can, there’s been a big development.’

‘I’m sorry, my dear. The officer is on annual leave. May I take a message and ask him to contact you when he’s back...? Of course... You’re welcome. Goodbye.’ The phone went dead.

He didn’t have to wait long until Stan called him back; the burner phone buzzed in his hand almost straight away.

‘Talk to me, Royal,’ said Stan.

‘Right, this is going to sound mental, but I’ve every reason to believe that Simon Taylor is bent as a nine-bob-note. He also has two others helping him: one on the NCA in SW1, the other at Ilford nick.’

‘Jesus, what a turn-up. What do you want from me?’

‘You have contacts all over, but I need you to be discreet. Can you pull whatever strings you need to pull? I need to find out who he has a link to at those places. It may be in personnel files and it could be that some of your mysterious contacts may have some idea. I know Taylor was on SOCA in the past and I’d like to find out who he worked with there and where they are now. Just get your ear to the ground.’

‘Okay. I’ve a few people I can call up. There may be rumours floating around, you never know. Leave it with me, dear boy. Are you okay, by the way? Glenda is going bloody mad not knowing where you are. A dead body with a slit throat turned up in Willesden, some kind of Serb mafia nonsense. Nothing to do with you I take it? You are listed as a person of interest.’ Stan’s voice gave nothing away, but Tom could feel the probing.

‘It’s all crap,’ Tom said. ‘I’m getting closer, but I need to find out who Taylor’s working with before I blow this thing out of the water, okay?’

‘Leave it with me and take care. I’ve got to run, Royal. Keep your head down.’

And with that, he was gone. Tom knew that Stan would be discreet and, along with Buster and Mike, there was no one he trusted more.

He picked up the phone again and tapped in another number.