Syed Shafiq was Adebayo’s accountant, a bright and inventive man who could always come up with a plan to move money quickly from anywhere to anywhere.

‘Do it. I’m not giving a penny to the fucking government and I’m not going to jail. The house is in my wife’s name. She and the kids can follow me later. I’ve sold several properties recently so I’m cash-rich and only have the two houses left in London, including my home.’ Resolve gripped him. He could make a new life for himself so easily in Lagos; he had many contacts and friends and a good home waiting for him. He smiled triumphantly at his friend, showing his capped, white teeth. He would win once again.

‘And your brother, Michael?’ Khan asked.

‘Fuck him. He can look after himself.’ Adebayo waved a hand dismissively. ‘One more thing: the contract on Novak stays. The SD card doesn’t matter, I just want him dead.’

‘As you wish, my friend. I will call the Brankos and accelerate things.’

Adebayo didn’t reply, instead looking out of his office window and down at the drab, rain-soaked Ilford streets. He would miss the place, but not enough to risk jail and dishonour. He smiled at the prospect of his new life in Lagos.

27

Back at the Canaletto, Tom let himself in to the apartment to find Pet hunched over her laptop, exactly as she had been when he’d left. She looked up and offered up a dazzling smile at his arrival. The detritus of a takeaway meal was scattered about her feet.

‘All good, Detective?’

‘As good as can be expected,’ he replied. ‘Any movements at the Brankos?’

‘None. Quiet as a grave, but I’ve been busy.’

‘How so?’

‘Taylor sent a text to Branko which went through iMessage on the phone system. I managed to get an IP address and link it into his Cloud account. I’m running the password hack I used for Ana; I’m hoping that will get us into his last backup, which will give us everything on that phone. I’m being even more clever than that, though,’ she teased.

‘Go on, then,’ Tom smiled.

‘I’ve managed to remotely jailbreak his phone and I’ve planted some malware I designed onto it. It will hopefully give us full access to his phone. He’s not been clever as he’s not been updating his software.’

‘Could be useful, even though it’s not been a busy phone.’

‘I also tracked a call between Taylor and Branko just before the message was sent, which may make it important. Branko called a new number straight after the iMessage which is registered to a Danilo Arken in Glasgow. Cell site puts Branko in Islington and Arken in Glasgow. Any ideas on that?’