Tom couldn’t face going into Kilburn the next morning, so he phoned up and asked for a day off. He had worked extra hours recently so had lots of time to take. Simon Taylor was his usual blustery self but eventually agreed with a sigh, saying, ‘We really need to speak about your career development, Tom. You’ve not had your shoulder to our wheel recently.’

That pissed Tom off, but he was too tired to argue with the senior officer. He knew from experience it wouldn’t get him anywhere, so he kept his feelings to himself.

He made himself a strong coffee and ate some toast while the morning news played in the background. The job hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. Adebayo had made a sensible arrest strategy impossible. The Home Office would be under severe pressure and it was in no way a sure thing that the CPS would authorise a charge on the immigration matters alone. The CPS wanted everything gift-wrapped, especially for an immediate charge. Home Office investigations were always drawn out, as they were so reliant on documentation that took time to assemble. Often that meant long periods of bail while all the paperwork was prepared to the CPS’s exacting standards.

The telephone buzzing on the coffee table started him out of his reverie: it was Liam.

‘They’ve bailed him.’

‘What?’

‘The girl is refusing to do a statement at the moment. She was too upset and just wanted to sleep. They’ve got her in a refuge in Clerkenwell until she feels up to it, but she’s saying she wants to go home. They’ve just bailed Adebayo after a ‘no comment’ interview. The CPS won’t authorise a charge on the immigration matters either. They’ve asked for loads more evidence before they’ll authorise it. He has all sorts of bail conditions, but he’s out on the street. I’m sorry to say though that’s not the worst news I have.’

Tom felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach but said nothing, waiting for Liam to continue.

‘The SD card was blank. Nothing on it, nada. You sure you set it up right?’

Tom felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He clearly remembered copying the file onto the phone, leaving the original footage on the SD card. This meant only one thing. The card had been wiped.