As Ridley sipped a £5 lime and soda, Jack got him up to speed, flitting from subject to subject as thoughts popped into his head, with Ridley just about keeping up. ‘De Voe’s definitely our man,’ Jack said. ‘I think his main gang might be Brazilian, and they come and go from the country as and when he needs them and maybe also as mules to move the stolen items on into Europe. He could be using different people each time, but I reckon he has a trusted group that he sticks to. I think Mathew knew exactly what he was talking about when he described the man who beat him with a crowbar as being Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones. Alberto Barro is the spit of him. We need to put plainclothes on De Voe, Betina Barro and Alberto Barro, from today. And we need to have enough officers to change about so they don’t get sussed. De Voe’s got an iPhone and a Samsung, so you need to track both . . . and he has to have an offshore account somewhere to deal with the sales of stolen items. That won’t be in his name, but it might be in Betina’s; they’re close and he definitely trusts her. He doesn’t trust Alberto, though: he’s a liability and is probably only being kept on board ’cos of his willingness to get his hands dirty. Oh, and if you send Alberto’s photo to DC Oaks, he can ask Justin Estrada if he’s the guy in the Adidas NMDs. Estrada’s our stable-boy witness. I think it’ll turn out that they’re two different men, as Alberto seems to be a smaller build—’

‘When was the last time you checked in with DI Lee, DI Mason or DI Gifford?’ Ridley’s question stopped Jack in his tracks. Was Ridley really asking him about pedantic, hierarchical protocol, after Jack had practically just handed De Voe to him on a silver platter? Ridley could see Jack’s anger rise through his chest and colour his face, but he didn’t falter. ‘Don’t look at me like I’m the one who’s in the wrong, Jack. An officer not answering his mobile is the most infuriating thing. And I should bloody know! Especially when that officer is undercover in the company of a potentially dangerous criminal. Anything could have happened to you.’ Ridley paused to sip his drink, giving himself time to formulate his next sentence, while also forcing Jack to wait silently.