The first thing Jack did when he and Ridley arrived was get his main mobile phone out of the kitchen drawer. He had seven missed calls from DI Lee, two from Ridley . . . and a voicemail from Charlotte Miles. Shit! Jack put this mobile on speaker and played her message. She sounded frantic. ‘DI Warr! He called. Just now. He told me to get my thinking cap on ’cos he’d be calling again tomorrow and, this time, he wants five addresses. The biggest jewellery targets I can think of. He doesn’t need horse trailers this time; he’s not going for the big stuff. And he didn’t ask me about security systems or anything like that; he just wants to hit the biggest houses in Chipping Norton. He sounded . . . he sounded like he doesn’t care anymore. I’m scared, DS Warr. DI Lee has been calling every day, asking if I’ve heard from De Voe. I’ve done what you asked and called you first, but . . . he keeps calling. I can’t ignore him forever. Call me back. Please! I need you to tell me what to do. I’m scared and I . . .’ The allocated time to record on Jack’s mobile cut Charlotte off mid-sentence.

Ridley’s face was easy to read: why had Jack asked the case’s biggest asset to call him before the SIO?

‘She’s vulnerable, sir,’ Jack explained. ‘Through one mistake, she’s put herself at the heart of this mess, and I want to protect her. The last time a careless officer overstepped the mark and told an innocent bystander too much, that bystander was tortured to death in his stable. Lee wants to bring Charlotte in and use her like a police informant – Bevan told me – but that’ll get her killed. We have to limit what she knows, or she’ll end up accidentally saying the wrong thing to De Voe when he calls, and she will tip him off. Because she’s not a liar, sir. She’s not an experienced police informant. She’s a farmer.’

Ridley instructed Jack to call Charlotte and together they assured her that although Jack was her primary liaison, in the background the entire force was there to protect her. Ridley’s calm voice was exactly what Charlotte needed to hear and his higher rank made her believe that the entire force was somehow right by her side. Once she’d calmed down sufficiently, Jack asked if she already knew the five addresses she was going to suggest to De Voe. As Charlotte reeled off dozens of potential high-end targets, Ridley numbered them and then plotted them on Google Maps. He then gave Charlotte her next instruction.