‘He played you. But he didn’t play me.’ Mason immediately understood that Lee was talking about Jack. ‘He went to meet Charlotte Miles in the middle of nowhere. They’re plotting something.’ Mason opened his mouth to object but was shut down before he could say a word. ‘They could both be in De Voe’s pocket for all we know! Still think your new best mate’s the dog’s bollocks? Still trust him?’

‘Yes, I do.’ But Mason’s words now betrayed a tremor of doubt, fuelled by Lee’s paranoia.

‘Then where is he now, Colin? Here with the team, slogging his guts out to make sure every last detail is watertight? Or back in London “undercover” with De Voe? Undercover, my fucking arse!’

Mason dried his hands. ‘Look, I know he isn’t the easiest copper in the world to get along with, but he’s not dodgy, Eamonn.’ Mason suddenly felt the need to undo his top button, as the memory of being strangled by Jack in Mulhern’s barn came flooding back. ‘He’s driven. And he’s good – you can’t deny that he’s good.’

Lee shook his head in frustration. ‘So why was he meeting with Charlotte in the middle of a field if they had nothing to hide?’

‘Same reason we’re meeting in a toilet, I expect,’ Mason responded. ‘Privacy. Sometimes people just need to vent their concerns to someone they trust . . . and she picked a more pleasant place to do it than you did!’

*

In the squad room, a low hum filled the air as officers from Oxford and Chipping Norton nailed down the details of the plan to catch De Voe in the act. Davidson had not returned to the fold but had been left in Oxford working on the Mulhern murder. As predicted by Oaks, Davidson had not seen the light of day since being left behind and had been used as a desk-jockey, checking CCTV and cross-referencing case details on the HOLMES database. However, in a real turnup for the books, Davidson had proved to be exceptional at it. He’d developed a love of detail and was now another Bevan in the making. They were all proud of the youngest member of their team and Gifford even FaceTimed Davidson to tell him as much. Gifford wasn’t going to suddenly turn into a great leader of men, but he was now enjoying the new achievements of his team, realising at last that these weren’t new skills they were developing, but skills they’d always had that he’d never bothered to nurture before.