‘We’ll move them out, don’t worry. We’ll put them safely into a hotel and then their house will be empty.’

Charlotte wasn’t mollified. ‘No, no, no, you don’t understand. He doesn’t care that it’s going to be occupied!’

A shiver ran down Jack’s spine. She’d told him! Jesus Christ, why couldn’t she just keep her thoughts to herself? She’d told De Voe about Barrowman’s impromptu charity buffet and now she’d told him that one of the houses will be occupied.

‘Charlotte . . .’ Jack made a point of staying calm. ‘When did you speak to De Voe?’

‘I didn’t mean to say anything, I swear I didn’t. It just came out. He called me to . . . to thank me. He said it had been a pleasure working with me but after this week I’d never hear from him again. Then he said. “Goodbye, Miss Miles from Miles Farm near Little Compton,” reminding me that he knows where I live! Anyway, that’s when I said it. I said, “One of the houses has a poorly girl in it, so you can’t . . .” And he cut me off saying that he didn’t care. He said if they got hurt, it’d be my fault because I’m the one who gave him their address. He said I’m in this up to my neck. So, you have to do something, DS Warr. Not for me; for the Yardleys. Do something or I’ll tell De Voe that it’s all a trap and then he won’t come at all!’

Jack sighed. ‘Charlotte, calm down. I’ll call you back within the hour. Don’t do anything else, are you listening? Just wait for me to call.’

‘One hour,’ Charlotte agreed reluctantly. Then she ended the call. Oaks didn’t know what had been said. And, seeing the frown on Jack’s face, he didn’t dare ask.

As they crawled through the centre of Chipping Norton, up the hill past the village notice board advertising everything from evening classes to riding lessons, Jack could see how the population of this area had suddenly swelled to bursting. Cafés and pubs had spread onto pavements, buskers had come out of the woodwork, and the crowds of tourists moved as slowly as the traffic.

And Jack’s gang of burglars could well be amongst these faces already, making their preparations. As Jack’s eyes scanned the crowd, he imagined that he saw Betina seated outside a café sipping a cappuccino. He couldn’t help but think that this gang, who’d got away with so much for so long, was mocking him. And that uncomfortable feeling prompted him to come up with an ingenious solution to the new problem Charlotte had just presented him with.

*