Of course! He slammed the door and ran upstairs. In the front bedroom, he took out his phone and opened the curtains far enough to film what was going on. He panned to the police blockade and saw that they were dragging people into vans. Many of them were young males, and a few took a kick to the guts as they were forced into the vehicles. He zoomed in as much as he could. He had several lawyer friends who might be interested in the footage when the day was over and the general public saw how disgracefully their police force had acted.

He was angry. Part of it was the unprovoked nature of the violent response. Part of it was that Millie and Sharon were right: there was no justice for those who refused to go quietly. The march had been peaceful, but now he re-examined his instinct that, as they neared police headquarters, the mood had changed. He panned left and filmed the last people running away, but he also caught sight of groups of people he hadn’t seen before, either at the barricades, in the park before the march, or during it. They looked like hired thugs.

He zoomed in and realised that one of them was carrying a knife. He felt his palms go sweaty and his stomach tense. The youth was walking towards a police officer.

Thomas forgot the phone and shouted to warn the officer, but his voice came from behind a closed window and went unheard. Then he realised with sickening clarity what he had to do. He held up his phone once more and focused on the man walking with intent. A colleague had spotted him, but it was too late and the blade made contact in the officer’s armpit, exactly where he wore no armour. Within seconds, the attacker was surrounded and apprehended on the ground, but Thomas could only stare at the officer, who lay unmoving, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him.

His hands shook and sweat was running into his eyes, but he kept filming. That was when he saw something that made his stomach hit the floor. He dropped the phone and sprinted downstairs and out of the house, running straight past the commotion on the ground as the attacker was overwhelmed, chasing after the gang of men who’d been with him.

He daren’t shout his name, but Jordan turned and saw him. Thomas stopped running and bent over, leaning on his knees, but with his head up, staring after his son, who turned again and stuck up his thumb. It was brief and went unnoticed by anyone else, but Thomas knew Jordan was telling him not to worry.

It only confirmed his worst fears.

Chapter 49

Rob drove around the Lake District while Kelly spoke to the counter-corruption unit, with Jackson and Tyrone sitting in the back. She didn’t want to let them out of her sight.