‘So maybe Karene’s wrong? And, if not, whoever did this knew what they were doing. They posed as paramedics, got him out quickly, and then managed to drop him at A&E without being seen. And whatever they did to him in between, they made it look like it was a legitimate injury from the bomb. This is a professional crew.’

‘Military?’

‘Or agency.’

‘Like MI5?’

‘Or just a well-funded group.’

‘You mean criminals?’

‘Motivated individuals working outside of the law, so yeah. But what could their motivation be?’

‘To get information. Something related to Harry’s work?’

‘Or to shut him up,’ said Jameson in his typical matter-of-fact tone.

‘But why not just kill him?’ said Bloom. ‘Two people died in that explosion. If you wanted to keep him quiet, surely that’d be the best way? Unless the bomber messed up?’

‘They had a fake ambulance ready to go,’ replied Jameson. ‘So they didn’t want to kill him. They needed him alive.’

‘They needed him alive,’ echoed Augusta, liking the familiar rhythm of their conversation. ‘So we have to find out why.’

Jameson’s phone started ringing and he walked out of the room to take the call. He would never have done that before. He’d always been happy to speak to anyone in front of her. The change brought a fresh wave of guilt and then irritation. She was tired of feeling guilty; it was a waste of energy. She needed to stop.

Jameson returned with a coffee for himself, nothing for her. ‘The bomber was a young lad from the Plymouth area. A born and bred Brit with a Somali mother.’

‘How old?’

‘Nineteen.’

Bloom groaned. ‘His poor parents.’

‘He’d never been out of the country apart from a family holiday when he was a boy, so we know he’s not been to any camps. They got to him online.’

‘How are parents supposed to protect their kids from that?’

‘The parents aren’t always innocent, you know. Sometimes they lay the foundations.’

Bloom considered that. ‘Any idea who’s behind it?’

‘ISIS have said it’s probably theirs but it sounds like an opportunistic claim to me. It’s early days. I’ll keep on it.’ Jameson took a long sip of coffee. ‘We could go back to Peterson? Perhaps there’s a link to ISIS somewhere there, something they’re keeping under wraps.’

‘We shouldn’t rule out something personal yet. He’s divorced and that can raise some powerful emotions.’ Bloom knew the dangers of confirmation bias: focusing all your energy on proving one hypothesis. It had been the source of many a miscarriage of justice. They had to keep an open mind.

‘This is a bit slick for a jilted lover or a pissed-off wife, don’t you think?’

‘Perhaps. But I still think we should look at his ex, Caroline.’

‘Is she military?’