That one got him a raised eyebrow. ‘Joe, is it? Like you know him or something. Which you pretty much denied on the phone.’ Mickey’s turn to remain silent, until she continued. ‘She reckons “Joe” is responsible for pretty much half the serious crime in North London. Sources in the police, it seems. Between you and me, I think she goes to dinner parties with some pretty senior officers.’

Mickey snorted a laugh. ‘Must be a hazard of the trade.’

‘I’m not joking. We had that assistant commissioner in the office last week. The oriental-looking woman who keeps popping up on the television.’

‘Jasmine Chen?’

‘Mmm. That’s the one. Comes across as a bit of a politician.’

Jasmine Chen, Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations. Ferocious intellect and furious ambition in a tiger-mother-inspired package of talent and the need to achieve. And, somewhere in the Met’s stratosphere, Mickey’s uber-boss.

‘That’s because she’s a total politician. Pretty tough to get to AC rank if you’re not. And you think she’s feeding your editor just enough information to have the Clarion go after him?’

‘Looks like it. With an added side order of “all girls together” for encouragement.’

Mickey nodded slowly. ‘Our Jasmine’s a player all right. And she loves the game. Job gossip says she’s a decent pick for deputy commissioner, if she keeps her nose clean. And pulling something spectacular out of the hat wouldn’t hurt either.’

‘Something like Joe Castagna.’

‘Yeah.’ He took another pull at the beer. ‘Although how setting the Clarion on him changes anything, I can’t imagine.’

‘It’s not just the Clarion that’s after him though, is it?’

He raised an eyebrow at her, the well-practised innocent look. ‘I haven’t seen it in any other papers.’

‘You know what I mean.’ A penetrating stare left Mickey wondering if she’d have made a good detective. ‘A dead drug dealer. Dirty money set on fire in a ring of corpses.’

‘Yeah, but that’s not the Met. That’s just turf wars.’

‘That’s not what “Your Jasmine” told my editor. Off the record, of course.’

‘Really?’ Doing his best not to betray his very personal interest in what AC Chen had had to say. ‘What did she have to say then?’

‘That the recent shooting of a drug dealer in North London bore all the hallmarks of a professional killing. Gun for hire stuff. Wouldn’t tell us what they were, obviously, but off the record she was pretty bloody clear about it.’

Mickey shrugged, affecting to be unconvinced.

‘One contract killing does not a vendetta make. Lots of drug dealers make enemies.’

‘Yeah, but…’

She drained her cocktail and put the empty glass on the bar. Gestured for another one. Mickey raising a hand to decline a second beer.