‘Only to let him escape again from right under our noses,’ said William ruefully.

‘Not your fault,’ said Ross. ‘Two bent prison officers were involved in that little fiasco. You’ll be glad to hear they’ve both been transferred to Dartmoor, with no chance of an early release.’

‘But the second time Faulkner escaped was my fault,’ said William, ‘and I won’t rest until he’s back in Pentonville on an extended lease, with no break clauses.’

‘It shouldn’t be long before Ricardo Rossi appears on our radar screen,’ said Paul.

‘To that end,’ said The Hawk, ‘I’ve briefed the Spanish police and Interpol, and supplied them with details of Faulkner’s criminal record along with an identikit photo of what Neville would look like with a shaved head. But we’ll have to put Faulkner on one side for now as the time has come for us to concentrate on our new assignments. DCI Warwick, perhaps you can bring us up to date.’

‘As you are all well aware,’ said William, ‘the early stages of any murder inquiry are the most critical. The golden hour, that sixty-minute period immediately after the killing, is the best chance of recovering the evidence necessary to secure a conviction. CCTV, forensics, witnesses, and the likelihood that the murderer is still somewhere in the vicinity are a detective’s best weapons. But in each one of these cases,’ he continued, ‘we didn’t get the golden hour, or for that matter the silver or bronze. Truth is, these particular miscreants not only got clean away, but will now be convinced that their records have been gathering dust, in an unsolved crime cabinet, which they don’t realize we’re about to open.’

‘And I think you should know,’ chipped in The Hawk, ‘the commissioner feels it will send an important message to the underworld if these villains are brought to justice. Not least because if even one of them were to be convicted and sent down, the others will be reminded that the prospect of a life sentence is still hanging over them.’

‘There’s a second, equally important reason to go after them,’ said William. ‘If they’ve got away with murder once, they might well consider doing it a second time.’

The Hawk nodded, before adding, ‘With that in mind, each of you has been given a cold case to follow up, and although we’ll still be working as a team, assisting each other whenever possible, you’ll be the lead officer in your own case, reporting back to DCI Warwick at all times.’

‘So let’s begin by trading information,’ said William. ‘As you’ve been landed with the toughest assignment, DI Hogan, we’ll start with you.’

‘I’ve got two cases to investigate,’ said Ross, ‘which are interrelated. A couple of revenge gang murders, where one killed a member of a rival outfit, and, not long after, the other side retaliated in kind.’

‘I’ve read about the Roach gang and their sworn enemies, the Abbotts, in the press,’ said Rebecca, ‘but I don’t know much more about them beyond that.’