‘I’m not cunning enough to follow that piece of logic.’

‘If Faulkner does go to Scotland and tries to buy the Caravaggio, I’ll be waiting for him, and he’ll end up back in prison for a very long stretch. That will give Christina more than enough time to get her hands on the other half of his art collection. Which, to be fair, is legally hers under the divorce settlement.’

‘I’m not sure which one of you is more devious,’ said Beth.

‘I only think like a criminal,’ said William, as they strolled into the kitchen.

‘So, who’s cooking supper tonight?’

‘My turn.’

‘“My turn” rather suggests an equal division of labour, and you only have two dishes in your repertoire – spaghetti Bolognese or spaghetti pomodoro.’

‘Al dente or overcooked, madam?’ said William, pulling back a kitchen chair.

‘You wouldn’t know the difference,’ mumbled Beth as she sat down.

• • •

‘You asked to see me urgently,’ said Booth Watson as Lamont walked into the room. ‘I assume that means you have something worthwhile to report.’

Booth Watson never left his ‘special consultant’ in any doubt how he felt about him, but then the feeling was mutual.

‘DS Roycroft has come up with some interesting intel about what Warwick and his new team are up to.’ Booth Watson nodded. ‘They’re currently working on five murder cases that all went to trial but, for one reason or another, didn’t lead to convictions. You appeared as defence counsel in four of them. I’ve written a full report on each case and how far their investigation has progressed.’ He opened his Sainsbury’s bag and extracted five files, which Booth Watson ignored. ‘I’ve also recently come across another piece of information I thought you would want to know about.’

Booth Watson sat back. He could only wonder what Lamont could possibly tell him that he didn’t already know.

‘DI Ross Hogan has a new girlfriend, who clearly isn’t short of money. She lives in a mews flat in Chelsea, and shops in Sloane Street.’

Booth Watson began to pay closer attention, while appearing uninterested. ‘What’s her name?’ he asked, casually.

‘Josephine Colbert. She’s French, mid-thirties, recently divorced, but now living in London.’

‘Any idea where her money comes from?’

‘Certainly not Hogan. She must have got a generous divorce settlement to live in the style she does.’

‘Interesting,’ said Booth Watson, as Lamont handed him another file. This time he opened it and studied the contents for a few minutes. He was relieved to find that Lamont hadn’t discovered Ms Colbert’s profession, or the real reason she’d begun a relationship with Ross Hogan.

‘Useful,’ he conceded, before opening the top drawer of his desk and extracting a thick envelope. ‘This also includes DS Roycroft’s weekly payment of one hundred pounds,’ Booth Watson said pointedly as he pushed the package across the table.

‘Of course,’ said Lamont, who only ever gave Jackie fifty pounds whenever they met, which wasn’t once a week.

‘Anything else?’ asked Booth Watson to indicate the meeting was over.