“Well, chaps, I think she’s spotted us—I don’t suppose anyone got a shot of her titties?”

Tennison found the Super sitting at her desk. Otley was with him. She asked Kernan about the press release.

“So we’re not mentioning the weals on the arms this time either?”

“No, I kept it to a minimum.” He flicked a glance at Otley. “Your decision to release Marlow could backfire . . .”

Tennison was furious, but she kept her temper. “My decision? You backed me up, have you changed your mind?”

Kernan ran his fingers through his hair and said to Otley, “You want to give us a minute?”

“No, I want him to stay . . . sir.”

“OK . . . The consensus seems to be that this case is getting a little heavy for you to handle.”

Tennison couldn’t hold back. “Bullshit! I can—”

“Just let me finish, will you?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I want to ask the sergeant a question.” She turned to face Otley. “How well did Detective Chief Inspector Shefford know Della Mornay?”

Otley replied with a shrug, “He knew her, nobody ever denied that. She was an informer . . .”

“So you agree he knew her well?”

Otley flashed a puzzled look at Kernan and shook his head.

Tennison banged on, “Why did DCI Shefford wrongly identify the first victim?”

“Because they bloody looked alike,” snapped Otley. “Her face was beaten to a pulp!”

“You knew her too, didn’t you? Then why wasn’t it realized until after I took over the case that the body identified as Mornay was, in fact, Karen Howard?”

“What’s this got to do with anything?” Kernan demanded impatiently.”

Tennison opened a drawer and slapped two files on the desk. She stood directly in front of Kernan.

“When I took over the case, I requested Della Mornay’s file from Vice. I was told that the delay in sending it was due to the computer changeover, leading me to believe that DCI Shefford had not had access to the records. I was mistaken.” She slapped the file. “He did have it, but it was not recorded in the case file.”

“This is a bloody waste of time!” Otley protested, uneasily.

“Is it? Here’s the one I received from Vice. And here’s the one Shefford received. Two supposedly identical files, but in mine there was no mention of Della Mornay being used as an informer, no record of the fact that DCI Shefford was her arresting officer when he was attached to Vice.”

Otley pointed to the files. “I don’t know anything about that, but I do know that you’ve got some personal grudge against a man that was admired—” Tennison cut him short.

“Shefford was so damned eager, even desperate, to make an arrest, judging by this . . .” She stopped, realizing her voice had climbed almost to a shriek. She went on more calmly, “I still want to know, if both you and Shefford knew Della Mornay personally, how the body was wrongly identified.”