‘My previous assignment was a drug bust. I had to get close to some dealers in Miami, be their girlfriend and whatever. And I ended up getting too close to the product. When the case came up, their defence argued my evidence was inadmissible on the grounds I was addicted, and they walked. The FBI doesn’t hold back. It was either this or get out.’

The penthouse was invisible from the street.

‘It’s set back. There’s a deck all around it with trees and stuff. Kinda wasted on a guy who never goes outside.’

She looked wistful for a moment, then turned into a side-street. ‘You need to get under the dash, there’s cameras on the gate. Stay down till we’ve stopped. I’ve learned where the blind spots are. When we leave the truck, you follow my route exactly to the elevator.’

Tom crouched in the footwell. She swiped her card and the barrier to the parking lot flipped up. They dropped down into the underground garage. It was only partially lit.

‘Okay, now come out my side.’

There were a dozen other cars, BMWs and Audis, a black Lincoln SUV, a yellow Lamborghini Huracán and a classic Jaguar E-Type.

‘Any of these his?’

‘Just the Jag. His favourite toy, supposedly, but he never uses it. He also has a blue S Class – he’s out in that now. The Lambo’s one of Skip’s. Think he forgot it’s here.’

They parked next to some Dumpsters and walked to the elevator door. She punched in the number: 5121861.

‘Looks familiar.’

‘May twelve, 1861. Wouldn’t mean anything to a Brit.’

‘Start of the Civil War, when the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter.’

‘You know your history.’

‘I know the battles.’

The lift opened and they stepped in. The inside was leather, studded with matching buttons.

‘Like a padded cell.’

‘That’s where I’ll be when this ends.’

‘You and me both.’

‘Well, maybe they’ll let us share.’

The lift stopped. The lobby was deep-pile cream carpet.

‘Let me go in first: I need to put in the code.’

She opened the door. Inside it was pitch dark except for one tiny red light that might have been the TV. She disappeared into the murk. He waited for his eyes to adjust. A dull orange glow from the streets far below filtered through the gaps in the heavy curtains.