Suddenly Armstrong couldn’t look her in the face.

‘Any other lies I should know about?’ she asked. ‘Like maybe he hasn’t got a job? Maybe his girlfriend hasn’t just had a baby? Maybe he hasn’t even got a sodding girlfriend … that’d be more believable, knowing half of your lot.’

‘Lucy, come on,’ he pleaded. ‘I can make this worth your while.’

‘Yeah … how?’

He lowered his voice, and glanced back along the path to the lights of the car park. ‘Maybe I can drop you a bit of intel now and then.’

‘Oh … you want to be my informant?’

‘For Christ’s sake, keep it down!’ he hissed. ‘And no, I never said that.’

‘But we’ll give each other a back scratch every so often?’

‘Come on … I know you do this stuff all the time.’

She contemplated his offer. ‘Anything you can give me now?’

‘No, but …’ He shrugged. ‘But when the time comes, you only need to ask. Come on, Lucy … you know me.’

Yeah, I know you, she thought. The Low Riders were reprobates through and through, and could hardly be relied on to give help to law enforcement. But they were connected, and if Armstrong – who at one time had been a lot more to Lucy than just an acquaintance, even if she had only been going through a ‘teen rebel’ phase – said he might be able to give her something now and then, there was always a chance it would be juicy.

She sighed. ‘You say this lad’s name is Ian Dyke?’

‘Yeah. He lives on Thorneywood Lane.’

Lucy knew the place. It was yet another nice-sounding street on a Crowley council estate, which in actual fact was so run-down that it ought to be bulldozed.

‘All I can do is speak to Drugs Squad,’ she said. ‘I’ve no clout … you understand that?’

‘Sure.’ He sounded happier.

‘I may be a detective, but I’m still only a constable.’

‘I know you …’ He eyed her suggestively. You can be very persuasive when you want to be.’

‘I can’t.’ she assured him. ‘And I’m not going to be. Best I can do is have a word.’

They walked back to the car park, where Lucy pulled her helmet on, kicked her machine to life and spun it round in a tight circle. Before heading back to the exit, she pulled up alongside Armstrong and lifted her visor. The rest of the chapter looked on in silence, though Hells Kells had now come forward and firmly linked arms with her beau. She glared at Lucy with icy intensity.

‘Let me know how we get on, yeah?’ Armstrong said.

‘There is no “we”, Kyle. So, don’t be pestering me. I’ll call you if there’s anything to report. And if we hit pay-dirt on this, I want something back.’ She pointed a warning finger at him. ‘I mean it.’

He shrugged. ‘Promised, didn’t I?’