Two other Squad detectives were in close proximity. One was Lee Gaskin – who else, Lucy thought irritably. He was seated with his feet on a desk, chatting into a phone. He finally noticed her, and if eyeballs alone could convey dislike, his did the trick admirably, but he didn’t break off from his conversation. The other was Ruth Smiley, who was collecting print-outs and shuffling them into some kind of order.

‘How you doing, Luce?’ she said, barely looking round.

‘Three, eh?’ Lucy replied, still focussed on the whiteboard. ‘Thought there were only supposed to be two.’

‘Well …’ Smiley shrugged. ‘It’s possible there’s a getaway man. According to witnesses, the bandits left Northwood’s premises, and almost immediately a set of wheels were heard screeching away.’

‘Couldn’t they just have driven off, themselves?’

‘Yeah, course. But the two barmaids were adamant that they didn’t hear an engine start up … you know, as though there was a car waiting with a driver behind the wheel. But we can’t be sure. They were scared to death at the time, both of them. They even gave conflicting accounts of the actual blag. We’ve not got a lot to go on, to be honest. But we’re getting there.’

Smiley didn’t seem overly confident, but it still sounded like more fun than dashing around the Hatchwood, locking up sneak-thieves.

‘Hey, if it isn’t the woman of the moment,’ Tucker said. Phone chat over, he stood up, shoving the flaps of his plaid shirt back into his jeans. ‘Hear you bagged some heavy muscle today.’

‘I bagged a couple of pillocks,’ Lucy replied, walking over to him.

Smiley guffawed as she crossed the room towards the door. ‘Story of our careers, eh?’

Tucker grinned. ‘Still sounds like you’re having a good week. Your gaffer’s been up here, copying us in.’

‘Ahhh …’ Lucy had wondered if he might, but had still hoped that she could be the one to make a possible link between the prisoner downstairs and the Northwood murder. ‘So … what do you think?’

Tucker frowned. ‘About …?’

‘Well, you’re looking for at least two blaggers, aren’t you? For Andy Northwood. Northwood was connected to the Crew. Leon Royton’s connected to the Crew. His two victims today were the Benton brothers … known blaggers.’

‘Yeah, Beardmore said the same thing. Could the Benton boys have done the Northwood job, and was today’s attack payback?’ Tucker gave it some thought. ‘What’s Royton’s story?’

‘He’s put his hand up to the assaults, and we’re going to charge him. But he’s not coughing to a connection with anyone or anything else. Said it was a fallout over a snooker table.’

Tucker mused. ‘The Bentons are in no state to be interviewed, I understand?’

‘One of them’s in a coma. The other might be all right to interview tomorrow, or the day after.’