‘Let me guess,’ she said, ‘the gun that killed Ruth Smiley?’

‘You sound disgusted by that?’

‘How should I feel?’

‘How about grateful?’ He glanced at her again. ‘I mean, if they ever find out who that biker girl was, they won’t be surprised that she was carrying. And as that pistol itself is clean and untraceable, they’ll have no reason to link it back to us … or to you.’

‘Every base covered, as always, eh?’

‘Not every base,’ he said. ‘This has been a difficult night for all of us. For example, it will serve all our purposes if you keep schtum about what little you know concerning that terrible trio. Ideally, it’ll get written off as someone who had a beef with the Red-Headed League, and made the mistake of thinking you were part of the same outfit.’

Lucy leaned forward, bracing her forehead on her knuckles.

‘Are you hearing this, Lucy?’ he asked tautly. ‘Because I’ll be honest … I’m a bit concerned that someone may be losing her perspective on how important some of the secrets in our lives actually are.’

‘What are you talking about now?’ she mumbled.

‘This higher power I mentioned before also had a word with me earlier on today … about whether or not I might know a certain DC Clayburn?’

‘Higher power?’ she grunted. ‘You talking about Bill Pentecost, by any chance?’

‘Let’s just say it’s someone in a position to do the pair of us a real mischief, if he’s so inclined.’

Lucy shook her head, unable to believe the negative turns her life had taken in recent times. It was difficult to believe that she’d ever got involved with people like this, but then considering who her father was, maybe, ultimately, it had been unavoidable.

‘So?’ he persisted. ‘On top of what’s happened tonight, is there anything else I need to know?’

‘You mean have I spilled the beans about our relationship? Of course not.’

‘To no one at all?’

‘No one.’

‘Well …’ McCracken pondered this as he drove; by the look on his face, he was still bugged by it. ‘He’s a naturally suspicious character. Especially where his deputies are concerned. Each time he looks one of us in the face, he sees the next Chairman of the Board, or so he assumes.’

Lucy levered herself upright. ‘Let’s call it what it is, eh? He sees the next Scrote-in-Chief.’

McCracken ignored that. ‘Likes to keep us all on edge, nervy … even the simplest enquiry’s usually framed like a mind-probe. Anyway, to answer your question, I doubt he knows anything.’

‘I didn’t ask that question,’ she said.

McCracken ignored that too. ‘He’s doing his usual thing, imagining treachery and deceit wherever he goes. Always fishing for signs that people haven’t been straight with him, always digging.’

‘Good to see you’re enjoying the world you’ve made for yourself.’