‘And you were the arresting officer, were you, DC Clayburn?’ Chief Superintendent Mullany’s dry, nasal monotone cut across the viewing room. It wasn’t just surprising because they’d actually heard him speak, the guy being such a distant, remote presence on the N Division, but also because he’d actually addressed Lucy by name without needing some kind of gazetteer to identify her.

‘Yes, sir,’ Lucy replied, ‘I was.’

‘You’re in a rich vein of form … Keep it up.’

Beardmore raised his eyebrows at her; this was praise indeed from their omnipotent divisional commander, whom everyone else, with no little justification, assumed had no interest whatsoever in any event occurring beyond the confines of his own palatial office suite.

‘Who’d have thought it?’ Ruth Smiley said, when Lucy joined her and Danny Tucker in the charge office after the interview had terminated. She read from her notes: ‘Ray Spellman, forty-six years old, of Whitefield Lane, Shakespeare’s Corner, Warwickshire. In case anyone was wondering … Shakespeare’s Corner is every bit as nice as it sounds. Thatched roofs, mullioned windows. Ray is a happily married man, he has four kids, two of whom are at university and two of whom are still at school. By trade, he’s a small businessman. Runs a DIY shop in his village, and one in Stratford-upon-Avon … both of which are being searched as we speak. Ray is also a regular churchgoer, a choir master and a boy-scout leader.’

‘Nothing surprises me anymore,’ Lucy replied. ‘I’ve learned the hard way that real monsters rarely look the part.’

‘Monster and sicko, I’d say,’ Tucker said. ‘The lad he killed in Birmingham was only carrying a hundred quid. I mean seriously … you kill a guy for a hundred quid!’

‘Well, like he said,’ Smiley replied, ‘it was more about the violence than the theft.’

‘Good thing he likes violence,’ Lucy said. ‘It’ll all be coming the other way now. They’re gonna love him in the high-security wing.’

‘Either way, it’s a terrific collar,’ Tucker said, signing off a form at the charge desk and handing it to the custody sergeant.

‘It is,’ Lucy agreed. ‘But you didn’t have to give it to me. I know you guys need the arrests.’

‘It’s not like you didn’t earn it,’ Smiley said.

Tucker nodded. ‘It’ll still get written up as a Robbery Squad op. But it’s only fair you get a share in it. You made the running, Lucy. Quite literally … which, in other circumstances, could have got you in trouble with me.’ He arched a mildly disapproving eyebrow.

‘Yeah, sorry about that,’ Lucy said. ‘I couldn’t let him get away.’

‘Don’t worry, I hear you. Anyway, it’s West Mids who are really going to steal your glory. They’ll be the ones who charge him with murder.’

‘They on their way up now?’ Lucy asked.