Danny Tucker wasn’t an especially demonstrative guy, but his energy and enthusiasm imbued his every word. In addition, he was selling something Lucy really wanted. She again took in Kathy’s Hall of Fame. A strong desire to bang the region’s most hateful scum behind bars had certainly been her own key motivation when joining the Greater Manchester Police, and so tackling its crème de la crème had to be the ultimate goal.

‘What you see is what you get, with Kathy,’ Tucker said. ‘She doesn’t slap backs when it’s not needed, or tell everyone how wonderful they are just to be popular. But she appreciates good work, and she looks after you … if you’ve earned her trust, you’ve got it for life. And if you do fancy coming up here to Robbery, well … you’ve already gained a lot of ground with her.’

‘I do want to come up here,’ Lucy said.

‘Won’t be much opportunity for promotion, mind.’

She shrugged. ‘That’s CID all over.’

‘No, I mean … seriously there’s zilch opportunity inside the squad. Kathy’s the only brass we need, hence she’s the only one we’ve got. And she isn’t going anywhere at present.’

Lucy smiled. ‘You could get promoted out of the squad. That’d leave a DS vacancy.’

He feigned hurt. ‘You mean you’d want to stay in if I left?’

She smiled and finished her drink. ‘I think we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves now.’

‘Seriously, Lucy … you’ve impressed me. Not just tonight, but living on your own beat. I commute thirty miles a day to and from Chadderton, and I’m quite happy with that. I wouldn’t want to know what’s really going on in the next street to where I live.’

Lucy finished her whisky. ‘I think it’s helped my effectiveness over the years.’

‘You know Crowley well?’

‘Inside out, I think it’s safe to say.’

He studied her. ‘The more I look at you, DC Clayburn, the more I want you … I mean in the Squad, obviously.’

‘Erm … thanks.’ She stood up; she knew he’d only been joking, but there’d been a mischievous, flirtatious edge to it, which she wasn’t well-equipped to handle this early in the morning. ‘Time for me to go, I think.’

He didn’t stand up with her, but waved in lazy fashion. When she was halfway across the room, he said: ‘Don’t be a stranger, Lucy.’

‘Sorry?’

‘Whenever you’ve got a spare five minutes, come up and see us, have a chat. Keep registering your interest. Put the message over that this is where you want to be.’