‘Because you recognised one of the assassins.’

Lucy didn’t answer straight away, her loyalties once again tearing her down the middle. Mick Shallicker was another scummy hooligan who’d killed people to order, but today hadn’t been the first time he’d saved her life.

‘I … that bit, ma’am, I’m not so sure about.’

Nehwal’s eyes narrowed. ‘Just how deep in with them are you?’

Lucy jerked upright. ‘I’m not in with them. I’m not. God, no! I’ve barely spoken to McCracken during those two years.’

‘Which means that you actually have spoken to him?’

‘We’ve occasionally encountered each other.’

‘Lucy … this is serious stuff, but it’s only going to get worse if you lie to me.’

‘I’m not lying!’ Lucy’s voice became strained, heated. ‘Ma’am, I arrested him once, remember? Doesn’t that prove something?’

Nehwal shook her head as if this was irrelevant. ‘You made a very brave stand when Wild Bill tried to bully his way into the IC suite … where your father was being treated. You were so determined to keep him out that you pulled a scalpel on him.’

‘I was doing my job,’ Lucy pleaded.

‘With extras.’ Nehwal’s eyebrows lifted. ‘I mean … a scalpel. I was impressed when I heard you’d done that, but I also thought it seemed a little extreme. Now I know why.’

‘I don’t have a relationship with Frank McCracken. I barely know the guy.’

‘This has to be looked into. You understand that? I mean this whole thing … it has to be done formally.’

Lucy turned away. She felt mildly dizzy. She hadn’t gone into shock during or after the shootout in Torgau’s house, but she wondered if she was about to now.

‘Look at me,’ Nehwal said. ‘Lucy … look at me.’

Lucy did so, sniffling.

The DSU peered at her with soul-searching intensity. ‘Do you solemnly promise me … do you give me your word of honour as a police officer that you’ve been completely passive in this relationship, that you’ve not made any kind of deal with Frank McCracken, no matter how beneficial to law enforcement, that you’ve not fed him any kind of information that could be useful to him or his underworld associates?’

‘Ma’am, I promise all that!’ Lucy blurted.

The truth was that her dealings with her father had often been so convoluted and had so frequently involved life-threatening situations that she couldn’t remember exactly what kind of deals she’d made with him, but she knew that none of them had been official; he’d never been her informant, nor she his. She’d always tried to keep him at arm’s length, had continually tried to dissuade him from even thinking about her as his daughter. So that much was true.

Nehwal seemed to relax a little, though she was hardly satisfied.

‘So what now?’ Lucy asked.