‘Ahhh.’ Now, the Chairman seemed to recall. ‘I thought the name was familiar.’

‘You ought to have remembered it, Bill … that trio of numbnut freelancers you sent blew it totally.’

‘In retrospect, I should have sent the Ripsaw Man.’

‘From what I’m seeing this year, his operation wasn’t much better.’

‘I’m losing my touch, then? Is that what this is? I’m putting my trust in people I shouldn’t, Frank?’

‘Yes. But that’s not what this is.’

‘Now, wait a minute … wait a minute.’ Pentecost looked thoughtful; he even raised a forefinger. ‘Clayburn? You tried to get me to call that contract off, if I remember rightly. In this very room, you tried to persuade me otherwise.’

‘I tried to appeal to your common sense. Yeah.’

‘She was connected to that Red-Headed League investigation, wasn’t she?’

McCracken nodded. ‘That’s right.’

‘And then, when those idiots missed the target, you negotiated a deal with the Robbery Squad … made it all go away.’

McCracken nodded again.

Pentecost gave one of his rare cold smiles. ‘You were a busy boy on our behalf, back then, weren’t you, Frank?’

‘Maybe I’m a better team-player than you’ve always thought, Bill.’

‘And especially on behalf of this DC Clayburn.’

‘Maybe I’m a better father than I always thought.’

Pentecost stared at him confusedly. Then he looked amused again, as if everything was now explained. ‘You’ve got a daughter, Frank? In the filth?’

‘Shocking, isn’t it?’

‘What’s shocking is how you managed to sit on it for so long.’

‘It’s not been as long as you think.’ McCracken adjusted his posture again. ‘I only found out myself a couple of years ago. But it’s been difficult, I’ll admit.’

‘Do her gaffers know about this?’

‘They do now … as of today.’

‘Which is why you’ve also decided to break the news?’

‘She left me with no choice.’

‘And this is something you think we couldn’t have worked out?’

McCracken smiled grimly. ‘Let’s not pretend, Bill. You’d never have trusted me again. And I’d never have trusted you … especially when my back was turned. I mean, I’d have struggled to trust you anyway, purely on the grounds that you green-lit Torgau to send his dipshit daughters to do O’Grady. You think I wouldn’t twig it … that a pair of newbies would leave evidence linking the hit to me? Not conclusively maybe, but putting me under police surveillance for years to come, paralysing me as a contributor. Making me completely expendable.’