Jill Allsop snorted. ‘Well, I’m sure most of us agree with you, but we have to maintain a professional detachment. The bottom line is that his false identity may work for him, but it makes it more difficult for us to do our job. Though we may think it beyond our ability to reintegrate someone like him into society in any meaningful way, we have to remind ourselves that our job is to rehabilitate. It is equally obvious that if he was identified and hounded, then any chance of reintegration would be lost, and the chance of reoffending increased.’ She looked around as if inviting disagreement. None was voiced, though a great many faces were staring sullenly at their paperwork. ‘Now. Inevitably, there will have to be a certain element of subterfuge, given that there will be weekly visits to his home.’

‘So where will he live?’ Verity asked.

‘The Home Office has rented a flat for him, which we need to inspect,’ Morgan said. ‘But this is important. Only two people here can see that address, or his new name, apart from me – the probation officer appointed to oversee him, and one supervisor. We have learned a lot since the Bulger case.’

Everyone remembered the shocking murder of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993 by two ten-year-olds. They were given new identities when they were released from prison as adults in 2001, but somehow these became known to the press. The publicity was disastrous to the cause of rehabilitation, compounded by news that one of the two had reoffended.

‘Who’s drawn the short straw, then?’ Morgan asked, looking around the table. All eyes were drawn towards Verity, the only one of them who had dealt with a serial killer before. A slight smile played across her pale lips as she turned to Leticia.

‘It’s you,’ she said.

‘Me?’ Leticia exclaimed.

‘Gill and I think you are ready for a challenge of this magnitude. You’ll do an excellent job.’ It was definitely a smile. Her teeth were visible. Maybe nobody had crapped on her bathmat today.

Leticia didn’t know whether to be excited or worried. Rollason would be by far the most high-profile offender she had ever managed. She really didn’t know what to expect. For the next hour she basked in the congratulations of her colleagues. However, at the end of the day, when she looked through the files, read the details of his crimes and saw the full depravity of the man, she started to get nervous again.