‘I’m nearly fourteen,’ she said indignantly, running her hand through her hair.

Worrell suppressed his amazement, but not his wandering eyes. While Blunt called in news of the failed raid, Worrell apologised for waking her up, but added that she could expect a call later in the day from uniformed officers who might take a statement and do some paperwork. ‘We’re too busy for all that,’ he said.

Back in the car, Blunt left rubber on the road as they pulled away from the house.

‘Christ,’ Worrell said. ‘Did you see the body on that? Fucking thirteen, I can hardly believe it.’

Blunt laughed. ‘Jailbait. Gets worse every year. If she’d had make-up, she could have passed for twenty.’

Vanessa Perry stood at the doorway and watched the police car head off. It had been a close thing. But her natural acting skills, the ones that Kyle had praised, had carried her through, helped by borrowing her best friend’s name. This time she hadn’t needed to don a wig or carry a violin. She hadn’t even needed to pad out a coat, to hide her figure, like she had when impersonating the German girl. Quite the reverse. The two cops were a couple of dim pervs.

The most difficult role had been the first one, the Monday afternoon spent with Kyle on a lonely country road, learning how to drive his big green four-wheel-drive. She’d only passed her test four months previously, and learning how to do a fast getaway had taken her several attempts. Then he’d produced two thick extra jumpers, two pairs of gloves and a big man’s car coat for her to wear, and made her do it again. Finally she had to learn how to do it wearing a ski mask. Doing the getaway for real at night had all been enormously exciting, and she drove the vehicle with verve and enthusiasm just as if she were a real car thief. When she saw that she had dragged Kyle over, indeed almost run him down, she had wanted to go back and see if he was all right. But he had previously made clear to her that no matter what she was to park the Warrior in his workshop by the railway arches, and pick up the Fiat that was already there to drive to Fleet.

She had worried at first about the extraordinary things he had asked her to do for him. But the almost incredible story he had told her, about who the German girl really was, and how Kyle was being pursued by the British state, had convinced her. Not many people ever get a chance to really make a difference, and here she was just seventeen striking a blow against the big state.

Vanessa checked the new iPhone that Kyle had given her, in exchange for her old one. She should have left half an hour ago, to pick him up at the church at Long Stainton. She’d overslept. She changed into jogging gear, grabbed the duffel bag she had already packed and the car keys, got into the Fiat and drove away. She had only been going two minutes when three police cars packed with uniformed officers raced past in the other direction sirens blaring. It was just like Kyle had predicted. She was so excited that she was going to see him again.