Murphy sighed. ‘You need to learn to keep your dick in your trousers, Stewart. Now might also be a good time to break it off with Katie, before you get your fingers burnt – or something else cut off. You’d be a fool to ruin your career and your marriage for the likes of her or Tennison.’

‘Will you be getting rid of Katie?’ Kingston asked hopefully.

‘No, she’s good at her job and I don’t have the time to go looking for a replacement. Right, let’s get on with the meeting,’ he said, standing up.

Kingston reckoned that Jane must have confronted Murphy about Katie spying on her, and that’s why he was now playing nice – to stop any formal complaint or internal investigation. But it was clear he was only using her. As soon as they’d nabbed the men responsible for the Securicor van robbery, he’d find a way to get rid of her.

*

Murphy looked around the office.

‘Anyone not finished reading Sergeant Tennison’s informative and detailed report?’ he asked as he entered the room with Kingston.

‘Do you think Murphy fell over and banged his head?’ Cam whispered to the Colonel.

‘Either that or he wants to shag her.’

‘Might be worth having twenty quid on him as well.’ Cam smiled.

‘Something you two want to share with the rest of us?’ Murphy asked with a dark look.

Cam shook his head, but the Colonel had something to say.

‘It beggars belief the men we’re looking for would openly discuss their plans in a cafe – and the stuff about the envelope, and what might or might not be in it, that’s all conjecture. Rachel Wilson could be making the whole thing up.’

Jane suspected he’d only skimmed her report.

‘She could, but I don’t believe she is. Rachel’s deaf, so can’t hear what’s being said or going on around her, but the cafe was busy on both the Monday and Friday, so it would have been noisy – the perfect cover for discussing the robbery.’

‘But the fact is you can’t be sure it was a robbery they were talking about – even more so as your star witness couldn’t actually hear them,’ the Colonel retorted.

Jane just shook her head.

‘That’s enough, Colonel, I don’t want to hear any more negative talk. Let me make it clear: we will be taking further action based on what Tennison has uncovered so far. Firstly, do any of the suspects’ names or descriptions mentioned in the report ring a bell with any of you?’

There was a brief silence in the room, until Stanley spoke up.

‘We could run it by our informants now we have some names and descriptions.’

Murphy shook his head. ‘I don’t want to risk our suspects being tipped off.’