‘Excuse me, sir,’ Jane said, ‘but I wondered if this would be a convenient time to tell you about our visit to the Wilson sisters yesterday?’

‘Was the result as bad as the Joneses?’ he asked in a sarcastic tone.

‘To be honest . . . yes and no,’ Jane admitted.

‘Let’s hear it then . . .’

Jane gave him a summary of what she’d learnt about the twins.

‘Bloody hell, those girls have had a tragic life,’ Murphy remarked.

‘I think the reason they’ve managed to come through it is because they have each other,’ Jane said. ‘Would you like me to make some enquiries about the uncle?’ she added.

‘No, pass on all the details to Tottenham CID and they can see what he’s up to. Our priority now is the Ripley brothers and the other Securicor van robbery suspects.’

‘Yes, sir. Rachel did these drawings of the Ripley brothers and the suspect named Carl.’

She got them out of her bag and handed them to Murphy.

‘Bloody hell, these are detailed. Make a load of copies for the surveillance operation.’

He handed them back to her.

‘Are you happy for Rachel to continue using the Bluebird cafe?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I want her to continue lip-reading what our suspects say, then report back to you.’

‘Will you be using her as a prosecution witness if we get to trial?’ Teflon asked, knowing it was a concern for Jane.

‘Not if I can help it. She’s a reliable source of information, but I don’t want her facing some obnoxious defence barrister who’s going to attack her honesty. I’ve called the squad back in for a meeting about the surveillance operation, so let me know when everyone’s in.’

Jane and Teflon turned to leave.

‘One other thing, Tennison.’

She turned, steeling herself for another rebuke.

‘I want you working undercover in the Bluebird from tomorrow, OK?’

‘Thank you, sir. I’ll get my old waitress uniform out of the wardrobe.’ She smiled.

‘Don’t go overboard. Now go get that Jones report done.’

*

As she walked back into the office, Cam called out to her.

‘A DS Boon from West End Central called this morning while you were out.’

‘Did he leave a message?’

‘Yeah, he just said that the complainant in a case you were interested in withdrew their allegation and there’ll be no further action against the suspect.’

‘Thanks, Cam,’ Jane said, suppressing her delight.

She got straight on the phone and Pam answered.

‘Have you heard the good news?’

‘Yes, DS Boon called Tony. The woman changed her mind and said she didn’t want to press charges or give evidence.’

‘Tony’s learnt a lesson, Pam – albeit the hard way. How’s it going between you?’

‘We’re getting there, and we won’t be breaking up.’

‘I’m pleased for you both. I’ve got to go as I’m in the office.’