The day passed without any movement by the suspects from their work, until they returned home at the same time as the previous evening. The phone taps were also uneventful, with most calls being made by a stressed Maureen Ripley trying to organise the wedding. The man in the camel hair coat had not as yet been seen or identified.

Murphy wasn’t troubled. He knew that surveillance was often a long drawn-out waiting game, but he also knew Tommy Ripley needed money to pay his debts and George was greedy. He was certain they were planning something big after re-reading Jane’s report of what George said to Tommy, after the man in the camel hair coat handed over an envelope.

‘ . . . champagne and caviar for life.’

Murphy was already aware that over the next few weeks several security vans in London would be transporting large amounts of money, some with over a million pounds in them. He strongly suspected one of them would be the Ripleys’ target, and they might already have done a recce of the place they would hit. He knew that surveillance was a waiting game, which required the utmost patience, but when the day came his team would be ready to pounce, without fear, and take the Ripleys and their gang down.

*

It was Wednesday 30 April, and all the suspects went about their business as usual, arriving at work at the normal time, not making any suspicious detours or discreet phone calls. Although the members of Murphy’s team and officers from CO11 were feeling tired, they were buzzing with adrenaline, knowing that today could be the day.

Murphy and the surveillance teams, working on a lone radio channel, were blissfully unaware when, at 11.30 a.m., six heavily armed members of the Arabs of KSA group stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington. The gunmen quickly overpowered the armed police officer guarding the embassy and took twenty-six hostages. They demanded the release of Arab prisoners in Khuzestan and their own safe passage out of the United Kingdom.

*

Cam ran into Murphy’s office.

‘Guv, the shit’s hit the fan. The CO11 commander wants his officers back at the Yard right away.’

‘Why, what’s happened?’

Cam explained about the embassy siege.

Murphy picked up the phone.

‘We’ll see about that – I’m not having a bunch of towel heads ruin my operation.’

It wasn’t long before a solemn-looking Murphy walked into the main office and spoke to Cam.

‘Stand the CO11 officers down and tell them to go back to the Yard.’

‘All of them?

‘Yes, apart from the CROPS officers. The Anti-Terrorist Squad want as much support as they can get to locate where the KSA cell were staying and anyone connected to them.’

‘What about the guys listening to the phones?’