She looked scared. ‘What have you done now, Tony?’

‘Just give me the bloody keys and do as I say. I’ll call you later.’

*

The Colonel and his team walked casually into the busy snooker hall, their guns held by their sides. Dabs pointed to Tommy’s office at the end of the room while Cam arrested Maria Fernandez. Two armed officers followed the Colonel. When they were just a few feet from Tommy’s office door it was opened by Aidan O’Reilly. He quickly tried to shut the door, but the Colonel put his shoulder to it and they barged in.

‘Armed police! Stay where you are!’

The Colonel pointed his revolver at Tommy Ripley, who was sitting at his desk with his hands in the air. The Colonel looked around for Aidan. A door behind Ripley was open, leading to a fire escape stairwell. He ran across the room and could see him halfway down the escape. He shouted for him to stop and sprinted after him, but by the time the Colonel was halfway down O’Reilly was nearly at the bottom.

‘Bollocks!’ the Colonel said to himself, climbing over the railing. ‘Why didn’t we know there was a bloody fire escape?’

Holding his gun in one hand, and with the other gripping the railing, he launched himself off just as O’Reilly stepped onto the tarmac and managed to knock him to the ground. As the Colonel tried to stand up, his ankle gave way and he collapsed in a heap. O’Reilly was back on his feet and reaching into his jacket pocket.

‘Don’t do it!’ the Colonel shouted.

‘Fuck you!’

O’Reilly pulled out a Luger handgun.

The Colonel lifted himself up into a half sit-up position, then fired three rounds into O’Reilly’s chest before the Irishman could get off a shot of his own. O’Reilly was dead before he hit the ground.

*

Jane trudged up the threadbare stairs behind Teflon and knocked on the door of Carl Winter’s flat, but there was no answer. Teflon called Murphy, who told them to wait in the car for Winter to return.

Half an hour passed before they saw a forlorn-looking Carl shuffling up the road towards his flat, carrying a suitcase. As he got closer Jane could see his nose was swollen and he had a cut beside his left eye. Teflon said what Jane was thinking.

‘Looks like George took his anger out on Carl.’

‘And it’s my fault,’ she added.

‘Give him a minute to go up to his flat.’

*

Jane knocked on the door and Carl opened it. She held up her warrant card.

‘We need to speak to you, Carl.’

He looked at her in amazement. He seemed close to tears.

‘I’m sorry, Carl, I never meant to hurt you. Did George hit you because he found out I was a police officer?’