‘No thanks.’ He finished his whisky and handed her the empty glass. ‘I’d appreciate it if you kept what you’ve told me to yourself – the less people that know, the better it is for us, apart from the team, that is.’

She touched the side of her nose and smiled.

‘Mum’s the word and Fiona’s my name, DI Kingston.’

‘For future reference, Fiona . . . mine’s Stewart.’

He admired her feisty spirit; she was strong-willed and confident, yet courageous and considerate of others. He wondered if she had always been that way, or if being a widow and a pub landlady had moulded her outlook on life. Although it seemed the bank robbers hadn’t seen her watching them, he was concerned about her safety if they ever found out she could possibly identify one of them. He thought about warning her, but knew she was the kind of woman who would quickly dismiss his concerns.

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Cam was outside the bank, speaking to MP on the car radio and making notes, as Kingston returned to the vehicle.

‘Can you give me the location again, Central 888, over?’

‘It’s Edgar House off Blake Hall Road. The garages are at the rear of it.’

‘Thanks, MP. DI Kingston is with me now, so I’ll update him.’

Cam replaced the radio mike on its clip.

Kingston heard the last bit of the radio conversation and looked pleased.

‘Have they found the Cortina?’

Cam handed him the pocket notebook.

‘Possibly. The fire brigade got called out to a garage on fire at Edgar House, which they’re still dousing down. They found a vehicle inside it on fire, which they think might be a Mark 4 Cortina.’

‘Any index?’

‘I asked, but apparently the number plates have melted.’

‘Do we know who owns the garage?’

‘Not yet. The location is just over a mile away and there’s a uniform officer on scene who spoke to the fire brigade and radioed it in. Shall I get MP to tell him to start making enquiries re the garage owner?’

Kingston shook his head. ‘No, go back to Woodville Road, then take Dabs and Tennison to Edgar House. He can examine the burnt Cortina while she organises the house-to-house enquiries about the garage. Call in uniform assistance and tell Tennison she’s in charge. I also want to know if any of the residents saw anyone coming or going from the garage, not just today but in the last two weeks.’

‘She’s just started on the squad, Guv. I can run the H to H if you—’

‘She’s a bloody DS and worked on murders, so she should be capable of supervising house-to-house.’

‘There are over a hundred flats there, so it might take a few hours to—’