‘So, we’re maybe looking for a World War Two semi-automatic?’ DC Baxter asked.

‘Not necessarily – the bullets may be old, but the gun could be newish and capable of firing old nine-mill bullets. Tennison and I also recovered two bullets that were in reasonable shape and had rifling marks for comparison testing against any guns we recover. Once the firearms section at the lab have done their forensic examinations, I should be able to tell you more.’

‘What else was on the cartridge case, Dabs?’ the Colonel asked.

‘ST+ and DNH.’

‘ST+ is for improved steel cases and DNH means the casings were made in Germany – but don’t ask me what part,’ the Colonel added.

Dabs looked impressed. ‘I don’t doubt your knowledge as an ex-soldier, Colonel, but I’ll get the lab to double-check.’

The Colonel frowned. ‘Ex-Marine, thank you, Dabs.’

‘Good job, Dabs, and it’s something for the lab to work on,’ Murphy said.

It was considerate of Dabs to mention her work at the scene but Jane felt Murphy had deliberately avoided acknowledging her part in assisting him. Murphy asked the three detectives who had taken statements from the security guards to read out the salient points.

The Colonel, who had interviewed the van driver, spoke first. Jane found it chilling to hear how the robber with a sawn-off shotgun said, ‘You so much as twitch and I’ll blow your fucking head off.’

‘How did the driver describe his voice?’ Murphy asked the Colonel.

‘He thought it was a London accent and at first the voice was deep, but high-pitched after he shot the off-duty officer and said, “The fucking idiot tried to get the gun off me”. He said the robber’s eyes were dark coloured and the bits of eyebrow he could see were light brown. He was about the same height as the off-duty PC who got shot, which according to his police file is five foot ten—’

‘Good, that’s two people putting him at the same height,’ Murphy said.

‘Anything about the way the robber walked?’ Kingston asked.

‘No, Guv, the driver didn’t see him approaching and when the robber shot the PC he wound up the window and lay across the front seats shitting himself that he was next.’

Kingston went over what the off-duty PC had told him about tackling the man with the sawn-off shotgun: how the officer thought he was going to die when he heard the gun go off and felt what he thought were lead pellets hit his stomach.

‘Poor lad’s lucky to be alive, but at least he’ll think twice before doing something like that again,’ Kingston said.

‘I expect he won’t be having the egg fried rice next time he has a Chinky takeaway,’ the Colonel added, raising a few chuckles.

Murphy asked who’d dealt with the guard in the back of the van and DC Baxter raised his hand.