‘You could say that, sir,’ she said, reflecting wryly on what she’d witnessed a few minutes ago. She suppressed a smile. ‘Mrs Brown saw another two men leaving the Edgar House estate just before the fire, and one was wearing a cap similar to the one Fiona Simpson saw the driver of the getaway car wearing. Also, Mrs Brown thinks she saw the man carrying the holdall in a gold Mercedes sports car, possibly a 450SL convertible.’

Kingston put his pen down and stopped writing.

‘Take a seat and tell me exactly what she said. You want a Scotch?’

This time she couldn’t help herself.

‘Thanks, sir, it’s cold out so that should warm me up.’

As he poured the drink she got out her pocket notebook and went over her meeting with Rita Brown, and what Mrs Clarke had said about the garage keys and the purchase of their flat.

‘Bloody hell, you’ve had quite a productive evening, Tennison.’

‘Would you like me to make follow-up enquiries with the estate agents who dealt with the sale of fourteen Edgar House?’

‘Yes. Do it tomorrow morning after the office meeting and speak to the housing association about Mrs Smith. They may have some useful information we can work on. Get a photo of a Merc 450SL convertible and show it to Mrs Brown. If she says it’s the same type of car she saw, stick it on the office wall. Also buy a newsboy cap of the same colour and claim the cost back on an expenses chitty.’

‘Is it worth speaking to Fiona Simpson again to get a more detailed description of the cap the driver of the getaway car was wearing?’

Kingston reached into his desk in tray and pulled out two pieces of A4 paper with drawings on them.

‘This was dropped off earlier by the police artist.’

He stood beside Jane and put the drawings down in front of her; one was a profile and the other full face. Jane could smell Katie’s perfume on him as he leant over and pointed to the profile.

‘There’s no triangular panels on the cap Fiona Simpson described to the artist, but there is a button on top.’ He tapped his finger on it.

He went over to his jacket, which was still on the chair, reached in the side pocket and pulled out a beer mat. Jane wondered what he was doing until he picked up his desk phone and started to dial a number which was written on the mat.