Or, to give him his real name, DS Kendrick – an undercover officer from DCI Fairclough’s Organised Crime team. Jason had been brought into the loop on the day he’d gone to Francis’s – Kendrick’s – house, after Kendrick had called to inform Jason that he’d spotted Ethan Grant returning to the family home.

From what she’d been told by Jason – well, no one else was telling her anything, were they? – Fairclough’s team were investigating a drug ring. Call it coincidence that the top dogs in that ring were the players supplying Reeve and Harland, and Ethan Grant had been on their radar because of that, even before Natalya and Reeve were killed. Their apparent previous lack of interest in the murder cases was out of their desire to protect their ongoing undercover operation.

Obviously they’d no idea exactly what the Grants were. Kendrick had been trying to get close to Steven Grant because they thought he was involved with the gang. He was under suspicion for money laundering, of all things. Apparently Ethan Grant wasn’t too careful with how he was using mummy and daddy’s money, and several of their bank accounts and investments had been flagged up for investigation. Which was in part how Jason had eventually traced the fact that Mary Grant was the owner of that warehouse, through a whole series of offshore shell entities. All of this had come to a head that night when Jason had arranged to meet with Kendrick to discuss the findings.

Kendrick shook Jason’s hand then scuttled back off towards the lifts and Jason came limping over to Dani. As well as surface burns to his skin and the gash above his eye, the muscles on his left leg had been damaged too. He’d been out of hospital little more than two weeks. The skin grafts were still healing, though they appeared to have been a success.

He’d taken a battering, that was for sure. As had Dani. Many people had commented that it was a miracle they’d both survived. Dani had never believed in miracles. Maybe it was about time she did.

Jason gave her a half smile when he reached her. His face certainly looked far more at ease than it had two hours earlier when he’d gone into his own disciplinary briefing.

‘I thought you were supposed to be having a disciplinary meeting,’ Dani said. ‘Not catching up with undercovers?’

Jason smiled. ‘I was. But I saw Fairclough and Kendrick by chance after. They didn’t say this exactly, but my sense is that the whole force is rooting for us on this one.’

Dani said nothing to that. She was thoroughly confused by the change of heart towards her. But then that was police politics. If it worked out in her favour this time, she wouldn’t argue.