‘The stuff you told me looks kosher. You remember that geezer we paid to hack into the Customs’ computer last year? Hansi the hacker? Well, I slipped him a bundle of readies to check out all he could about Jackson. She was born where she said, when she said. Went to university in Warwick. She’s lived at the same place, some fucking manor house in Suffolk, for the last three years. Pays her taxes. The taxman thinks she’s a freelance planning consultant, whatever the hell that is. Looks a citizen on paper. Got no criminal record, though she was charged once with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. But they never got it to court.’

‘What about boyfriends? Husband? Lover?’

‘Nothing. Kramer’s mate calls her the Ice Queen. He’s never seen her with anybody. Could be a lesbian for all he knows.’

Tadeusz shook his head, a knowing smile on his face. ‘She’s not a lesbian, Darko.’

Krasic looked momentarily panicked. ‘You’ve not shagged her?’ he demanded, outrage mixing with incredulity.

Tadeusz closed his eyes and breathed out smoke. ‘Do you always have to be so crude?’ he said sharply.

Krasic shrugged. ‘She’s not Katerina, Tadzio. She’s another villain, just like us.’

Tadeusz glared at him. ‘I’m perfectly aware that she’s not Katerina. But you treat her with respect all the same, Darko. It’s twice as hard for a woman to make it on our side of the law, and she’s proved herself. So you don’t talk about her as if she’s some street-corner slag. Is that clear?’

Krasic knew better than to argue with the suppressed anger in his boss’s tone. ‘Whatever you say,’ he muttered.

‘For the record, there is nothing between me and Caroline,’ Tadeusz continued, his voice tight and distant. ‘I enjoy her company. Being with her, I feel more like myself than I have for a while now. I’d have thought you would welcome that, since you seem to have been concerned about my focus recently.’ He pushed his chair back and stood up dismissively. ‘Is everything secure with Marlene’s kid, by the way?’

‘Yeah, I called my cousin last night. He’s not seen any strangers around the place. He says the kid whinges about being bored all the time, but what can you expect when she’s shut up in the house all day?’

‘At least she’s safely out of the way. Now, why don’t you go and talk to your Chinese friends and see when they want to send us another shipment? We should be set up to deal with it by the end of the month.’

‘You’re going to do business with her?’

‘I think so. She wants to see something of the way we do things before she commits herself. So make sure everything is running smoothly, OK?’