‘Look! Cooking!’ shouted Gigi. There was a chocolate smear round her top lip.

‘Well done, girls. Come on, let’s get home.’ We ushered them down the steps and past the other parents waiting to be reunited with their sugar-hyped children.

‘Playgound! Playgound!’ said Gigi as she ran circles round me.

Florence watched her and added her own quieter, ‘Playground. Please?’ With any luck Gigi might learn from Florence’s exemplary manners, seeing as my attempts hadn’t seemed to make much progress.

Frederick checked his watch. ‘We can go but only for ten minutes.’

‘Thank you, Dada,’ said Florence so seriously and quietly I could barely hear her. She stood completely still while Frederick whipped out a handkerchief and rubbed at the tiniest speck of chocolate on her cheek.

The girls ran ahead.

I turned to Frederick. ‘We’re looking into what Daddy Pig could’ve been doing when supposedly in Birmingham. Nothing untoward was turned up in any of the Pigs’ houses but we now have audio recordings, their mobile phone data and internet histories. With any luck we’ll get some leads off that.’

Frederick nodded. ‘George Pig took a day off last Thursday. See what you can find out from the wife. He’s been distracted this week. He’s disappearing off on his mobile a lot.’

My phone pinged. Royal Mail delivered your item CHINAPENG at 12.35 p.m. today.

‘The flight from China has landed. Keeping Peng alive for the next few days is officially now our responsibility.’

Frederick sighed. ‘Well, here’s to hoping the kids sleep this week.’ He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

I wondered if it was just his children that were keeping him up at night. Considering he was a Pigeon with no training, he was doing impressively well. He was stepping outside the safety of Six, working alongside us Rats to bring down a Snake. He was putting himself on the line for the greater good. Right now he was one of us.

‘Which one usually gets you up?’

‘Bloody both. Some nights they tag-team. It’s a living hell.’

I would mention this to Will – how this was another reason sticking to one child was a good idea. After a night of being kicked and elbowed by a wriggling Gigi in our bed, this morning I’d woken up to her grinning face right in front of mine. Full of delight at being cosily ensconced between her parents. Chances of her not trying for a repeat tonight were slim.

Frederick looked at me. ‘I don’t know how you do it. Your work is a lot more high-pressure than mine. I couldn’t imagine doing what you do without a full night’s sleep. Clearly it makes you even more heroic.’ He smiled and gave my shoulder a gentle touch.