Silas pushes back his chair in the Parade Room, resisting the urge for a smoke. He and Strover are in their usual corner, but he’s only been at Gablecross for an hour. It’s been another long day in London and he has to be up there again tomorrow to assist the Met with its ongoing investigation into Rob’s double life and sudden death. Armed Response were right to think that Rob was pulling out a gun. A pistol that matched the one in Thailand was found in his jacket. But Silas is in no doubt that Rob would have turned the gun on himself and taken his own life if they hadn’t dropped him first. They’ve yet to find the person who shot Dr Varma. All they know is that the assassin must have returned the gun to Rob sometime between him landing his helicopter in Swindon and arriving in Nile Street.

Strover has returned to local duties, patrolling the nail bars and pop-up brothels of Swindon. Ward’s orders. She’s not happy, wanted to stay on the case. The boss is still embarrassed by his closeness to Rob and he’s been throwing his weight around, lashing out at junior officers. Silas will have a quiet word, tell him to back off Strover, not that she can’t look after herself.

He checks his watch. The first counselling session with Mel is at nine tomorrow morning. Should he cancel? He was hoping for an early night, but that plan is already out the window. He’s short-tempered when he’s tired, uncompromising. Scratchy. Maybe he should delay the session for a week, wait until he’s on top of his work, less exhausted, more willing to listen. He feels better already and reaches for the phone, but it’s started to ring. Conor.

‘Hi, Dad, just checking you’re still on for tomorrow?’ Silas has never heard his son sound so upbeat, optimistic. ‘Mum’s well happy you’re coming.’

‘Of course,’ he says, spinning in his chair away from Strover. He doesn’t want her to see him wiping a tear from his eye. ‘I’ll be there.’

It’s early days, but Conor’s rehab is going well and the information he’s supplied has led to the arrests of the remaining members of the modern slavery OCG, who were also running the county lines network in Swindon, just as Silas suspected. The Bluebell pub too has been shut down. It also looks like Conor will be spared from prosecution in return for his cooperation. As for the boat fire, no one has considered Conor’s possible involvement and Jake has no wish to press charges.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Strover says five minutes later as they walk out of Gablecross station to the car park. It’s dusk and feels more like winter than summer, dark clouds brooding over the Swindon skyline.