She’d been at her most gorgeous then – blonde and tanned and slim, with a face that had squeezed his heart the moment he’d laid eyes on it.

Back then he hadn’t been so bad looking himself. His hair had been thick and black and there’d been no fat on his frame or lines on his face.

Now, at the age of fifty-seven, his hair was grey and wispy and he had a gut the size of a rugby ball. Years of hard living were evident in the creases on his forehead and neck, and in the dark pouches beneath his eyes.

‘You need to speak up, boss. I didn’t catch what you just said.’

Danny’s voice snapped him out of himself and he wrenched his attention away from the photo.

‘Sorry, mate,’ he said. ‘I was miles away and mumbling to myself.’

Danny was sitting on the sofa below the window that offered up a view of the rooftops of Rotherhithe. He leaned forward and picked up the TV remote from the coffee table in front of him. He used it to mute the sound of the Sky News reporter who was summing up what had happened at the Old Bailey.

‘This is serious shit, boss,’ he said. ‘So I think it’s time you told me how the fuck you intend to respond.’

Slack clamped his lips together and nodded. ‘You’re right, Danny old son. But what I’m going to say is just between you and me, at least to start with. I don’t want the other lads to freak out before the fun even begins.’

3

Laura

The media circus outside the court ended as quickly as it had begun. After giving his interview, DCS Drummond was whisked away in a car driven by someone from the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harry’s Fuller’s lawyer then made a brief statement announcing that they’d be appealing both the conviction and sentence, but he refused to answer any questions.

Kate and I were both on a high as we walked to her car. It was a terrific feeling knowing that we’d helped to end the career of another vicious mobster.

At times like this I realised why I loved being a copper. But it wasn’t just the exhilarating sense of achievement. It was also another result in honour of my dear departed dad.

I knew he would have been proud of me, and it was such an awful shame that he couldn’t tell me how much.

He was still alive back when I followed in his footsteps and joined the force twelve years ago. He’d risen to the rank of detective chief inspector in Lewisham CID, and he’d always been my inspiration.