She needed to assess her injuries and decide if they were the kind that would mend by themselves. She suspected they were. Already the pain in her neck and left leg was subsiding. But her shoulder remained extremely sore. She wouldn’t know if she’d sustained any superficial injuries until she was able to strip off.

Adrenalin continued to surge through her body as she rode and it helped to ease her discomfort.

Her thoughts eventually turned to Alice and their dinner date. They were due to meet up in an hour at Alice’s apartment and from there they were planning to walk to the restaurant.

Rosa was still desperate to go, but she wondered if it would be too much for her battered body. She would have to come up with a lie to explain away the pain and any cuts and bruises that would show up on her body.

She could say she was hit by a car or knocked to the ground by a mugger who tried to steal her bag. Or she could simply say that she had a bad fall outside the hotel.

The lie wouldn’t be a problem. It would come easily enough. But Rosa knew that it wouldn’t be so easy to relax and enjoy herself. Partly because of the pain racking her body. And partly because she was furious with herself for failing to kill DI Laura Jefferson.

She got to Vauxhall by seven fifteen and returned the motorcycle to the garage behind the pub.

On the walk to the hotel she purchased several packets of strong painkillers from a pharmacy, along with some ointment to reduce the swelling.

As soon as she entered her room, she took off her clothes and studied her reflection in the full-length mirror behind the door.

There were bruises on her left shoulder, right thigh and left knee. Her right elbow was badly grazed and so too was the back of her left hand. But at least her face and torso had escaped injury in the fall from the bike.

It was another reminder, as if she needed one, that luck had been with her. Without it she’d be dead now or sitting in the back of a police car with her wrists cuffed.

She decided to keep her date with Alice, but as time was pressing she sent her a text to say she would meet her at the restaurant at eight thirty. Alice replied straight away saying no problem. And since Rosa didn’t know the location of the restaurant Alice sent her the address.

Rosa then took some of the painkillers and had a quick shower to ease her swollen muscles and joints.

While waiting for the water to heat up she switched on the TV. Once again her exploits were dominating the news channels.