Rosa knew that this particular killing was going to have a profound impact on the city. There was going to be a strong and immediate reaction, and the hunt for the assassin would be stepped up.

But she remained confident in her ability to stay one step ahead of the cops, no matter how many of them were assigned to the task of finding her.

She opened her eyes and looked out at the streets that were filled with people and traffic. The sounds of voices and engines were drowned out by the high-pitched wail of multiple sirens. It signalled to everyone that something serious had happened. Something bad.

Rosa wondered how long it would be before the news got out that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had been shot dead outside his home in West London.

51

Laura

News of the Commissioner’s murder reached me an hour after it happened.

Aidan had just settled down for the night and I was about to leave the hospital to go to my mother’s house.

Sergeant Ray Wilks, one of the armed officer’s who’d been assigned to protect me, came into the room and said, ‘I’m sorry to disturb you but there’s something you need to know.’

He told me when we got to the waiting room and my insides turned to ice.

‘It just came through on the radio,’ he said. ‘It seems he was shot by a sniper outside his home in Kensington.’

His words sliced through me like a rotablade, and my lungs were suddenly clutching for air.

I wanted to believe that it wasn’t true, that it was fake news spread by a mischievous creep with access to the police radio frequencies.

I crossed the room and switched on the television.

‘I don’t think the media’s aware of it yet,’ Sergeant Wilks said.

And he was right. The news channels were still leading with the Balham shootings and the hunt for the woman on the motorcycle.

I grabbed my mobile phone from my pocket and jabbed at it. DCS Drummond answered straight away.

‘Hello, Laura,’ he said, before I spoke. ‘I can guess why you’re calling.’

‘Is it true, guv? Has the Commissioner been killed?’

‘I’m afraid so, but the details are sketchy. There’s still a lot of activity at the scene. I’m on my way there now.’

‘Was it just him or was anyone else shot?’

‘He was the only victim, although he had four armed officers with him at the time. Word is he was shot with a high-velocity sniper rifle so the area around his house is being closed down.’

‘Do we assume it’s the same woman?’ I said.

‘I think we have to. That last message stated that something would be done to make us reconsider our position. This must be it.’