I sat there, burning over his words, knowing that they gave false hope. Just because people had been arrested, it didn’t mean they’d be charged. They’d be questioned and held for a time before being released. And those with any connection to Roy Slack would be browbeaten and bribed.

But I was betting that Slack was playing this one close to his chest and that even most of his own people had been kept in the dark. It was almost certainly why no one had grassed him up despite the problems this was causing for the whole of the London underworld. The gangs had never been under so much pressure. They were all in the spotlight like never before. The disruption to their operations was costing them millions.

So surely if even a few knew the identity of the assassin at least one of them would have tipped the police off by now. Likewise if they could have provided us with evidence of Slack’s involvement we would have seen it already.

A number of senior Scotland Yard officers and politicians appeared on screen to pay tribute to the Commissioner. A statement was read out on behalf of his wife who said her grief was painful beyond words. And she described John Saunders as a devoted husband and loving father to their two daughters.

As I watched and listened, I could feel the anger building inside me, dangerously electric. I was the partner of one of the victims so I was expected to take time off and stay away from the investigation. But I now realised that there was no chance of that happening. Not in view of the miscarriage. And not with Aidan lying in a hospital bed, his life possibly changed forever by an assassin’s bullet.

I needed to get right back into the thick of it. Help find the woman responsible and the bastard who was paying her.

My original brief from DCS Drummond had been to go after Slack. So that was exactly what I would do – whether I was allowed to or not.

55

Rosa

They began their tour of London with a light breakfast at a café in Covent Garden. The sun was bright in the sky and it lifted the temperature a few degrees. It meant they were able to sit at an outside table.

Rosa was wearing one of Alice’s coats – a bright-red knee-length number with a designer label. Alice had also loaned her a scarf so she was more than comfortable.

Alice herself looked striking in a pale-blue puffer jacket and black jeans.

Rosa had never felt so content. This was a whole new experience and she was loving every minute of it.

Up to this point her life had been devoid of friendship and intimacy. She’d been a loner who had always preferred her own company. But now, for the first time, she realised what she’d been missing.