Janet shook her head. ‘Sadly, no. We’re working in tandem with other divisions, but the truth is we’re still chasing our tails.’

‘What about the woman? I saw the latest security footage from the hotel.’

It was Kate who answered. ‘Well, it won’t surprise you to learn that she’s vanished. We’re now waiting for her to resurface and strike again. And at the same time we’re praying that she won’t.’

‘So we don’t know where she went after leaving the hotel?’

‘We’ve heard from a taxi driver who thinks he gave her a lift to London Bridge station. A couple of guys are now trawling through the CCTV tapes from there.’

‘That’s not very encouraging. What’s the latest on Roy Slack? Did we bring him in again?’

‘Drummond decided there was no point and I have to agree.’ This from Janet. ‘He won’t change his story and his lawyer has already lodged a formal complaint saying that we’re harassing him. We even pulled the surveillance crew away from his home last night because there’s a desperate shortage of people now.’

‘This is crazy,’ I said. ‘We know he’s behind this.’

‘But we don’t know for sure, Laura,’ Janet said. ‘And that’s the problem.’

My temper sparked. ‘Don’t tell me the bastard has convinced you that our suspicions are misplaced and he’s really just a poor innocent sod who’s dying of cancer.’

‘Not at all,’ Janet said with an expansive shrug. ‘He’s still a suspect. But there’s absolutely nothing to tie him to the killings except the idea that he’s getting revenge against the Met.’

‘It’s more than just an idea, Janet. It’s fucking obvious.’

‘Not to me it isn’t. And Drummond’s been taking stick for focusing too much time and effort on Slack. The Commissioner himself raised it with him before he was shot.’

I shook my head and the indignation rose within me.

‘This is bollocks,’ I said, and it came out louder than I’d intended.

‘Hey, calm down, Laura,’ Janet responded. ‘I know you’re upset, but we’re coppers. We’re supposed to deal in evidence, not conjecture.’

I felt my heart heat up. ‘Fuck me, Janet. It sounds like you want the bastard to get away with it. And he will if we don’t go after him.’

Anger flared in Janet’s eyes. ‘How dare you say that? The fact is we’ve drawn a big fat blank where Slack is concerned. So maybe you’ve convinced yourself it’s him because you want it to be. And that’s dangerous and unprofessional.’

‘You’re talking rubbish,’ I said.

‘Am I?

‘Yes, and you bloody well know it.’