He was sitting on an armchair with the muzzle of a pistol pressed against his chin. And he was grinning.

‘Seems to me that you lot are making a habit of barging into homes uninvited,’ Slack said, and his lungs sounded rusty.

‘We’ve come to talk to you, Roy,’ Drummond said. ‘So be sensible and put the gun down.’

‘Now why would I do a stupid thing like that? I’ve been told that you’ve finally got the evidence you’ve been looking for, which means that if I go with you now I’ll end up dying in prison. And that was never part of the plan.’

‘So what was the plan, Roy?’

Slack ignored the question and looked at me. I noticed then that he appeared worn out, as though he’d been drained of energy and emotion. His eyes were dull and opaque, and blood vessels were throbbing at his temples.

‘I wondered if I would ever see you again, Detective Inspector Jefferson,’ he said. ‘You made such an impression on me when you came to the office the other day that I really felt like giving you a slap.’

I chose not to react other than to give a small, tight smile, which he didn’t seem to like. His face became taut suddenly, brimming with hate.

‘I bet you weren’t smiling when that boyfriend of yours took a bullet,’ he said. ‘I thought it was a bloody shame that it didn’t kill him.’

I didn’t rise to the bait for fear of making a bad situation much worse. So we stared at each other for a short while before he shifted his gaze back to Drummond and said, ‘For your information this was always part of the plan, although I didn’t imagine I’d have an audience.’

‘Where is she, Slack?’ Drummond said. ‘Where is Maria Rodriquez?’

He laughed. ‘You mean The Slayer. Well, you must know that’s not her real name.’

‘Then what is?’

‘I have no fucking idea.’

‘But you do know where she is.’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t actually, but I suspect she’s out celebrating her latest kill, which I’m sure you know all about by now. A bitch copper this time, I gather.’

‘We’ve seized the weapons that were in the garage behind the pub.’

‘Well, obviously she’s still armed and still has unfinished business.’

One of the armed officers stepped to one side, prompting Slack to tighten his grip on the gun.

‘I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to blow my brains out before you’ve heard my confession,’ he said.

Everybody froze, and the tension in the room became stifling.