‘He’s been extremely lucky,’ I said. ‘But his luck is about to run out.’ I turned to Slack. ‘Isn’t that why you’re in a panic, Roy? You realise that this time we really mean business and that we won’t stop until you’re behind bars? So this is a desperate bid to cling onto your empire. You actually believe in the legend you’ve created – that you’re this godfather-like figure who controls a big part of London and is above the law.

‘In that respect you’re just like the Richardson brothers and the Kray twins who were here before you. They also thought they could get away with anything, including murder, until they were standing in the dock at the Old Bailey.’

Slack chuckled. ‘Nice little speech, detective. But you’re way off the mark. The truth is I don’t give a fuck about my so-called empire and I’ve no reason to be concerned about your investigation. None of it matters to me anymore and that’s because I’m not going to be around for much longer.’

‘So does that mean you’re planning to do a runner?’ I said. ‘Move away to that fancy villa you’ve got down in Spain?’

Before answering he took a slow, deliberate breath and fixed me with a stare that was so intense I could almost feel it.

‘No, Detective Jefferson,’ he said, slowly. ‘It means that I’ve been given at most six months to live.’

His lawyer was obviously just as surprised as I was. He started to speak, but Slack waved a hand to stop him.

‘It’s true,’ Slack said. ‘I have stage three pancreatic cancer. It was diagnosed just over three months ago and by then it was too late to do anything about. The doctors said it was inoperable.’

‘That’s bollocks,’ I said. ‘You don’t look ill.’

Although in truth he didn’t look a picture of health either. I remembered it was the impression I got when I first laid eyes on him the day before.

‘That’s the problem with this form of cancer,’ he said. ‘You often don’t get any symptoms at the start. I’m only now beginning to suffer from back pain, weight loss and a bit of jaundice.’

Kate leaned forward and said, ‘So are you having any treatment?’

He shrugged. ‘I take tablets to control the pain, but that’s about it. They offered me chemo but said it would only extend my life for a few months so I didn’t see the point.’

‘I’ll need the contact details for your doctor,’ I said. ‘We’ll have to check this out.’

‘His number’s on my phone and you’ve still got that,’ he said.

‘So why didn’t you tell me about this yesterday?’ I asked him.