‘You spent a long time in Counter-Terrorism?’

‘After Nine/Eleven, it absorbed a lot of the Service’s time, energy and effort, and understandably so.’

Williams turned the pages. ‘Eight months in Lahore.’ She looked up. ‘That was where you met your former deputy, Ravindra?’

‘Where is this going, Ms Williams? If you were watching me in Prague, you’ll be aware that I had to fight off a potential abduction by a Russian snatch squad, which would be a strange turn of events if I really were Agent Dante – and thanks for the assistance, by the way, if you were on my tail.’ She meant that for Suzy, who was now failing to meet her eye. ‘So just get on with it.’

Williams looked at her, unruffled and unhurried. ‘You travelled extensively in your time in Counter-Terrorism, did you not?’

‘Of course I bloody did. There was a war on.’

Williams pushed a sheet across the table. ‘You attended a counter-terrorism conference in Sofia in 2012.’

Kate glanced over the piece of paper, which was a print-out of her travel schedule of the time, including her flight and hotel details, along with her security pass number for the conference. ‘Yes,’ she replied, unsure as to where this could possibly be heading.

Williams took another photograph from the file and put it before Kate. It appeared to depict Sergei in a group of men entering the conference hall.

They waited while Kate absorbed this. Suzy Spencer leant forward. ‘I hope you’re not going to try to tell us, Kate, that you attended the same conference as your former lover and managed not to bump into each other? Or, still more incredible, that you have forgotten you saw him there?’

Kate held up the photograph. ‘Where did you get this? Who took it?’ Her mind was doing somersaults.

‘I’m afraid we’re not at liberty to disclose that,’ Williams said.

‘How do you know it’s genuine?’

‘We’re a hundred per cent sure it is not faked,’ Suzy said. ‘Unlike much of the material you have been presenting to us in the last eighteen months.’

Kate shook her head. ‘To answer your question, yes, I’m absolutely sure I didn’t see Sergei at this conference. I mean, if I had, why on earth would I lie about it?’

The answer to that was obvious and their silence made the point well enough. ‘It seems more than a touch convenient that it’s turned up just at this particular moment, wouldn’t you say?’ Kate asked.

‘That’s not the inference we have drawn from it,’ Williams said.

There was a noise from the corridor, and a few seconds later, Shirley Grove burst in. She was wearing a raincoat that made her look bulkier than she really was, her face and hair damp from the weather outside. She looked flustered, even angry, her cheeks flushed. ‘What is the meaning of this?’ she demanded.

Suzy was on her feet, like a scalded cat. ‘We have authorization!’ she said.

‘From whom?’

‘We are following due procedure under the law.’