‘I’m living over this way now. Oakdene Avenue in Chislehurst.’

‘The posh stockbroker belt, eh? So, found yourself a rich young man yet?’ he grinned.

She laughed. ‘There’s nothing posh about my place. It’s a little semi that desperately needs a shedload of work done on it . . . which I can’t afford right now. And I’ve no time for romance with all the studying I’m trying to do.’

‘You need to get out a bit more. Let the bees come to the honey pot. Whoever nabs you as a missus will be a very lucky man.’

‘What about you? How you been since, you know . . .?’

Lloyd could see she was having difficulty asking the obvious.

‘I got shot in the chest? I told you when you visited me in hospital that it wasn’t your fault, Jane.’

‘I should have visited you more. It’s just that every time I saw you, I felt responsible for what happened,’ she said, hardly able to look him in the face.

Lloyd sighed. ‘I missed your visits, but I knew that was why you stopped coming.’

Jane felt close to tears. ‘I nearly got you killed. If I’d just stayed in the OP that day, then it would never have happened.’

‘Rubbish. Every time a Flying Squad officer does a pavement ambush, they know they risk being shot. If it wasn’t that time, it could have been the next. DCI Murphy knew you suspected he was bent . . . all he needed was an excuse to get rid of you, and being there when I was shot gave him what he needed. He twisted what happened to suit his purpose, Jane. Thankfully, you and Operation Countryman got him in the end and now he’s behind bars where he belongs. His life is now in danger every day and I have no sympathy for him.’

‘Yeah, but I alienated a lot of people assisting Countryman’s investigation and setting up Murphy for a fall. To be honest, studying for the exam wasn’t the only reason I requested a move to a quieter station. My name was mud in a lot of places. A colleague nicks a seasoned villain or solves a complex crime and they instantly become a great detective. I help arrest and convict a colleague who organised armed robberies and I’m a grass for snitching on one of my own. Where’s the sense in that?’

‘You’ve got to move on for your own sanity, Jane. I know the Flying Squad officers were glad to see Murphy go down and they respected and admired you for having the balls to do it. Ignore what the halfwits say and do what you do best – being a bloody good detective. Anyone who disses you is only jealous of your abilities. I heard Stanley is the DI at Bromley now. Has he been giving you a hard time about Murphy?’

‘No, not at all. In fact, he’s never mentioned it,’ Jane said.