‘That’s what we all want, DS Miles,’ Kapoor said. ‘Continue to keep Corrigan in the dark about us connecting Angela to our Jane Doe. If he is a danger to her, we don’t want to put her at further risk. Some good news is I have heard that the Quicks decided against legal action, so you’re in the clear there. They acted out of grief. I think we can all appreciate how hard it must have been for them. Now, go on. Let’s nail this bastard.’

‘Thank you, Ma’am,’ Adrian said as he left the room, annoyed yet again that they wouldn’t be getting Angela out of there.

He had forgotten about the Quicks’ threats to press charges. All he could think about was protecting Angela Corrigan. He just didn’t feel like they were doing enough, he didn’t feel like he was doing enough. What pained him most was that maybe Imogen was right and he was spiralling. He couldn’t think about that right now, though. All he could think about was helping Angela.

Chapter Thirty-Four

‘It’s been two years since this happened.’ Rajesh Baqri pointed at his arm. ‘I thought someone would have caught up to him sooner.’

He gestured towards the sofa; Adrian and Imogen sat down opposite him.

‘What happened?’ Adrian asked, unsure if he wanted the answer or not.

‘I signed a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for a decent settlement. I can’t afford to give the money back, so I’m afraid I can’t talk to you.’

‘A non-disclosure agreement is not legally binding if its purpose is to cover up a crime,’ Imogen said.

‘Well, I had no proof anyway, so there isn’t much to say. Machine malfunction and then zap, my arm was gone. I sued the company and got a nice lump to live on for a while. Better than nothing.’

Rajesh Baqri had a strange optimism considering his situation. His flat was nice, probably funded at least in part with whatever money Reece Corrigan had paid him off with.

‘Did you suspect that it wasn’t an accident?’ Adrian said.

‘I’ve given it a lot of thought over the last couple of years and in all honesty, I don’t know. The timing of it? The fact that he paid up leads me to believe that it probably is true. I got lucky, though. I could have easily been killed in that accident.’

‘Would you be surprised if it was planned?’ Adrian said.

‘No.’

‘Why would Reece Corrigan want to hurt you?’ Imogen asked.

‘The man is nuts. I once saw him pay a man five hundred quid to eat a bowl of wet cement.’

‘Jesus. Did the man do it?’ Imogen said.

‘He tried, but he couldn’t keep it down. Puked everywhere. It could have literally killed him.’

‘Why would Corrigan do that?’ Imogen said.