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with her in that flat when he was recovering from a brutal attack that had left him with appalling injuries. His present kneecap problems were a result of that assault. It had been so severe that for a period it was doubtful if he would recover, but to everyone’s amazement, Langton had such focus and determination he had returned to work after only six months. Now her relationship with Langton was long over, though they had worked together since on numerous cases. Anna had at times found their friendship difficult to deal with, but Langton had been a strong support for her in her heartbreak after the man she was about to marry was murdered. In many ways she and Langton were very similar; Anna with immense strong will and ferocious determination had dealt with her grief by continuing to work case after case.
    By the time her fiancé Ken had been killed, she had already moved away from Maida Vale to live in a top-floor modern apartment at Tower Bridge. His death had hardened Anna and she had formed a protective shell around herself. She kept her distance, allowing no one to get close, and was loath even to mention what had occurred. Langton had encouraged her to go for promotion to Detective Chief Inspector, a process that had been time-consuming, but Anna had no outside interests other than her health club. She was gaining a reputation as a very dedicated officer with her tough no-nonsense attitude and almost obsessive attention to detail, which had paid off, and she was firmly on the fast track, particularly in her new role.
    Anna Travis had won respect from each of the various murder squad teams she had worked alongside, and yet it was only Langton with whom she continued to have astrong emotional bond, one she doubted she would ever break. They had been through too much on both a personal and business level. Even so, having had no contact with him for some considerable time, she felt a slight trepidation meeting him at his home. Since their break-up, Langton had married his second wife, adopting her daughter Kitty, and had a son with her, called Tommy.
    Anna had only ever met Langton’s wife, Laura, once many years ago, and it had been very difficult as at the time she herself had been very enamoured with Langton and very young. She subsequently became personally involved with him after he had left Laura and, when their relationship didn’t work out, he had, or so she presumed, returned to be with Laura again. Attempting to discover anything further about Langton’s personal life was difficult, since he was very private and most of what she did know had come via incident-room gossip, rarely from Langton himself.
    She rang his doorbell and then had to wait at least five minutes before he answered the intercom and buzzed her in. Her mind raced with all their past history as she moved slowly up the stairs to the second floor, where the front door to his flat was open. She gave a polite knock and entered.
    The flat was a jumble of kids’ toys, tricycles and skateboards, and propped on a hook on the wall was Langton’s racing bike. Anna called out, at which there was a bellow from Langton telling her he was in the bedroom. Unsure of the layout of the flat, she walked into the main living room, which was yet another jumble of children’s toys, including a large doll’s house, which lay on its side with miniature furniture littered around it.
    ‘There’s some coffee on in the kitchen if you want one,’ he called out. Anna found the kitchen, which was in the same state as the rest of the flat. There was dirty crockery stacked in the sink, with empty containers of microwave and takeaway meals spread out on the table. She rinsed a mug clean and then looked around for the coffee percolator.
    ‘What are you doing?’ he shouted.
    ‘Getting a coffee, do you want one?’
    ‘No.’
    Carrying the mug, Anna walked along the narrow corridor. One door was open and it was obviously Kitty’s bedroom, judging from the pink duvet