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opened and Tina’s boss, DCI Frank Thomas, stepped out. He spotted them immediately, and marched over. He was a big man with a florid expression and a strong desire to make DCS, and he looked extremely pissed off. He hadn’t wanted Tina on his squad in the first place, and doubtless his view had just been reinforced.
    ‘This is a major bollocks-up,’ he said in his strong Welsh accent, sounding just like a cut-price version of Tom Jones, as he stopped in front of her and Owen. ‘We’ve got a bomb attack with multiple casualties, and the only suspect’ – he made the word ‘only’ stretch twice as long as it should have – ‘is run over and squashed by a lorry before we get a chance to question him. And to top it all, the copper doing the chasing, who left her colleague behind in the car—’
    ‘It wasn’t quite like that, sir,’ said Owen.
    ‘Shut up, Clive. The copper doing the chasing is none other than the Black Widow herself, probably the most controversial figure in the Met, Miss Tina Boyd.’ He glared at her. ‘Not only have we now got a mountain of paperwork, and a high-profile IPCC investigation to contend with, but the one man who could point us in the direction of the rest of his terrorist cell is dead.’
    ‘What would you have preferred, sir?’ said Tina, holding her ground. ‘That I let him get away?’
    ‘She’s right, sir—’
    ‘Clive, I told you to shut up.’ DCI Thomas turned back to Tina. ‘What I would have preferred is that you had maintained a visual on him but kept well back, as I believe you were told to do, and as is standard procedure in this kind of scenario, because that way …’ He paused. ‘That way we would have got him alive.’
    ‘I did what I thought was right,’ Tina insisted.
    ‘You did what you thought would cover you in glory. There’s a big difference.’
    ‘Sir, I was trying to catch a criminal. That’s what I thought we were meant to do. It was just bad luck that he got hit.’
    ‘Bad luck seems to follow you around.’
    Tina sighed. She couldn’t argue with that. She’d also worked out that it was better to be conciliatory than confrontational. ‘But I was twenty yards behind him, sir, well back, when he ran straight into that lorry’s path.’
    ‘Do we know he’s part of a terrorist cell, sir?’ asked Owen.
    Thomas gave a single decisive nod. ‘Yes. There’s been a call claiming responsibility from some Islamic outfit that no one’s ever heard of. They say there’s going to be another attack today. A bigger one. It might be bluster, but the whole Met’s on full alert. Which is why we needed him in one piece so badly.’
    ‘I’d like to make amends, sir,’ said Tina.
    ‘Well, unfortunately you’re not going to get a chance to.’
    ‘You’re not suspending me, are you?’ Tina felt the disappointment like a blow. Despite her frustrations with the way the Met was run she loved her job, and knew she was good at it.
    ‘I’ll be honest, DC Boyd, a part of me’s sorely tempted, but apparently you’re needed elsewhere. I’ve been told I have to temporarily release you from CID with immediate effect. I’ve also been given a number for you to call.’ He fished a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. ‘You’ll still need to make a full statement on what happened here later today, and you’ll have to make yourself available to the IPCC when they come calling. But as of now, you’re free to go.’
    Tina stared at the handwritten mobile number on the card. At first she thought it was some sort of joke, but it really wasn’t a day for jokes. She exchanged puzzled glances with Owen – clearly he didn’t have a clue what was happening either – then turned back to Thomas. ‘Thank you, sir,’ she said, having to shout above the noise of a rapidly approaching helicopter.
    She waited for it to pass before dialling the number. It was picked up on the first ring, and straight away she recognized the voice on the other