“I have a question, sir,” said William.
“Of course you do, DS Warwick.”
“Has your UCO come up with any fresh intel recently?”
The Hawk glanced at Jackie, who remained silent. “No. Sometimes he doesn’t surface for several weeks. But the moment he does, DS Warwick, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Lamont suppressed a smile at the commander’s gentle rebuke of William.
“And I have a question for you, DS Warwick,” said the Hawk. “Now that Tulip’s discharged himself from hospital, is there any way he could find your OSC?”
“No, sir. Even I can’t tell you where Heath’s holed up, because I don’t know myself.”
“Be sure it stays that way, because he’s our one hope of sending Faulkner down when the case eventually comes to court. Right, lads, back to work. Faulkner was yesterday’s triumph. Don’t forget that Rashidi’s still out there, destroying people’s lives.”
* * *
“Will you marry me?” asked Adrian.
“Of course I will,” said Maria, throwing her arms around his neck.
“This is the moment when I ought to drop on one knee and present you with an engagement ring to seal the deal, but that’s not possible while we’re cooped up in here. They won’t even let me out for long enough to look for one.”
“It won’t be for much longer,” said Maria. “And the ring can wait until we’re safely in Rio, when we can finally put all of this behind us.”
“I can’t wait to get to Rio,” admitted Adrian. “But I’m worried what your parents will say when they find out I used to be a drug addict, and haven’t had a proper job for years.”
“That’s all in the past, Adrian. In any case, I’ve already told them you’re the son of a successful banker—”
“Well, at least that’s true, even if he has disowned me.”
“And he’s given you ten thousand pounds to start up a new business. In Rio, ten thousand pounds is a fortune, so there’ll be endless opportunities.”
“Which I intend to take full advantage of. But I’ll never forget that without your help, I’d still be a hopeless junkie with no future.”
“It’s not just me you have to thank,” said Maria.
“I know. Choirboy has played his part, and once Faulkner’s safely behind bars I’ll have kept my side of the bargain.”
* * *
“When is the trial expected to begin, Sir Julian?”
“Not for a couple of months, Mrs. Faulkner. Why do you ask?”
“I need you to take your time over the settlement. Try and slow things down.”
“Why would you want me to do that, when we’ve got almost everything you asked for?”
“I still want to be Mrs. Faulkner when my husband goes to jail.”
“May I ask why?”
“It’s better you don’t know the reason, Sir Julian, as I may need you to represent me should things not turn out as planned.”
* * *