‘I really appreciate you coming with me,’ Kate said, making eye contact with Finn.

‘I’m just glad you called me. If you’re right about this guy, then Armitage will have to act.’

She didn’t like it, but he was right about the if; she had no evidence to suggest that Isbitt was the man she’d been hunting for so long. She was certain in her mind that he’d returned, but convincing Armitage and making it stick was a different game altogether.

Kate checked her watch anxiously. ‘What time will he be here?’

‘Any minute now,’ Finn confirmed, opening a sachet of sugar and tipping it into the espresso on the table.

They were in the same café as their meeting on Saturday. Trish had reluctantly agreed to Kate borrowing her car to make the journey, but only after Kate had assured her that her foot was healed enough to drive. Not that she needed her left foot in Trish’s automatic.

She lifted her own mug and took a large gulp. She was taking a huge risk in reaching out to Armitage at this stage, but with his contacts and the size of his task force, having him onside would be vital in putting Isbitt at the scene of each of the crimes. She’d phoned Nicola Isbitt and asked her to confirm where her husband was on certain dates in 2015, under the pretence that it was in connection with other matters. Nicola had said she would check and let Kate know. If they could establish that Isbitt was away on the date of each murder, they’d be a step closer to confirming Kate’s worst fears. She had little doubt they’d find what they needed this time.

At least he was in custody for now, but if Underhill’s extension request was unsuccessful, it would only be a matter of time before he was out and free to strike again.

‘He’s here,’ Finn muttered under his breath to catch her attention.

Armitage’s tan looked even darker as he sat down at the table, not noticing Kate hunched over her own drink, her back to him. ‘Matthews! I should have guessed that you’d be behind this in some way.’

‘This isn’t Finn’s fault. I asked him to invite you here. Please, just hear what I have to say.’

Armitage looked around the small Italian café. ‘You know I’m going to phone your DSI about this, don’t you? You’ll be finished, Matthews.’

She shuffled her chair over to their table. ‘For once I’m trying to do the right thing. I’ve uncovered a suspect in Southampton who I believe may also have a connection to the London victims.’

Armitage crossed his arms and sighed, making it very clear to Kate how tedious he was already finding the interruption to his day. ‘You have five minutes.’ He called a waiter over and ordered a latte to take away.

Kate took a deep breath. ‘Two young women have been found beaten and suffocated in Southampton in the last week. We believe that both were attacked by the same man, and that he used some kind of polythene bag to kill them. Our prime suspect is a computer engineer and sales rep for a company he owns with his brother. The first of this week’s victims was discovered in his allegedly stolen BMW, and our SOCOs found one of his hairs and fragments of one of his business cards inside the second vehicle. We have him in custody, but his solicitor has instructed him to deny the allegations.’

Kate paused to make sure Armitage was still listening. ‘Last night we found both victim’s profiles on a dating website.’ She paused again, allowing her words to sink in. ‘I am pursuing the likelihood of his work taking him to London in late 2015, and will confirm as soon as I have that information.’

His face remained neutral. ‘Is that it?’

‘I know it isn’t concrete, but I felt I should share the information in case his name has come up in connection with any of your other leads.’

He sighed and pushed his chair back from the table.

‘Wait,’ Kate said eagerly. ‘There’s more. Finn has confirmed that the week before Amy’s death, she hired an engineer to come and reformat her computer because it had contracted a virus of some sort. Isbitt is a computer engineer.’

Armitage remained seated. ‘And was he the engineer who visited her flat?’

Kate looked at Finn. ‘Describe the engineer you saw at Amy’s flat.’

Finn looked off into the distance, and his hand involuntarily ran through the thick stubble on his chin. ‘Mmm… I’d know him if I saw him. He was probably average height, average build… he was wearing a baseball cap and glasses… I remember thinking he looked a bit older than I’d expected. But the guy was well presented in company overalls and seemed to know what he was doing.’

Armitage looked from Finn to Kate. ‘You should know better than this, Matthews. It’s bad enough you wasting my time, but to unnecessarily raise the hopes of the victim’s family is not fair, nor professional. And invoking Mr Delaney to get involved in your twisted games too? You should be ashamed.’ He stood and moved to the counter to await his drink.

Kate was about to follow him over, but Finn beat her to the punch.

He pulled on Armitage’s shoulder, spinning him round. ‘You need to listen to what DI Matthews has to say.’

Armitage sized him up, before offering his winning smile. ‘With all due respect, Mr Delaney, I know how to do my job, and I will do everything within my power to find the man who murdered your sister. I know that DI Matthews appears to offer hope with all her wild-eyed theories, but she was out of her depth twelve months ago, and she’s even more out of her depth now. Why do you think she was forced to leave the Met? Because she wasn’t worthy enough to wear the badge. I understand the pain you’re going through and I apologise on behalf of the Met for Matthews’ reckless actions, but I implore you to let us do our job, and to stay clear of this woman.’

The barista placed a cardboard cup in front of Armitage, who grabbed it. ‘She’s paying,’ he added, pointing in Kate’s direction. ‘It’s the least she can do for wasting my time.’ He left the café, and a frustrated Finn returned to the table.

‘I’m sorry he wouldn’t listen,’ Finn offered.

Kate’s cheeks felt warm after the character assassination. ‘I understand if you want nothing else to do with me.’

‘Are you kidding, if anything, I think you’re even more right. Do you have a photograph of this Isbitt character I can look at? I’m sure I’d recognise him if I saw him again.’

‘What are you doing for the rest of the day? I think you should return to Southampton with me now and I’ll see if we can get him in an ID parade.’

‘Can’t you just show me a photograph of him?’

‘I don’t have one on me, but if we hurry, we might still catch him at the police station.’