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Ross paused for a moment. ‘I would certainly have locked him up for the rest of his life.’

‘I only ask because during Caravaggio’s lifetime,’ continued Alice, once again consulting her guidebook, ‘he painted sixty-seven masterpieces, twenty-four of them while he was on the run. An interesting moral dilemma, don’t you think?’

‘He could have painted them while he was in prison,’ said Ross.

‘I agree with the Pope,’ said Jojo, still not looking up.

‘Me too,’ said Alice as she now opened the paper instead.

Ross remained silent as he glanced across at the headline: BRITAIN’S CHIEFARMS NEGOTIATOR CHARGED WITH MURDER INSAUDI.He leaned across and tried to read the small print while Jojo continued drawing.

CHAPTER 3

AT ONE MINUTE TO EIGHT, Chief Superintendent William Warwick knocked on the Commander’s door. He waited for the usual cry of ‘Come’ before he entered his office.

It wouldn’t have taken an astute detective more than a few minutes to work out what the man seated behind the desk had been up to for the past thirty years. A photograph of Commander Hawksby playing scrum half for the Metropolitan Police at Hendon in his youth hung on the wall behind him, alongside one of him being awarded the Queen’s Police Medal by Her Majesty the Queen. A framed photo of his wife, two sons and five grandchildren took pride of place on his desk.

William sat down on the other side of the desk and stared at the thick files piled up in front of him.

The Commander tapped them almost affectionately, before he said, ‘One day, my boy, all these will be yours, and possibly sooner than you think, as it won’t be too long before I retire.’

Although William had been taken by surprise, he didn’t comment.

‘I’ll be sixty next year,’ said the Hawk, ‘the statutory age for retirement.’

‘No longer, sir,’ William reminded him. ‘The government’s latest directive will allow you to continue to the age of sixty-five.’

‘Only if I’m promoted,’ said the Hawk, ‘and that seems damned unlikely.’

‘The Assistant Commissioner in charge of Special Operations has just announced his retirement, so you’d be …’

‘Along with four other commanders who will be applying for the same job.’

‘I’ll put Ross on to removing them one by one,’ said William, a large grin appearing on his face.

‘Chief Inspector Hogan will be fully occupied for the next few weeks,’ said the Hawk, removing a file from the top of the pile and placing it on the desk in front of him.

William didn’t bother to ask why.

The Commander flicked open the cover of one particular file and said, ‘MI6 have been in touch to warn us that Prince Majid bin Talal Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Defence, will be making an official visit to England next month. The trip involves a major arms contract, so the Minister will be attending the Farnborough Air Show to find out what we have on offer. Your team will be in charge of their security. Not an easy task, as there’s bound to be protests concerning some of the regime’s less attractive policies, not least their attitude to women’s rights. However, as a three billion price tag is involved, it won’t come as a surprise that the Prime Minister wants Prince Majid to be made to feel welcome.’

‘Any additional problems we might have to consider?’ asked William.

‘Yes,’ said the Hawk, turning a few pages of the file. ‘It seems that Prince Ahmed bin Majid, the Defence Minister’s second son, will be accompanying him. According to MI6, he’s an unsavoury character – diplomatic parlance for we should keep a close eye on him, particularly when it comes to women, and it’s certainly not their rights he’s interested in.

‘However, the Foreign Office were quick to remind us that while he’s a guest on our shores, he’ll enjoy diplomatic immunity. And there’s an added complication,’ continued the Hawk.

‘Simon Hartley?’ interrupted William. ‘The Guardianare hinting that Ahmed was the unnamed Prince in the Overseas Club the night Hartley was arrested.’

‘That’s all we need,’ said the Hawk.

‘Then may I suggest, sir,’ said William, ‘Inspector Hogan should be delegated as his protection officer for the duration of the stay. That should be more than enough to keep him out of harm’s way.’

‘For the time being. But you’re not the only person who readsThe Guardian, so we’ll have to be prepared for protests. What’s Detective Sergeant Pankhurst up to at the moment?’

‘Rebecca is overseeing the security for the Queen Mother’s one hundredth birthday celebrations, which should keep her fully occupied for the next few weeks.’

‘And Detective Sergeant Roycroft and Detective Inspector Adaja?’