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‘No one had thought to check if there were any public events in the park that day, Detective Superintendent Mathers?’ Commander Ratface asked.

‘No, sir.’

‘If you were sitting on this side of the table, would you class that as a failure in planning?’

‘I would, sir.’

‘Very well. What happened next?’

‘Who the hell are these clowns?’ Mathers said. ‘Surely they can’t be part of it?’

Nightingale’s voice crackled over the radio. ‘It’s a parkrun.’

‘Why didn’t we know about this?’

‘They usually happen here on Saturdays and there wasn’t time to check the events schedule given how short the notice was,’ Nightingale replied calmly.

‘Why are they all dressed in pink?’

‘We can’t read the T-shirts from here.’

‘I can,’ Poe said. ‘There’s a logo on the front. It’s either a brain or an upside-down testicle. Has letters underneath: ABBS. Does that make sense to anybody?’

‘Never heard of it,’ Flynn said into his earpiece.

She was on the other side of Chance’s Park. He doubted she had seen the runners yet. She would soon, though; there were hundreds of them now. Poe could still see Henning Stahl but he wasn’t sure for how much longer. The runners continued to pour in and they were starting to congregate around Stahl as they moved further into the park to make room for everyone.

‘Can you hear me, Tilly?’ Flynn continued.

‘I can, DI Flynn,’ Bradshaw said. She had stayed at Durranhill, but was monitoring the operation.

‘Find out what ABBS stands for. Poe says he can see a brain or a testicle logo. I doubt it’s testicular cancer as they’re wearing pink. Start with neurological disorders.’

‘I’ll do it now.’

Poe pressed the transmit button on his radio. ‘I’m going to losevisual soon,’ he said. ‘If anyone has better eyes on Stahl say so now, because … right, I’ve lost him.’

A sea of pink stood between Poe and Stahl. He estimated there were at least five hundred people in the park. He got the occasional flash of the ex-journalist as he was the only one not dressed like a flamingo, but he could no longer tell if he was alone.

‘Quebec callsigns,’ Poe said. ‘Do you have eyes on Stahl?’

Quebec 251, 252 and 253 were the police helicopters. They were hovering above the three main entrances to the park.

‘This is Quebec 253,’ a voice crackled. ‘We have eyes on the target. He’s surrounded by people in pink but he appears to be on his own.’

‘I want an update every thirty seconds, guys,’ Poe said.

‘Roger that.’

‘This is Matilda Bradshaw from the National Crime Agency; please may I talk now, Poe?’

‘Go ahead, Tilly.’

‘ABBS stands for acquired Breeg–Bart syndrome. It’s a neurode-generative disorder, an extremely rare variant of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, one of the motor neurone diseases. Have you heard of Lou Gehrig’s disease?’

‘I have.’