Somehow, she had been spared again. In the midst of death and destruction, she walked unharmed. Even though she had begged whatever god there might be to take her instead of her daughter. Even though she had been in the burning caves and near the explosion at the Tate. Did she have some kind of gift like Blake? Or could it be called a curse to watch those you love hurt while you continued to breathe?

Magda sat in silence next to her, staring ahead, her hands clasped so tightly together that her knuckles were white. This waiting was driving them both crazy.

"I'll get us some more coffee," Jamie said. Magda nodded without meeting her eyes.

Jamie walked through the corridors to the hospital coffee shop, navigating by the multicolored department signs. Sterile white walls with the occasional poster encouraging hand sanitation could have been any hospital anywhere. London's complexity disappeared within these walls, individuals reduced to injured body parts.

O lay in surgery with multiple internal injuries from the crush of the bulldozer. The expression on the doctor's face when they had taken her in made Magda weep afresh.

The building work had stopped after the accident, but Jamie knew that it would start again. If not tomorrow, then perhaps the next day or the next. The leaders of the community had been taken out and the rest would now weaken and give up. It was inevitable. The last few days had been about breaking them so they would give up without a fight. Or at least only a pitiful one.

Jamie bought two double shot coffees, some chocolate bars and bananas and headed back to Magda.

"Here you go," Jamie said when she arrived back to find her friend in exactly the same position. "She'll likely be hours yet, so you need to keep your strength up."

"I can't lose her," Magda whispered, turning to Jamie with haunted eyes. "It took me so many years to find someone who accepts all of me."

Jamie took her hand.

"She's not going to die." Jamie put all her hope into her voice, claiming the words as truth as if somehow it would protect O. "She didn't die at the hands of the skin collector, she made it through that and she will live now."

Magda nodded. "Yes, you're right. She's a survivor."

"And we have to think positive," Jamie said. "Send her your strength."

Magda took a sip of her coffee.

"The company that wants to develop Cross Bones," she said. "They'll try again, won't they?"

Jamie nodded.

"They have the permits. It's only a matter of time." She paused, thinking of Vera Causa and how entwined they were with the property market in Southwark. Perhaps there was a way. "I do have an inkling of who might be behind it all, though. Perhaps I might be able to find evidence against them. It might help us keep the protest going, get some media attention at least."

"They've taken so much in the last few days, Jamie. If you can find out anything, it might help us keep the community together."

Jamie nodded. She looked at her watch. It was after nine p.m.

"I'll go now. I have a few leads to follow up. Text me or call if you hear anything."

Jamie headed out into the evening, her mind made up.

She had the address of the Vera Causa offices from the research she had done in the last few days. It was time to go to the source and see what she could find.

Getting onto her bike, she rode through the familiar streets, considering what she was about to do. Breaking and entering wasn't new to her – she had broken into a Hoxton studio during the Neville investigation, but Vera Causa was cloaked with secrets. Would she rouse a more powerful force by entering their domain?

She drove along the street where the office was situated. The area was split between residential buildings and new office space. The Vera Causa address was nothing special and there was no sign on the door, no way to know whether this was really the right place. But at least the lights were off.

Jamie parked a little way from the building and then walked back, hands in her pockets. She passed a pub at the head of the street. A couple of smokers stood outside with pints, engrossed in a political argument. The office was at the quieter end, so Jamie walked straight up to the door. Deliberate action was less obvious than hesitancy. Confidence inspired confidence, she thought, echoes of her police training resonating even in this less-than-legal situation.

The door had a numeric keypad, so she wasn't getting in this way without specialist equipment.

Jamie walked around the back of the building. There was a fire escape staircase leading up to the second floor. Stepping lightly, she mounted the stairs, examining the windows and doors on each level as she ascended. They were all locked and alarmed.

She turned to look out over the nearby buildings. The Shard towered above, a beacon of blue light announcing its majestic presence. It was beautiful, Jamie thought. A testament to the power of human creativity and drive. If it can be imagined, it can be created. That's what she used to tell Polly about the world. Everything around us first existed as an idea in someone's mind, she would say. Then they made it happen.

Of course, that was just as true for destruction as for creation. Someone's mind was set against the community of Southwark and Jamie felt a renewed desire to seek them out.

She turned and looked at the upper-level windows. They were all locked. Her eyes scanned upwards onto the roof. There was a skylight built into the tiles and it looked as if it might be open an inch. Jamie glanced down. It was a long way to fall.

She began to climb, pushing herself up with her legs and pulling on the tiles above. Don't look down, don't look down. The words a mantra in her mind as she inched her way to the skylight.

It was open a little and she slipped her fingers under, pulling it up slowly. It pivoted and opened with only a tiny creak. It didn't look like it was alarmed.

Jamie turned her body, dropping feet first into an attic space. She stood for a moment, breathing quietly, letting her heart rate return to normal as she listened to the building. It was still, silent, and she sensed it was empty, at least for now. But she didn't want to stay too long.

She clicked on her pen torch.

The attic space was cluttered with piles of boxes. Jamie opened one to find stacked rental agreements from the surrounding area. Another was full of sales receipts from a shop with a local address. With so many boxes and not much time, she couldn't hope to find anything up here.

Jamie walked down the stairs, pausing as one creaked underfoot. Her heart raced, but there was no sound of anyone else here. She continued on.

The first floor had an open-plan office space and a conference room with glass walls. The decor was magnolia and shades of blue, a relaxing professional place. She walked around the desks and checked the computers, but all were password protected or logged off. There were some papers on the desks, all evidence of a real estate management company. Nothing untoward. Jamie's heart sank as she looked around. Clearly Vera Causa was very good at navigating the right side of the law, even if their ethics could be questioned.

At the back of the open-plan area was a separate office area, the size of the space indicating it was for senior management. Jamie pushed open the door and glanced around. It was immaculate, chrome surfaces gleaming. It looked to be entirely paperless, no filing cabinets, no documents left out.

Then she saw something glint in the torchlight. Something that could make all the difference.

Chapter 28