‘What happened? I saw some of it on the news yesterday but it wasn’t a good night for me.’

‘Did you hear about Nicholas Long being killed?’

Jessica didn’t want to say how involved she was in the case, replying with a simple ‘yes’.

‘He came from around this area,’ Geoff continued as they walked. Every now and then, he would point at a random half-brick, just in case the cameras were focusing on them. ‘He paid for some social club around here and apparently lots of kids looked up to him and so on. As soon as word got around that he had been killed, the rumour mill went into overdrive and, before you know it, every little scroat and thieving shitbag was on the street moaning about “feds” and “cops”, plus every other Americanism you can think of.’

Jessica tried to give most people the benefit of the doubt, especially when they had grown up in an area of poverty, telling herself it was easy to look down on others when she had parents who loved and cared for her. That didn’t mean she didn’t sympathise with and largely understand Geoff’s cynicism.

‘I saw some of them in town yesterday,’ Jessica replied.

‘Aye, someone sent all of the riot squad into the centre. As soon as this lot realised they wouldn’t be able to cause any trouble there, they all came home and smashed their own area up instead. I doubt many of them had even met Nicholas Long, let alone knew he came from here. He was just an excuse to go out and cause trouble.’

‘Anyone hurt?’

‘Not really. Lots of scared locals but I think they mainly damaged objects rather than people. I heard a few of ours got carried away. Still, you never know if someone’s going to pull a gun on you when you’re out this way, do you?’

Jessica didn’t reply as she wasn’t entirely sure what she thought about that. They arrived back at the burned cars just as the chief superintendent was leading the cameras away to talk to some nearby locals. She wondered if they had already been screened by a press officer to prevent them saying anything unexpected on camera. A few of the other members of CID began to make eye contact with each other, wondering if they could return to their real jobs yet, as uniformed officers waited around, wanting to get to work properly.

‘Do you think there’ll be anything else tonight?’ Jessica asked.

‘Have you been to your station yet?’ Geoff asked with a smile.

‘I came straight here.’

He turned so he was facing away from where the cameras might be and broke into a laugh. ‘Where are you based?’

‘Longsight.’

He laughed even harder. ‘Just down the road then. Wait until you get in, then you won’t need to ask that question.’

As Jessica walked through the station’s front door, she knew instantly what Geoff had been trying to tell her. A queue of people was winding out of the door as she pushed her way through to reception. She offered the desk sergeant a sympathetic grin, heading towards the main floor where the constables worked. She had a quick look from side to side to make sure Rowlands was nowhere to be seen, then moved quickly across to Izzy’s desk and swapped car keys.

‘Are we full downstairs?’ Jessica asked.

Izzy smiled. ‘Everyone’s full. They arrested everyone out on the street last night but there wasn’t anywhere to fit them all. The cells are jammed at all the local stations and we can’t get people in and out quickly enough. There aren’t enough duty solicitors to go around and we’ve had angry parents storming in and out all morning. Some of them have already been processed and shipped off to the magistrates but their parents are still turning up here. Some of the ones involved in the more serious stuff are being kept downstairs too.’

‘I got sent out to the estate this morning to make up the numbers.’

‘Is it as bad as it looked on the news?’

‘Not really, most of it happened at the end of one road.’

Izzy didn’t appear too relieved. ‘Still, one riot a year is one too many, we’re not going to hear the end of this for months. Next thing you know, we’ll have a five-step plan about how to spot a riot and what to do about it. Step one: is anyone throwing stones? Step two: where are the stones coming from?’

‘So young, cynical and purple,’ Jessica smiled back, before straightening when she saw Rowlands entering the room. ‘I’ve got to head back to Nicholas’s club to talk to the staff. Are you coming?’

Izzy seemed confused. ‘Aren’t you taking Dave?’

‘No.’

Jessica’s reply was deliberately firm, meant to end the enquiry, rather than to invite more.

Izzy took the hint. ‘Whenever you’re ready then.’ She paused before adding: ‘My car is in one piece, isn’t it?’

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘It’s just . . . your reputation . . .’

Jessica rolled her eyes. ‘Let’s go. I’m driving.’

On the surface, Nicholas Long’s club looked the same as it had on every other occasion Jessica had visited it but by the time she reached the back set of offices and rooms, it had changed dramatically. A thick piece of chipboard had been bolted in place of the old fire door. Jessica led Izzy through the hallway, showing her how everything had been. The toilet was unrecognisable, the sink ripped out and exposed water pipes sealed off with a plastic stopper.

After checking how everything had been left, Jessica and the constable went back through to the main part of the club. Half-a-dozen women were sitting on the sofas in the same spot as the first evening Jessica had come by. Their attire was very different on this occasion, tight jeans and combinations of jumpers and tops, rather than skimpy underwear.

Jessica and Izzy stood next to the security door as the assembled workers eyed them suspiciously.

‘Do you fancy talking to them?’ Jessica asked quietly, not wanting them to hear. ‘I don’t think I give off the right vibes.’

‘Why would you think I would?’

‘You just look . . . trendier.’ Jessica indicated Izzy’s tied-back purple hair.

The constable narrowed her eyes before responding. ‘“Trendier”? Is that a nice way of saying I look a bit like a stripper?’

‘If that’s how you want to think of it.’

‘I’m not sure if I should take it as a compliment.’

‘Either way, I think they’ll talk to you more than they will me. I’ve had a bunch of dirty looks already.’

Izzy nodded. ‘Who are you going to talk to?’

‘The bar manager, Liam, and the guy who works on the front desk – Scott. I’ve already taken a look at their statements and I want to go over a couple of things. The times are all over the shop.’

Izzy nodded at the women. ‘We’ve already got statements from this lot too, haven’t we?’

‘That’s not really why we’re here. This is supposed to be a less formal thing to discuss wider issues of what it was like working for Nicholas.’

‘Is there anything you want me to ask specifically?’

‘Skirt around it and do your girly thing but see if you can find out if any of them were sleeping with him. Just bear in mind it might not have been entirely a two-way thing.’

‘Is it going to matter now if they were?’

Jessica shook her head. ‘Probably not but there are so many people that may have had it in for him, it wouldn’t do any harm to know if he was having an affair.’

Izzy took a deep breath, readying herself. ‘Is this why you brought me instead of Dave?’

‘Well, that and the fact Dave’s a dick.’

Izzy laughed, thinking Jessica was joking. ‘What’s new about that?’

Liam and Scott were both sitting on stools at the far end of the bar talking quietly. As they saw Jessica approaching, they stopped, standing as if she had commanded them to.

The dim light glinted off Scott’s styled spiky hair. Instead of the smart clothes he had been wearing at their last meeting, he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. In his suit he had looked like an usher at a wedding, thrust into the job at short notice with a suit one size too big, bought by his parents so he could grow into it. If anything, the casual clothes made him appear even younger.