‘Not yet here.’ Santer laughed. ‘It wasn’t personal, you know, moving you. I doubt someone saw your name pop up on a report and thought: I know — let’s have some fun and move that awkward bastard, Rocco, out to the sticks. It might mean disturbing the entire French police establishment, but what the hell — it’ll be worth it just to piss him off.’

‘You know that has the disturbing ring of truth.’

‘I already told you, it was a nationwide plan; our new boss was hauled out of Bordeaux and dumped on us just like you’ve been dumped on those lucky country folk in Picardie and so on along the line. When the top men at his level get moved, it sets off a ripple effect throughout the ranks. You and every other bugger who was moved got caught up in it like flies on dog shit.’

‘That’s all it was?’

‘That’s all. It’s about sharing services across the whole police network. We loan inspectors to the regions, they let us have some of their big farm boys when we need a bit of fresh muscle for the CRS, we all cooperate on forensic and cross-border issues, blah, blah, blah. It’s called “integration”.’

‘Sounds too good to be true.’

‘Amen to that. It’s the latest thing, probably copied from America, so don’t go and cock it all up by being awkward. You should think yourself lucky and enjoy the holiday. Oh, and don’t forget, you’re responsible to the local station, nobody else. No magistrates, no mayors — you go straight to the local commissaire.’

Rocco felt his spirits plummet. Reporting to the uniforms? That’s all he needed, being told what to do by brass buttons. Still, it might be an interesting departure from the norm. Initiatives came and went, whatever their names and aims. As for the high-level commissaire being hauled out of a distant regional office and slipped into an outer Paris district, that was a clear indication of impending elevation to a more senior post. All the grey beards at the top of the command structure were doing was making sure the incomer was sufficiently groomed and had the straw picked out of his ears before being allowed to mix with the nobs in the Ministry of the Interior. In the meanwhile, everyone else shuffled across the board like chess pieces, just to show they were cooperating.