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‘Name one,’ said Grace

‘There’s a clue in yesterday’s crossword that is still baffling me’

‘I’m available to be consulted,’ said Sir Julian

‘Lady’s worried about social event not working? Thirteen letters Third letter is s, tenth letter o’

‘Dysfunctional!’ the other three cried in unison, and burst out laughing

‘Anyone for humble pie?’ said Sir Julian

William had told his father that he was unlikely to win, but noas in the bag, or to be more accurate, in the corner pocket He was about to pot the last ball on the table and win the Lambeth station snooker championship, and end a run of six victories for Fred Yates

Soht hiame In fact, William wouldn’t have ventured into the snooker rooet to know some of

the lads eren’t too sure about the choirboy

Fred had taught his charge to play snooker with the sa the lad to life on the beat, and now, for the first tiame

At school, Willia three-quarter, and during the summer as a sprinter on the track In his final year at London University, he’d been awarded the coveted Purple after winning the Inter Collegiate Chaed a wry smile whenever William broke the tape in the 100 yards dash, as he called it, although William suspected that ‘re-rack’, ‘maximum break’ and ‘in off’ weren’t yet part of his father’s vocabulary

Williaames all It now rested on the final frame He had started ith a break of 42, but Fred had taken his tia by 26 points, all the colours were on their spots, so that when Fred returned to the table, all he had to do was clear the last seven balls to capture the trophy

The basement room was packed with officers of every rank; some were perched on the radiators while others sat on the stairs A silence fell on the gathering as Fred leant across the table to address the yellow Willia chareen, brown and blue disappear into the pockets, leaving Fred with just the pink and black to clear the table and win the match

Fred lined up the object ball before setting the cue ball on its way But he’d struck it a little too firh the pink shot towards the middle pocket and disappeared down the hole, the white ended up on a side cushion, leaving a difficult cue, even for a pro

The crowd held its breath as Fred bent down He took his ti up the final ball which, if he potted, would take hi him the first person to win the title seven years in a row