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‘What makes you so sure of that?’

‘Appleyard recalls seeing a tattoo on the ie scrolled across it’

‘A nice piece of detective work, young et back to you’

‘Thank you, sir’

‘Pass on ards to Bruce Tell him he has no hope on Saturday’

‘No hope of what, sir?’

‘Arsenal beating Spurs’

‘So presumably you support Tottenham Hotspur?’

‘I see the Yard is still only recruiting the brightest and the best So who do you support?’

‘Fulham, sir And I should point out that you haven’t beaten us recently’

‘And I should point out, constable, that that ht just be because we haven’t played you for several years, and we’re unlikely to do so while you languish in the second division’ The phone began to purr

Willia up his report on thewith Appleyard and his telephone conversation with SO Rose at Pentonville He decided to leave out the expletives and the Arsenal references, before he dropped a sanitized version on DCI Lamont’s desk just after 530

Willia away just before six, so he wouldn’t be late for Tim Knox’s postponed lecture at the Fitzmolean, and supper afterwards with Beth

He was just about to leave when the phone rang Jackie picked it up

‘It’s for you, Bill,’ she said, transferring the call to Willia to hear SO Rose’s cheerful voice on the other end of the line