‘Supper will be ready in a few minutes,’ said Nicky, as she sat down on the sofa next to Jerry, who was watching an FA Cup match: Aston Villa versus Chelsea. Although Jerry had been born in Birmingham, he’d always wanted to join the Met, so headed down to the smoke the day after he left school. But he still supported Villa.
‘From about the age of five,’ he’d explained to Nicky, ‘you decide which team you support. And you stick with them through thick and thin for the rest of your life.’
She was thinking about the rest of her life as she snuggled up next to him.
‘This is a fantastic TV,’ she said, not interested in the match.
‘Part of a job lot,’ said Summers, putting an arm around her. ‘I arrested this guy a couple of months back who had half a dozen of them in his front room. Only five ended up back in the nick’s property store.’
‘I only saw four.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if another one went missing before the desk sergeant filled out the charge sheet.’
‘Don’t you ever worry that one day a thief will shop you?’ said Nicky, once again wrestling with her conscience, as she had been doing a lot recently.
‘Unlikely,’ he said, his eyes not leaving the screen. ‘Any sensible villain would rather be charged with stealing four TVs than six, and in any case, it would be his word against mine. Goal!’
William listened to a debate on the future of Trident between Tony Blair and Michael Heseltine — both regarded as potential future leaders of their respective parties — when the lights went out in Summers’s living room at 10.41. He turned the radio off and made another entry in his notebook. A few moments later a light went on in the bedroom. Once again, the curtains were drawn, and once again, he would have liked to be able to hear what they were talking about. Pillow talk might be even more revealing than television banter, and despite the fact William had heard on the news that Chelsea had won 2–1, which pleased him, he thought Summers might become more expansive.
‘Who do we have to thank for the new hi-fi?’ Nicky asked as she began to get undressed, still uncertain whose side she was on.
‘John Smith,’ said Summers, hanging up his suit.
‘The politician?’ asked Nicky, grinning.
‘No, my number one informer, who makes it possible for me to have a few extra luxuries on the side.’
‘He’s a legend in the canteen.’
‘And so he should be. He was responsible for me finally nailing Ted Payne when that shipment of cocaine came in from Brixton.’
‘Now that half of the Payne family are safely locked up, will you be turning your attention to the Turners?’
‘Not while they keep supplying me with information about every other criminal on the patch.’
‘But they’re crooks,’ Nicky said as she climbed into bed.
‘Sometimes you have to turn a blind eye if you want to keep your arrest sheet ticking over.’
‘So is John Smith a member of the Turner family?’
‘Let’s say he’s a close relation,’ Summers replied, as he took her in his arms.
He had chosen the venue. Somewhere she’d never been before. As she pushed her way through the swing doors, she spotted her former boss seated in a dimly lit alcove at the far end of the pub, his back to her. Two pints were on the table in front of him. He didn’t stand up when she joined him.
‘Am I off the hook?’ were Lamont’s first words.
‘Yes,’ she said, after taking a sip of beer. ‘The Hawk told me there’s no point going after you. Thought you’d suffered enough, remembering you returned all of the money that was in the third bag. I like to think I played my part. It was touch and go, because Warwick still thinks you should be arrested and hung out to dry.’
‘Keep trying to convince the little prick otherwise, and I’ll make it worth your while. There’s more than enough money swilling around in that trough for both of us. Unless of course you’re in Warwick’s camp.’
‘Haven’t seen a lot of him lately,’ said Jackie. ‘He’s been suspended while the corruption unit investigate the seven hundred quid that went missing from Roberts’s safe.’
‘Will you be giving evidence?’
‘Probably. But don’t worry, I won’t be helping his cause.’
‘ “I wasn’t in the room at the time” will get you off that hook,’ said Lamont.
‘Don’t forget, it was Warwick who stopped me getting my sergeant’s stripes back.’
‘I would have promoted you ahead of him,’ said Lamont.
‘I know you would, Bruce, which is another reason I wish you were still a member of the team.’
Lamont finished his beer. ‘Let’s continue to meet from time to time so we can keep each other up to date.’
‘Sure. But what’s in it for me?’
He took an envelope out of an inside pocket and pushed it across the table. ‘There’s more where that came from,’ he said.
She slipped the package into her bag and smiled. ‘Better get going,’ she said. ‘I’ll be in touch again when I’ve got anything worthwhile to report.’
The light in the bedroom went out just after 11.30, and William made another entry in his logbook. William didn’t enjoy undercover work, and certainly didn’t like snooping on a colleague. However, the Hawk had pointed out that if he was going to arrest PC Bailey as well as Summers, he would need MM’s reports to be confirmed. William leant back, thought about Beth and the twins, and fell asleep almost immediately.
The sound of a horn in the distance snapped him out of his slumber. He rubbed his eyes and checked his watch. Just after four. He looked up at the third floor, relieved to see the flat was still in darkness. It was another couple of hours before a bedside light was switched on.
‘So what are you up to today?’ asked Nicky, stifling a yawn.
‘I’m due to give evidence in court at ten. Jaguar man is coming up in front of the local magistrate.’
‘How long will he go down for?’
‘It’s his first offence, so he’ll probably get a suspended sentence, while I’ll end up owning a second-hand Jag, with only seven hundred miles on the clock.’
‘Won’t someone want to know how a DS can possibly afford a Jag?’
‘I’ll just remind them it’s second-hand, not unlike the inspector’s Volvo.’
‘You two are quite a double act,’ said Nicky, as she joined him in the shower.
‘If you ever want to join our team, just let me know.’
‘What use would a rookie PC on the beat possibly be?’
‘You’re out on the street, picking up information that could lead to an arrest, and that just might turn out to be profitable, especially if Mr Smith gets to hear it before you make your report.’
Once again, Nicky thought about coming clean, and making a full report on everything she now knew about DS Summers, but realized that if she did, she would lose him, and her job.
‘How about you?’ he asked, as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.
‘Day off. I’m going to visit my mother in Tooting, and take her out to lunch. I should be back around six.’
‘When I’ll take you for a spin in my new Jaguar.’
William turned on the seven o’clock news. Not a lot had changed overnight. He made another entry in his logbook when Summers emerged from the building at 7.34, and set off in the direction of the local nick as his radio sprang to life. He listened carefully to what Paul had to report, and said he’d deal with it as soon as he was back in the office.
PC Bailey appeared a few minutes later, and to William’s surprise, she headed in the direction of the railway station. He waited until she’d taken the first train into central London before getting out of the car and walking across to a phone box on the other side of the road.