‘Did I detect a hint of reservation there, about me being eligible for promotion?’

‘I didn’t mean it to sound like that, but you shouldn’t go on about DI Arnold. He’s a very good detective.’

‘Do me a fucking favor! I hadn’t seen you since we were transferred to this piddlin’ station, so I think you might have got the wrong information regarding my being demoted.’

Jane pushed her half-eaten ham salad to one side. ‘There’s always gossip, Spence; you just have to ignore it.’

He waved his knife in the air. ‘Let me give you the real facts. I admit I was well over the limit, but how many times have you or I been on an investigation when never mind the DI but the DCI has been fed peppermints because their breath stank of booze? So, I admit I had a few jars, but I had done a good gig with the guys in a well-known pub in Islington. I was in Serena’s dinky little pale blue sports car that her dad had given to her for her twenty-first and, as a big guy, I’m crunched up in the driving seat. Maybe I did jump the lights, but I get this traffic prick pulling me over. So I stop the car and he beckons me with his finger, telling me to get out of the car. Like I said, I’m a big guy and getting out took a while, and the next minute I’ve got this second bastard on me, who turns out to be a Black Rat,’ he added, referring to the common slang used by detectives for traffic police, because rats are known to eat their young.

Spencer threw his hands wide as he swung his legs around the canteen chair.

‘I was accused of taking a swing, and of avoiding arrest. The reality is they didn’t really give a shit about me being over the limit. It was all down to my abusive tone of voice and the fact that I had thrown a punch.’

Spencer straightened his chair and gesticulated again with both hands.

‘That’s the truth . . . and I get demoted for it.’

He began to eat his awful-looking green jello as Jane stirred her coffee. There was not a lot she could say. From the gossip she had heard it was not just one accidental swing, he had actually thrown a couple of punches.

‘What are you looking at me like that for?’

‘I’m not looking at you in any way, Spence. I just think the whole incident was unfortunate and you’ve paid a high price.’ Jane glanced at her wristwatch. ‘I should be getting back to work.’

She picked up her plate and took it over to the trolley left out for dirty crockery.

Five minutes later, as Jane was coming out of the ladies’ toilets, Spencer was heading down the stairs.