“But what could they have to do with Graham Marshall’s disappearance and murder?”

“Probably nothing,” Banks said. “They didn’t operate outside London much, except for maybe a few clubs in cities like Birmingham or Leicester. But if Bill Marshall did work for them, then there’s always the chance he left them reason to bear a grudge, and the twins had a long reach.”

“And for that they’d kill his son?”

“I don’t know, Michelle. These people have a very warped sense of justice. And don’t forget, Ronnie was crazy. He was a sexual sadist, a serious pervert, among other things. He was the one who walked into The Blind Beggar and shot George Cornell right between the eyes in front of a roomful of witnesses. Know what was playing on the jukebox?”

“Tell me.”

“It was The Walker Brothers, ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore.’ And they say the needle got stuck on ‘anymore’ when he was shot.”

“How melodramatic. I don’t remember The Walker Brothers.”

“Not many people do. Want me to sing you a couple of verses?”

“I thought you said you never sing to women you’ve just met?”

“I did?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“Nothing slips past you, does it?”

“Not much. I know you read Philip Larkin, too.”

“How?”

“You quoted him.”

“I’m impressed. Anyway, who knows how someone like Ronnie Kray thinks, if ‘think’ is even the right word? He was seeing enemies all around him by then and coming up with more and more dramatic ways of hurting people. He loved to inspire fear and trembling, even in his own men. He was also a homosexual with a taste for teenage boys. They wouldn’t have done Graham themselves, of course—they’d have got agoraphobia if they came this far north of London—but they could have sent someone to do it. Anyway, it’s not only that.”

“What, then?”

“If Bill Marshall did work as a strong-arm man for the Krays, what was he doing up here? You know as well as I do that people don’t just walk away from that line of work. Maybe he got himself fixed up with someone local, a branch manager.”

“So you’re saying he might have been up to the same tricks here, and that might have had something to do with Graham’s death?”

“I’m just saying it’s possible, that’s all. Worth investigating.”

“There was a reference to a protection racket in the old crime logs,” Michelle said. “Someone called Carlo Fiorino. Ring any bells?”

“Vaguely,” said Banks. “Maybe his name was in the papers when I was a kid. Anyway, it’s something to think about.”

“So why didn’t it come up in the original investigation?”

“Didn’t it?” said Banks. “Dunno. Want another coffee?”

Michelle looked into her empty cup. “Sure.”

Banks went and got two more coffees, and when he came back, Michelle was leafing through the book.

“Borrow it if you want,” he said. “I just picked it up to see if I could fill in a bit more background.”