“I hope not, sir. What they said of me was entirely baseless.” The DDI’s brows drew together, and Aaron had a sudden, horrible feeling that he might have sounded as though he was implying something about other accused officers. “It’s often the way, if they’ve nothing else to fall back on,” he added hastily. “Grasp at straws to discredit the prosecution.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it grasping at straws,” Davis said. “You’re Italian: naturally the brief would see the Sabini connection.”

“I’m British, sir,” Aaron said evenly. “And my only connection to the Sabini gang is having arrested some of them.”

“Of course it is,” Colthorne said jovially. “There’s no point fretting about this sort of thing, Fowler; it’s just part of the game, and we all have to take our knocks, you as much as anyone else. And aside from that, you did well enough out of the papers. Flattering stuff in the Pictorial. One for the scrapbook, eh?”

“Sir,” Aaron said, exquisitely uncomfortable.

“And worth following up, perhaps,” Colthorne went on thoughtfully. “The Press like a face, a personality. If they’ve latched on to you as the Valentino of King’s Cross nick, we could use that. Why should C Division get all the column inches? A monthly article, perhaps—”

“No,” Aaron said, the word coming without thought. “That is, I should prefer not to have anything to do with the Press, sir.”

Colthorne cocked a brow. “Come now. You must have given half a dozen interviews yesterday.”

“I gave the usual briefing after the verdict, sir,” Aaron said stiffly. “Nothing else.” He was doing this wrong, he knew. Colthorne’s tone was jovial; he was probably only joshing, and Aaron should be taking it as banter, but he couldn’t. “I really wouldn’t want to be in the papers,” he repeated doggedly.

Colthorne leaned back in his chair, assessing him with a look. “I’d have thought you were used to it. Firebrand Fowler and Bright Young People—”

“That’s nothing to do with me, sir.”

“Your family is nothing to do with you?”

Aaron was damned if he was going into that. “Not at work. I can’t help what the papers say; I’m just trying to do my job.”

“Glad to hear it,” Colthorne said, evidently deciding the conversation wasn’t worth pursuing. “A good collar, and a good result. Davis tells me you’ve a few days’ leave booked? Well deserved. Enjoy yourself.”

***