He’d been watching Fowler’s face as he spoke. It was unreadable, rigid.

“I objected on the obvious grounds, and he and his mate gave me a slapping about for it. Then when it came to trial, he stood up and assured the court he was innocently minding his own business when I accosted him. No possibility that he solicited me, and of course no mention of the part where he came in my mouth. My defence counsel advised me that my story would be an admission of gross indecency if they believed it, and slander of an upright servant of the public if they didn’t, so either way I’d be looking at a longer sentence than what I’d get for importuning, so I just had to sit there and take it. The judge gave me my two months as per, and the bastard smirked at me when I got taken down.”

Fowler contemplated his face for a long moment. “What’s his name?”

“Are you joking? Plenty of them do it. You know they do. Hanging around to entrap people—”

“I can’t stop that practice. But you’ve told me of a gross abuse of power, and if he’s done it once, he’ll do it again. Abuses are like mice: they don’t come in the singular.” He tipped his head, looking at Joel with a distinct challenge. “If you’re telling the truth you’ll know his name.”

“Constable James Sefton,” Joel said. “Big chap, brown hair. Marylebone Station. If he finds out I’ve been talking, he’ll probably come after me.”

“I can raise questions without naming you. Leave it with me.”

He actually sounded like he meant it. “Thanks,” Joel said, stifled. “That would—if you could do something about that—” Fuck. He wasn’t going to cry. Only, it had been so frightening and humiliating and shitty, and nobody had listened or cared at all.

The policeman was looking at Joel’s face closely. Too closely. He was going red, he could feel it, but he was not going to cry.

“I will look into it,” Fowler repeated very calmly. People probably found his deep voice soothing. “And I will also bear witness to Paul’s admission if that’s required, but first I will let him know that I’m ready to do so. If he goes ahead with a slander suit in the circumstances, he’s even stupider than I realised, and more to the point, he’ll need an equally stupid lawyer. Unless he has anything else to complain of?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Then I don’t think you need worry. Now, what was this about Hollis? Slander isn’t generally a police matter.”