‘Ah,’ said the cook profoundly, ‘that’s telling.’ He looked out of the corners of his eyes at Fabian, leered, and with a ridiculously Victorian gesture laid his finger alongside his nose. Albie Black burst into loud meaningless laughter. ‘Oh, dear!’ he said and buried his head in his arms. Fabian moved behind the cook and pointed suggestively in the direction of the house.

‘Haven’t they got some of the right stuff down there?’ Alleyn suggested.

‘Ah,’ said the cook.

‘How about it?’

The cook began to shake his head again.

Alleyn took a deep breath and fired point-blank. ‘How about young Cliff,’ he suggested. ‘Any good?’

‘Him!’ said the cook, and with startling precision uttered a stream of obscenities.

‘What’s the matter with Cliff?’ Alleyn asked.

‘Ask him,’ the cook said and looked indignantly at Albie Black. ‘They’re cobbers, them two—’

‘You shut your face,’ said Albie Black, suddenly furious. He broke into a storm of abuse to which the cook listened sadly. ‘You shut your face, or I’ll knock your bloody block off. Didn’t I tell you to forget it? Haven’t you got any sense?’ He pointed a shaking finger at Alleyn. ‘Don’t you pick what he is? D’you want to land us both in the cooler?’

The cook sighed heavily. ‘I thought you said you’d got the fine work in with young Cliff,’ he said. ‘You know. What you seen that night. I thought you’d fixed him. You know.’

‘You come away,’ said Albie in great alarm, ‘I’m not as sozzled as what you are and I’m telling you. You come away.’

‘Wait a minute,’ said Alleyn, but the cook had taken fright. ‘Change and decay in all around I see,’ he said, and rising with some difficulty flung one arm about the neck of his friend. ‘See the hosts of Midian,’ he shouted, waving the other arm at Alleyn. ‘How they prowl around. It’s a lousy life. Let’s have a little wee drink, Albie.’

‘No, you don’t!’ Alleyn began, but the cook turned until his face was pressed into the bosom of his friend, and by slow degrees slid to the ground.

‘Now see what you done,’ said Albie Black.

CHAPTER NINE

Attack

THE COOK BEING insensible and, according to Fabian, certain to remain so for many hours, Alleyn suffered him to be moved and concentrated on Albert Black.

There had been a certain spaciousness about the cook but Albert, he decided, was an abominable specimen. He disseminated meanness and low cunning. He was drunk enough to be truculent and sober enough to look after himself. The only method, Alleyn decided, was that of intimidation. He and Fabian withdrew with Albert into the annexe.

‘Have you ever been mixed up in a murder charge before?’ Alleyn began, with the nearest approach to police station truculence of which he was capable.