Gary didn’t look up, but laid down the double six to start. ‘Yes thank you.’

Christopher raised an enquiring eyebrow.

‘We had a night out at that new Chinese in Winchester,’ confided Tiger.

‘What both of you?’ asked Christopher.

‘Yes. Not intentionally. Just both turned up on the same night.’

Christopher laid down a six and a three. He smiled at Gary. ‘That must have cramped your style.’

Tiger laid down a double three. ‘Oh, no. He sent me packing very quickly.’

‘Well, what did you expect?’ asked Gary, rising to the challenge. ‘I was hoping for a quiet night out.’

‘Sarah,’ said Tiger to Christopher, archly. ‘Very tall. Very classy. Very young.’

‘Do you mind!’ Gary put down another domino. ‘I wish you’d remember that I’m younger than you two.’

‘Not much,’ said Christopher and Gary in unison.

‘Enough.’ And then, ‘Can we just finish this game, please?’

‘Oh, serious stuff,’ said Tiger, and then, obligingly, carried on playing without further reference to Gary’s conquest.

It was a couple of games later when the subject returned to the evening at the restaurant. Tiger said, ‘Anyway, I’ve got a project for our secret society.’

Gary spluttered into his beer.

Christopher said, ‘I thought that had gone away.’

‘No,’ said Tiger. ‘I was just waiting for the right thing to come along. And I think it has.’

‘What sort of thing?’ asked Christopher.

‘Well, it might not amount to anything, but unless I’m barking up completely the wrong tree I think there’s some kind of protection racket going on.’

‘That sounds a bit heavy,’ said Christopher.

Gary tried to sound offhand. ‘What sort of protection racket?’

Tiger filled the two of them in on the events surrounding the breaking of Isobel’s window, and the man in black who had asked both she and Erica to contribute to the funds for ‘mutual benefit’ and who had been sitting in the Red Dragon that night.

‘It does sound a bit of a coincidence,’ agreed Christopher. ‘But what are you suggesting we do?’

‘Make enquiries,’ said Tiger. ‘Ask other shopkeepers if they’ve been approached.’

‘This guy. The one in the black coat,’ asked Gary. ‘Have you ever seen him before?’

‘No,’ said Tiger. ‘Never. But I didn’t much like the look of him.’

‘Not really much to go on, though, is it?’ said Gary sarcastically.

‘Are you up for this or not?’

Christopher frowned. ‘It sounds to me more like something for the police, rather than the Domino Club Secret Society.’

‘But they’re not interested. Isobel tried to get them involved and they couldn’t care less.’

‘They’ve probably got someone on the case already,’ said Gary. ‘You can’t just start sticking your oar in. They’ll get narked.’

‘There’s no reason why they should hear about it.’

Christopher said, ‘I didn’t really imagine your secret society was going to be doing things quite so…well…potentially dangerous.’