‘Are you any nearer to tracking down any of the three who went missing?’

‘No, sir. Still no sign of any of them. But that doesn’t stop Sleeman’s thugs turning up on their wives’ doorsteps when the next payment is due, and extracting the widow’s mite.’

‘Perhaps one of those widows might become more cooperative in the future,’ suggested The Hawk.

‘I wouldn’t be too optimistic about that, sir. Whenever I mentioned the name Sleeman, they all claimed they’d never heard of him.’

‘Then our best hope is to catch him before the next victim disappears.’

‘Easier said than done, sir. The next victim could be any one of a dozen people,’ said Paul, looking down at a long list of names, ‘and I’ve only got three Detective Constables to assist me, and one of them has only recently joined the force.’

‘Don’t give me the “I’m understaffed” excuse,’ said the commander. ‘I want to see Sleeman and his thugs sharing a cell for Christmas.’

Paul kept his head down.

‘You’re next, Jackie. How’s your would-be ladykiller getting on? Has the woman he’s planning to con finally seen the light?’

‘Unfortunately not, sir. She became Mrs Pugh last week at a not-very-well-attended ceremony at the Chelsea Town Hall register office. The next morning, they flew off to Cape Town for their honeymoon. Don’t be surprised if a grieving, even wealthier widower returns to England in a few weeks’ time not wearing black.’

‘I presume you’ve informed your opposite number in Cape Town and asked them to keep a close eye on Pugh.’

‘It took a week just to find out who my opposite number was,’ said Jackie. ‘And when I finally did, he told me he already has forty-nine unsolved murders in his in-tray, so he didn’t have much time to worry about one that just might happen at some time in the future. He said he’d call me the moment he heard anything. I haven’t heard from him since.’

‘Not exactly promising,’ said William.

‘Perhaps you should fly down to Cape Town and have a quiet word with Mrs Pugh,’ suggested Ross, ‘and warn her that it might turn out to be a very short honeymoon, and she shouldn’t be looking forward to living happily ever after.’

‘If Jackie were to do that,’ said William, ‘Pugh would be certain to sue the Met, and he’d make a killing we wouldn’t be able to charge him with.’

‘Very droll, Chief Inspector,’ said The Hawk. ‘In any case, we don’t have the resources to allow Jackie to swan off to Cape Town.’

‘So, what should I do?’ asked Jackie.

‘Just wait for the time being. If they both return to England, you can reopen the file.’

‘And if they don’t?’

‘We’ll find you another file,’ said William.

‘Let’s finally turn our attention to Ron Abbott and Terry Roach,’ said the commander. ‘Any news on that front, Ross?’

‘Not much that you don’t know already, sir. The two families are still at each other’s throats. I fear it can’t be long before it breaks out into open warfare.’