‘I enjoyed reading The Times’ report of the incident,’ said the colonel, smiling for the first time. ‘And the cigarette case?’

‘Worked like a charm. Although I’ll never trust a woman when she’s powdering her nose.’

‘Never trust a woman, full stop,’ said the colonel.

An observation Ross would have agreed with until he’d met Jo.

‘Now you’ve dealt with those particular problems, should I presume you now need some help with your next mission?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Ross. ‘When I was on an assignment abroad recently, I came across a large iron door that had no handle, no lock and no dial. The letters “NP” were engraved on the bottom left-hand corner.’

‘The Sesame Safe,’ said the colonel. ‘Perfected by a former member of the Stasi who escaped from East Germany and joined the firm.’

‘But how do you open the safe when there’s no code?’

‘There is a code, corporal, but only when the owner is in the same room.’

‘Then it has to be the watch,’ said Ross, now realizing why Faulkner had tapped on its face just before he entered his study.

‘You could be right,’ said the colonel, failing to answer his question. ‘Mind you, I regret ever having dealt with that particular gentleman. He claimed to have been a naval captain who’d served in the Falklands campaign, but frankly I doubt it, as he turned out to be the sort of bounder who doesn’t pay his mess bills.’

A cad, Ross had wanted to add, but thought better of it.

‘In fact, he still hasn’t paid the final invoice for the Sesame Safe we installed for him a couple of years back. However, given time he’ll need to replace the batteries in the watch, and then he’ll have to pay up, because they’re also unique.’

‘How much is his outstanding mess bill?’ asked Ross, expecting to be court-martialled for even raising the subject.

‘A bit out of your league, I’m afraid, old chap.’

‘Try me.’

‘Five thousand pounds would settle the account.’

Ross took out his chequebook, picked up a Biro from the counter and began writing.

‘Won the pools, have we?’ ventured the colonel.

‘No, sir. Lost a wife,’ said Ross, as he handed over the cheque.

‘I apologize,’ said Parker, genuinely contrite. He turned around, entered a code that unlocked a small safe in the wall, extracted a watch with a blank face and tapped it. The dial immediately lit up and flashed the time in bold numerals for a few seconds, before the light went out. He handed the watch to his former comrade in arms.

‘This isn’t much use to me,’ said Ross, ‘if I don’t know the code.’

‘What time is it, corporal?’

‘Twenty past three,’ said Ross, glancing at a clock on the wall behind the counter.

‘Think like a soldier!’ barked the colonel.

‘Fifteen twenty,’ replied Ross.

‘Month and year.’

‘Nine eighty-eight.’

‘Correct. 15 20 09 88.’

‘The time, date and year,’ said Ross. ‘It couldn’t be simpler.’