‘You did well, Jimmy,’ said Ross, palming him the other two hundred.

‘Happy to oblige,’ said Jimmy. ‘That’s exactly the sort of lowlife what ought to be locked up.’

Ross was about to make a comment about pots and kettles when Jimmy added, ‘Like the flash new watch, Inspector. But how do you tell the time?’ Before he could answer, Jimmy had disappeared into the night. Ross checked his wrist, relieved to find the watch was still there.

• • •

Once Rebecca had completed her report, she emptied her glass, settled the bill and left. She would have called the chief at home if it hadn’t been so late. That would have to wait until tomorrow morning. Then she remembered where she would be at six o’clock the next morning. She corrected herself. This morning.

CHAPTER 29

SIX PIPS WERE FOLLOWED BY the news headlines, but neither of them was listening.

‘I don’t enjoy spying on a colleague,’ said Jackie. ‘Especially one I like and admire.’

‘Couldn’t agree more,’ said William. ‘But when you’re your own worst enemy, you need friends.’

‘You’re still convinced he was involved in the Roach and Abbott killings?’

‘You have to admit,’ said William, ‘that his wife’s death gave him a pretty strong motive. Let’s just be thankful the Abbott/Roach file has been closed. But the Sleeman case hasn’t, so it’s important we try to stay one step ahead of Ross. And of Verenich too, for that matter.’

‘My latest intel on Clive Pugh might also interest you,’ said Jackie, as the two of them continued to stare out of the car window at a red door at the far end of the mews.

‘Enlighten me,’ said William, sounding like the commander.

‘I had a call from my new buddy in the Cape Town police department yesterday. He told me I’d got it completely wrong, and I needn’t worry about Mrs Pugh any longer.’

‘How come?’

‘Because her husband keeled over during dinner a couple of nights ago and died before the ambulance reached their hotel. At least we know Ross can’t have been involved in that one.’

‘So Pugh didn’t get his hands on her money after all.’

‘Now there’s the irony,’ said Jackie. ‘It seems that Mrs Pugh failed to mention to her latest husband that she’d been married twice before, and between them they’d bled her dry. She assumed that, as Pugh always paid the bills, he had to be a rich man. She was devastated to discover that he was also penniless. It turns out she can’t even afford to pay her hotel bill.’

‘The Mount Nelson doesn’t come cheap,’ said William.

‘How did you know where they were staying?’

‘Do the local police think Mrs Pugh might have been involved in her husband’s death?’ asked William, avoiding the question.

‘No, sir,’ said Jackie. ‘In fact, they’ve issued a statement confirming there were no suspicious circumstances, and allowed the bereaved widow to accompany the body back to England. Tourist class. So you’ll have to find me another impossible case to solve.’