His mouth began to twitch.

Chevy Ruddock was not a contemplative man. He had neither time nor inclination for such things. His strength was that he knew his limitations. He accepted the world as he found it and took his allotted place without complaint. In his early days on foot patrol, he’d been ridiculed by Yeomans and Hale, slowly gaining their respect by learning his trade. The fact that he was trusted with individual assignments showed that they now had faith in him. As a rule, he was able to justify that faith.

Once again, he believed, he’d done so. He’d toiled in the rain for hours to get the information they’d demanded, yet it was thrown back in his face. Ruddock had spent money he couldn’t afford on drinks for Simeon Howlett without the slightest regret because he trusted the old actor to help him. He’d been duly rewarded with the discovery that Giles Clearwater was a character in a play and that led him to believe that someone had stolen the name to hide behind it. So convinced was he that Ruddock wondered if he should go above the heads of Yeomans and Hale and speak to their superior. Then he realised the possible consequences.

If Yeomans and Hale knew what he’d done, they would make his life an utter misery. In any case, Eldon Kirkwood, the chief magistrate, had actually met Giles Clearwater and judged him to be genuine. Ruddock’s conviction that the man was an impostor would be dismissed out of hand. All that he could do was to bide his time and hope that the truth would finally come out. Until then, Ruddock would keep his head down and his mouth shut.

Peter didn’t stand on ceremony. When he saw the two men leaving the dining room of the Clarendon Hotel, he stepped boldly in front of them and held both arms out so that there was no way past him. Barrington Oxley was fuming but Edmund Mellanby remained calm.

‘If I were so minded,’ he said, superciliously, ‘I could ask the manager to have you thrown out into the street.’

‘Your request would certainly be denied,’ Peter told him. ‘As it happens, the manager is a close friend of my brother’s. He’d never dare do anything so rash as to upset Paul.’

‘What do you want, Mr Skillen?’

‘I wish to speak with you, please.’

‘We don’t have time for an idle chat,’ said Oxley.

‘You are not included in the conversation.’

The lawyer blanched. ‘I beg your pardon!’

‘Leave us alone, Oxley,’ said Mellanby.

‘But you need me there.’

‘Have you gone deaf, man? Disappear.’

Hurt and offended, Oxley walked away. Mellanby indicated the lobby and went into it with Peter. They settled down in high-backed leather chairs. Mellanby was having difficulty trying to conceal his annoyance.