‘The only information we need to know is that he was shot dead outside the stage door of the Theatre Royal. We were actually there. Hooper wasn’t.’

‘Yet he came to London with Sir Roger.’

‘They may have travelled in the same coach but not as companions. The man was a brush-maker, for heaven’s sake. Can you imagine an aristocrat like Sir Roger befriending a nonentity like that? Of course not,’ said Yeomans with disdain. ‘While the Radical Dandy was inside the coach, Hooper would have been on top of it, clinging on for dear life.’

‘I still think we might have learnt something from him.’

‘Yes – we learnt that he had bad breath, sweated like a pancake and could hardly get any words out of his mouth. Oh, one other thing – there was a button missing off his waistcoat.’

‘There was no need to treat him so roughly, Micah.’

‘He was in my way.’

‘You were cruel.’

‘I was realistic,’ said Yeomans. ‘Why waste precious time on a fool like Hooper when there are so many important people to speak to? Now that I’ve finished my pie, we can go off to meet one of them – Captain Golightly. You saw that letter we found on Mellanby. The captain was a real friend of his. We’ll get far more information out of him than we will from that bumbling brush-maker.’

‘What about Paul Skillen?’

‘I’ve taken care of him.’

‘He was there last night,’ Hale reminded him. ‘That means he’ll want to solve the murder before we do.’

‘He won’t get a chance, Alfred. I’ve warned him that the Prince Regent is very angry with him. Before His Royal Highness could get close to her, Skillen grabbed Miss Granville and took her out of reach.’

‘I know. They brushed past me as they fled.’

‘I told Skillen that he’s expressly forbidden to poke his nose into this investigation. Since that order has the power of the Crown behind it,’ said Yeomans, grandly, ‘Paul Skillen will have to obey it.’

After the shock of hearing that a man he admired had been shot dead, Seth Hooper had been in despair. Curt rejection by the Runners had added to his distress. When he’d been directed to the shooting gallery, he didn’t know if anyone would take on the case or, if they did, whether there was any possibility of success. To the brush-maker’s relief, Peter Skillen had been kind and sympathetic. During the time they spent together, Hooper slowly came out of his dejection. He even dared to entertain hope. As the two men were chatting, they heard the main door being unlocked. Peter excused himself and went out into the hall. Hooper, meanwhile, looked around the room with interest. He was impressed by the array of swords, pistols and archery equipment stored there. Everything was neatly displayed and obviously kept in good condition.