‘I did my best, Mr Yeomans.’

‘To extract useful information from them, you have to use pain. It’s the only way to get the truth out of the lying devils. Let me show you.’

Knocking Ruddock’s hat from his head, he grabbed him by the hair as if to tear it from his scalp. When his victim yelped in agony, Yeomans released him.

‘If you weren’t so tall, Chevy,’ said Hale, laughing coarsely, ‘he’d have lifted you up from the ground and swung you in the air. Learn from his example and use force. It’s the only way to make them respect us.’

‘Yes, Mr Hale.’

‘Do that and you’ll make a good Runner one day.’

‘That’s my ambition. I’ll work hard to achieve it.’

‘Then before you continue your search,’ said Yeomans, ‘remember this. We’re not just hunting the assassin. He had a confederate who was there to make us all look the wrong way so that none of us saw the shot being fired. Who was that confederate? If we can find him,’ he went on, ‘he’ll lead us to the man we really want. The pair of them can then hang side by side on the gallows like a brace of plucked turkeys.’ After bending down to pick up the hat, he handed it to Ruddock. ‘Now get out there and start behaving like me.’

When he came out of his club in Albemarle Street, the man was in a buoyant mood. He’d spent a comfortable night there and enjoyed an excellent breakfast. His hat was set at a rakish angle and his cane tapped out a pleasing rhythm on the pavement as he walked along. It was a short-lived stroll. An elegant, sleek, smirking individual stepped out of a doorway to block his path.

‘I knew that you’d come sooner or later,’ he said.

‘What the devil are you doing here?’ hissed the other.

‘I needed to see you.’

‘Our business transaction is over and done with. I told you I never wanted to see you again. You agreed to abide by that arrangement.’

‘Things have changed since then.’

‘You did as requested and were well paid.’

‘All I was told was that, at a given signal from you, I was to distract people by shouting aloud. You never mentioned that you were going to kill someone.’

‘It was no concern of yours.’

‘Oh, yes it was,’ said the other. ‘You made me an accessory to murder. That means my life is in as much danger as yours. What I did outside that stage door deserves far more than the paltry amount you gave me.’