‘Both of them.’

‘I’d be afraid to touch the chief magistrate. There’d be repercussions. In any case, we can’t really blame him. What made him so angry with us was what he learnt from Clearwater.’

‘Don’t talk to me about that treacherous fop.’

‘Fancy going over our heads like that!’

‘I’ll never forgive him. If he has evidence, he should have handed it over to us and not tried to catch the killer on his own. We know how to track our prey. Clearwater will get nowhere. He’s groping in the dark.’

‘Mr Kirkwood has faith in him.’

‘Our job is to restore his faith in us, Alfred. That means we have to find Clearwater and get the truth out of him even if we have to dip his head in the Thames.’

Hale was shocked. ‘He might drown, Micah.’

‘I can’t think of a better way for him to depart this world.’

‘What about our duty to uphold the law?’

‘It gets in our way from time to time. This is one of them.’

‘I’m as mad at him as you are,’ said Hale, ‘but you have to take your hat off to him. He won Mr Kirkwood over. Not many people have ever done that to the chief magistrate. We never manage to charm him.’

‘We would do if we solved the murder of Sir Roger Mellanby.’

‘How can we do that if we don’t have Clearwater to help us?’

‘We concentrate all our efforts on catching up with him. We don’t know where he lives, but he obviously hangs around the theatres and rubs shoulders with the rakes and dandies who flock there. Well,’ he continued, ‘you saw them flaunting themselves outside that stage door. And Clearwater was one of them.’

‘Yes, he was preening like a peacock, I daresay.’

‘We need someone to pick up Clearwater’s trail, and, in my view, the best place to start is the Golden Crown.’

‘It’s where all the actors go,’ said Hale. ‘If he likes the theatre that much, I’ll wager that Clearwater frequents it as well. In fact, he might be downing a drink there at this very moment. Why don’t we go there now, Micah?’

‘I’ve got a better idea. You and I will enjoy the privileges of our seniority and send someone else instead.’

‘I agree wholeheartedly.’

‘A name is already being whispered in my ear, Alfred.’

‘I’m hearing it as well – Chevy Ruddock.’