‘You’ll see,’ the man said over his shoulder as he finally pinned his large, glossy poster for the Lobster Pot on the board in the space where the previous copy had been, ‘it’ll be in the bin in two minutes.’

‘Are you the coordinator of this group?’ Joe asked, stepping towards the irate man.

‘I am indeed,’ he said, his face lighting up. ‘Leo Turner. Pleased to meet you.’ He thrust out a hand and gave a hard, enthusiastic shake. ‘Always looking for new faces. Are you interested in social justice?’

‘Actually,’ Joe said, watching the elation drain from Turner’s face as he was shown the warrant card, ‘I do have a few questions.’

Meanwhile, Chris moved past them and went into the reading room, mouthing a silent goodbye. He watched the smooth, controlled movement of her body as she disappeared, wondering what kind of books she liked to read.

‘We generate quite a lot of hostility,’ Turner said, lowering his voice and moving towards the main doors, out of the range of the librarian.

He was in his fifties, slim, with thinning hair and an undeniable air of superiority, despite being somewhat flushed after his skirmish with petty officialdom. The Professor, they called him. More like Assistant Lecturer, Joe thought as he scanned the poster, confirming that it appeared to be exactly the same as the others.

‘I’m not really interested in fresh views of society at the moment. What I do need from you is a list of everybody that attended the group on Tuesday night.’

‘May I ask why? Because if it’s more harassment from the authorities…’

‘Murder, Mr Turner. I am running a murder inquiry, and we need that list.’ He waited. ‘Now.’

Turner shook his head. ‘I don’t carry that sort of information around with me.’

‘I’m guessing that it’s a small group. Now, you seem to have a laptop there. Perhaps you have a members list saved in a file. Please?’

Turner pursed his lips, thought about it.

‘Well, officer. We are very pro law enforcement. The rule of law is what distinguishes us from the animals, is it not?’

Joe wasn’t answering that one. He waited.

‘What I can do,’ Turner said, keen to fill the silence, ‘is quickly check on the situation vis-à-vis Data Protection, which I can do on the internet here in the library, and I’ll be with you presently. Is that acceptable?’

‘Daniel Cullen and his two sidekicks, Daz and Ranksy. Yes or no?’

‘Like I said…’

‘OK, I’m from Leeds CID. Let’s do this at Elland Road. That’s half an hour there and half an hour back. Plus however long it takes me to find somewhere to do an interview, and a duty solicitor. Or you can phone your own lawyer on the way if you prefer. Off we go.’

He held the door open, gripping it hard to contain his irritation.