‘Who else?’ Rebus’s voice was shaky.

‘Cafferty!’ Telford screeched. ‘It’s you and Cafferty, trying to shut me down!’ ‘I’m telling you, I didn’t do it.’

‘Boss,’ Pretty-Boy was saying, ‘let’s screw the head, eh?’

He was looking around, nervous of the attention they were attracting. Telford saw his point, let his shoulders relax a little.

‘Get in the car,’ He said to Rebus. Rebus just stared at him. ‘It’s okay. Just get in. I want to show you a couple of things.’

Rebus, world’s craziest cop, got back in.

There was silence for a couple of minutes, Telford rearranging the dressings on his fingers, which had come loose during the fight.

‘I don’t think Cafferty wants war,’ Rebus said.

‘What makes you so sure?’

Because I’ve done a deal with him - it’s me who’s going to shut you damn. They were heading west. Rebus tried not to think about possible destinations.

‘You were in the Army, weren’t you?’ Telford asked.

Rebus nodded.

‘Paratroops, then the S A S .’

‘I didn’t get past training.’

Rebus thinking: he’s well-informed.

‘So you decided to become a cop instead.’

Telford was completely calm again. He’d brushed down his suit and checked the knot in his tie. ‘Thing is, working for structures like those - Army, cops - you need to obey orders. I hear you’re not very good at it. You wouldn’t last long with me.’

He looked out of the window. ‘What’s Cafferty planning?’

‘No idea.’

‘Why were you watching Matsumoto?’

‘Because he tied into you.’

‘Crime Squad pulled their surveillance.’

Rebus said nothing. ‘But you kept yours going.’

Telford turned towards him. ‘Why?’

‘Because you tried to kill my daughter.’

Telford stared at him, unblinking. ‘Is that what this is about?’

‘It’s why Ned Farlowe tried to blind you He’s her boyfriend.’

Telford choked out a disbelieving laugh, started to shake his head. ‘I’d nothing to do with your daughter. Where’s the reason?’

‘To get at me. Because she helped me with Candice.’

Telford was thoughtful. ‘Okay,’ he said, nodding, ‘I can see your thinking, and I don’t suppose my word’s going to count for much, but for what it’s worth, I know absolutely nothing about your daughter.’

He paused. Rebus could hear sirens nearby. ‘Is that what took you to Cafferty?’

Rebus said nothing, which seemed, to Telford’s mind, to confirm his suspicions. He smiled again.

‘Pull over,’ Telford said. Pretty-Boy stopped the car. The road ahead was blocked anyway, police diverting traffic down side-streets. Rebus realised he’d been smelling smoke for some time. The tenements had hidden it from view, but now he could see the fire. It was in the lot where Cafferty kept his taxis. The shed used as an office had been reduced to ash. The garage behind, where the cabs were worked on and cleaned up, was about to lose its corrugated roof. A row of vehicles was burning nicely.

‘We could have sold tickets,’ Pretty-Boy said. Telford turned from the spectacle to Rebus.