The tanned man in his expensive grey suit looked embarrassed and put the cigarettes back in his pocket. Craig did nothing to ease his discomfort. These guys had been here an hour and he ached for the idiots to take a hike and let him get on with thinking about murder. They were promised a couple of hours of McGee’s time, but he’d had enough already. The coffee was to remind them to go and if they didn’t get the hint he’d open the goddamn window and climb out himself. Outside Becker and his men were thinking about murder. In here, they were thinking about ski-theft and credit card fraud. Craig unsuccessfully stifled a sigh.

‘Okay, Mr Katzenberg. To sum up, you were outlining the problems a police presence at the hotel brings you during an investigation.’

Stephen Katzenberg cupped his hands over his knee and cleared his throat.

‘Sure. All I was saying was that the problem we have up at Sun Springs is the same as Jeff’s. Basically, the Japanese in particular, and let me tell you we care what those guys think, well the Japanese get upset if they see a whole bunch of cops mooning about in the foyer. But they get just as antsy when they think nothing’s being done about their thousand-dollar skis being swiped.’

Craig looked at him with cool eyes, then to the third man, David Blessed from the one-hundred-and-fifty bedroom Family Inn. ‘We get on your tits too, Mr Blessed?’

The man laughed. ‘He’s got a point.’

Craig spun a pen on its axis on the top of the shiny desk. ‘I hear what you’re saying, gentlemen, and as always we very much appreciate the contact with you. Obviously in a resort town like this it’s our job as much as yours to keep the visitors happy and above all safe.’ He paused to see if any of them would laugh at the irony of that one. Right now, their own hotel TVs would be beaming the news round the bedrooms just how safe they kept visitors in Silver. No. Irony was not a feature of hotel chain security chiefs. ‘But we have this discussion every year, and every year I remind you that a large part of that responsibility rests with you also.’

McIntyre made a gesture that he was going to interrupt. Craig continued. He was getting impatient.

‘You need better ski-lockers, you need to tell your guests to beware and stop pretending that ski-theft is not a problem, you need to keep your receptionists on their toes with your credit to cash transactions, and then, Mr Katzenberg, maybe you’d have less cops mooning about in your foyers.’