“That’s what happens when you take the time and effort to lose at golf to every chief constable in the country.” Burgess called the waiter over and ordered two more lagers. “We’ve also been getting some interesting calls from retired police officers. Mostly junior at the time. They don’t want to be seen as turning a blind eye. They say they knew about Caxton, and others like him, and they wanted to stop it, but any attempts were blocked from higher up. You know as well as I do that the police force is a hierarchical institution, almost military in its fastidiousness about chain of command. Now you and I might be a bit . . . unorthodox . . . shall we say. But most coppers do what they’re told. The smooth running of the force depends on it. But that doesn’t mean they don’t grind their teeth in frustration when they see something like this going unchecked and unpunished. We’ve got allies, Banksy. People who remember stuff. People who will come forward. People who aren’t afraid to stand up and be counted, now they’ve got their pensions.”

“I’m sure that Linda’s case will make a compelling one.”

“Compelling? You’re our flagship case. I’ve read your reports. Think she’ll be able to convince a jury?”

Banks sipped some lager and thought for a moment. “If anything goes against Linda,” he said, “it’ll be her calmness. The only emotion she showed was when she saw the photos of Monaghan and Caxton in the old newspaper file. And that passed quickly. People won’t see a victim with a life blighted by Caxton’s abuse. They won’t see a broken woman, a junkie, a loser. She’s got herself together, she’s succeeded in making something of herself. But the scars are there, nonetheless, the damage was done. I think her emotional honesty, intelligence and directness will have to carry the day for her.”

“In a court of law? Blimey, that could be a first. But don’t worry. From what I can see, you’ve got the goods. Besides, we don’t want every victim blubbering in the witness box about how her life’s been ruined by what Caxton did. That might sound a bit callous, but there it is. Too much emotion can sometimes cheapen a solid case.”

“Maybe. I’ve asked her to write things down, to see if she can come up with more detail.”

“The more, the better. I see you also tracked down the second man quickly enough. Nice bit of detective work.”

“Tony Monaghan. Yes, Linda Palmer recognized him from a photo in the Yorkshire Evening Post archives. A picture that appeared after his body was found in a public toilet in Leeds, unfortunately, so it doesn’t really get us anywhere.”

“Why not?”

“I was hoping we’d have a live witness.”