off with the eight grand he’d just stolen from a pub landlord.’
‘Christ!’ Carlyle chuckled despite himself.
‘That was the whole point. Everyone else thought it was hilarious. I was at Ealing station at the time and everyone took the piss out of me for ages.’
‘You can see the funny side . . .’
‘I can
now
. At the time I was bloody furious. It was really painful too, and I had to have rabies shots.’
‘What happened to Robbie?’ Carlyle asked, trying to suppress his laughter.
‘He was decommissioned after that. The last I heard, he was working for a security company, protecting building sites.’
‘Ah, well, at least you lived to tell the tale.’
‘Yeah, yeah. I refused to work with any more dogs after that, but I got over it fairly quickly once I got back on the beat.’
‘Thanks for helping me out today,’ said Carlyle, changing the subject. Having ticked the touchy-feely box, he now had to get on.
‘No problem.’ She smiled sadly. ‘I’m just sorry about the circumstances.’
‘Quite.’ Carlyle looked towards the store room. He wondered if he should tell Marcello the bad news about Joe, before deciding it could wait.
‘Round here is a bit more glamorous than Leyton.’
‘
Most
places are more glamorous than East London,’ Carlyle joked.
‘I suppose so,’ she agreed.
‘Look,’ he said, clasping his hands together and resting them on the table, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Obviously, we will be needing to get a full-time replacement for Joe . . .’
Roche gave him a look that suggested he was being a bit, well, emotionless about the whole thing.
He ignored that, ploughing on.
‘But that will doubtless take time. I don’t know whether you are going to be here for a day, a week or whatever, but like I said, I’m very grateful that you are here, so if you want to stick around, let me know.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied, still giving him a rather curious look. ‘I will check in with Leyton this afternoon and see what they say. In the meantime, what should we do about that guy in the park?’
‘The guy in the park?’ Carlyle had forgotten about him already. ‘Well, let’s see what Phillips can tell us. The more she can narrow it down, the easier it will be for us i.e.
you
to chase down any relevant files from the time it occurred.’
Roche emitted a mock groan. ‘Great! Maybe East London isn’t so bad after all.’
‘Now, now,’ Carlyle grinned, ‘we could be looking at some genuinely interesting detective work here.’
‘Yeah, if you’re a historian!’
‘I’m sure we can wrap it up quickly,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Phillips has already said he’s an adult male. She should be able to make a reasonable guess at his age, and hopefully give us a better steer as to when he died. Then you need just take a quick look at any unsolved murders from around then, or people reported missing. If anything interesting comes up, let me know. Otherwise, we can just drop it into the bottomless pit of cases that will remain open forever.’
Carlyle fished a fiver out of his wallet and dropped it on the counter. ‘
Arrivederci
, Marcello! See you later.’
An indistinct reply issued from the store room.
He looked again at Roche, who seemed in no hurry to leave. ‘I’ll meet you back at the station. I need to go and see some people first.’
NINE
‘Inspector Carlyle? I’m Adam Hall.’
Carlyle looked up at the fresh-faced young man and scowled. He’d now been sitting in a windowless interview room for almost forty-five minutes, without even the offer of a cup of crap police coffee. West End Central’s hospitality left a lot to be desired. ‘Where’s French?’
‘Chief Inspector French is no longer involved in this investigation,’ Hall said, trying – and failing – to keep the smirk out of his voice.
Bloody hell
, Carlyle thought.
He didn
’
t last long
.
‘I will be conducting your interview,’ Hall explained,
‘Christ!’ Carlyle chuckled despite himself.
‘That was the whole point. Everyone else thought it was hilarious. I was at Ealing station at the time and everyone took the piss out of me for ages.’
‘You can see the funny side . . .’
‘I can
now
. At the time I was bloody furious. It was really painful too, and I had to have rabies shots.’
‘What happened to Robbie?’ Carlyle asked, trying to suppress his laughter.
‘He was decommissioned after that. The last I heard, he was working for a security company, protecting building sites.’
‘Ah, well, at least you lived to tell the tale.’
‘Yeah, yeah. I refused to work with any more dogs after that, but I got over it fairly quickly once I got back on the beat.’
‘Thanks for helping me out today,’ said Carlyle, changing the subject. Having ticked the touchy-feely box, he now had to get on.
‘No problem.’ She smiled sadly. ‘I’m just sorry about the circumstances.’
‘Quite.’ Carlyle looked towards the store room. He wondered if he should tell Marcello the bad news about Joe, before deciding it could wait.
‘Round here is a bit more glamorous than Leyton.’
‘
Most
places are more glamorous than East London,’ Carlyle joked.
‘I suppose so,’ she agreed.
‘Look,’ he said, clasping his hands together and resting them on the table, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Obviously, we will be needing to get a full-time replacement for Joe . . .’
Roche gave him a look that suggested he was being a bit, well, emotionless about the whole thing.
He ignored that, ploughing on.
‘But that will doubtless take time. I don’t know whether you are going to be here for a day, a week or whatever, but like I said, I’m very grateful that you are here, so if you want to stick around, let me know.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied, still giving him a rather curious look. ‘I will check in with Leyton this afternoon and see what they say. In the meantime, what should we do about that guy in the park?’
‘The guy in the park?’ Carlyle had forgotten about him already. ‘Well, let’s see what Phillips can tell us. The more she can narrow it down, the easier it will be for us i.e.
you
to chase down any relevant files from the time it occurred.’
Roche emitted a mock groan. ‘Great! Maybe East London isn’t so bad after all.’
‘Now, now,’ Carlyle grinned, ‘we could be looking at some genuinely interesting detective work here.’
‘Yeah, if you’re a historian!’
‘I’m sure we can wrap it up quickly,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Phillips has already said he’s an adult male. She should be able to make a reasonable guess at his age, and hopefully give us a better steer as to when he died. Then you need just take a quick look at any unsolved murders from around then, or people reported missing. If anything interesting comes up, let me know. Otherwise, we can just drop it into the bottomless pit of cases that will remain open forever.’
Carlyle fished a fiver out of his wallet and dropped it on the counter. ‘
Arrivederci
, Marcello! See you later.’
An indistinct reply issued from the store room.
He looked again at Roche, who seemed in no hurry to leave. ‘I’ll meet you back at the station. I need to go and see some people first.’
NINE
‘Inspector Carlyle? I’m Adam Hall.’
Carlyle looked up at the fresh-faced young man and scowled. He’d now been sitting in a windowless interview room for almost forty-five minutes, without even the offer of a cup of crap police coffee. West End Central’s hospitality left a lot to be desired. ‘Where’s French?’
‘Chief Inspector French is no longer involved in this investigation,’ Hall said, trying – and failing – to keep the smirk out of his voice.
Bloody hell
, Carlyle thought.
He didn
’
t last long
.
‘I will be conducting your interview,’ Hall explained,
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