‘Oh, yes, Mr Holland. Her physician recommends it. Because the sea air is so good for her, we go to the coast whenever possible but a complete change of scene might act as a tonic for her. Now that hostilities have at last ceased, of course, France is a possibility but my mind veers towards Switzerland.’
‘I’ve heard good reports of the country, Mr Beyton.’
‘I want nothing but the best for my wife.’
Ebenezer Holland was a rotund man in his fifties with the appearance and manner of a prince of the church. Beyton had often envisaged him with a mitre on his head and a cope around his shoulders. He’d even persuaded himself that there was the faintest aroma of frankincense in the manager’s office.
‘Why do you need the money at such short notice?’ asked Holland.
‘I’ve promised to hand it over to the man who will organise our travels for us. It’s in the nature of a large deposit, you see. Other clients of his have allowed him to make expensive arrangements then changed their mind about going on holiday and left him out of pocket. I believe in fair dealing,’ Beyton went on. ‘It’s a principle of which I’m sure you’ll approve.’
‘I do so wholeheartedly.’
‘Thank you.’
‘In dealings with me, you’ve acted with the utmost integrity.’
But the manager was not yet ready to give his episcopal blessing and release the money. He probed away gently for several minutes and Beyton had to embroider his story about some non-existent foreign travel. While his client was talking, Holland consulted a ledger.
‘You and Mrs Beyton have been exemplary clients of mine,’ he said. ‘In other words, you’ve both remained solvent and made no undue demands on the bank. The largest deposit, I see, is still in the name of your wife. It has been with us for several years and accrued an appreciable amount of interest.’
‘I would never touch my wife’s money,’ said Beyton, piously.
‘Marriage to the dear lady puts it within your reach.’
‘That’s irrelevant, Mr Holland.’
‘If you say so,’ returned the other. ‘As to the money, I will have it ready for collection tomorrow morning.’
Beyton was disappointed. ‘I’d hoped to take it away with me.’
‘Another night will make no difference, surely.’
‘You are right,’ said the clerk, pretending to be was happy with the arrangement. ‘I’ll call here tomorrow.’
‘How is life in the higher echelons of government?’
‘It has its drawbacks, Mr Holland.’
‘Public service must bring rewards of the heart.’
Beyton smiled but he was squirming inside.
Even in daylight, the ramshackle warehouse had an aura of danger about it. Since he’d been told to be wary of it, Chevy Ruddock made a point of locating it when he went on patrol. Surrounded by litter, it stood beside the river like a ghost of its former self. Ruddock eyed it with suspicion.
‘That’s the place, Bill,’ he said.
‘You don’t need to tell me that, Chevy. I’ve been here before.’
‘Have you seen any trouble?’
‘I’ve seen nothing else. Whenever there’s a dog fight, a cock fight or something else on there, the place is in uproar and we can’t do anything about it.’
‘Mr Yeomans told me to impose law and order.’
‘Then he’s talking out of his you-know-what.’
William Filbert gave a throaty laugh. He was a tubby man in his fifties with ruddy cheeks and a drooping moustache. Having been a member of the foot patrol for many years, he’d learnt how to cope with difficult situations.
‘The trick is to wait,’ he explained. ‘If you see two villains knocking lumps out of each other, never try to arrest them because, if you do, as sure as the sun rises, they’ll both turn on you. No, Chevy, you wait quietly until one has battered the other senseless and is puffing like a grampus himself, then you move in. Let a man tire himself out before you arrest him.’
‘That’s not always possible, Bill.’
‘It’s not possible here, I grant you,’ said Filbert. ‘That warehouse is like the seventh circle of hell some nights. When people spill out of there, there’ll be a dozen brawls at the same time. That’s when you use your common sense and walk past as quickly as you can. Impose law and order? Yeomans must be joking. It’d be nothing short of suicide.’
‘What about the rest of the river bank?’
‘You have to watch your back, Chevy. Water rats are everywhere and I mean the two-legged ones as tall as you and me. They come out at night to sniff and nibble.’