'A note which said merely: "We killed
both
Lofty Brocks." It was signed: "The Silesia Survivors."'
She looked at him, astonished. 'You mean
..
. It's not finished? I can't believe it.
..'
'Far from finished, apparently,' said Mod. 'It's going to keep Dangerous occupied for a long time yet, I suspect.'
She left the bar and turned down the spring-time street. He was coming towards her, coat hanging negligently, hat on the back of his head, hands in pockets. She hurried along the pavement and embraced him. He folded his large arms about her. Several people stopped to watch. 'It's all right,' he said. 'They've let me off -
everything.'
'That's wonderful! I should think so, as well.'
'Breaking up a drug smuggling ring, solving a murder and finding the bloody crown jewels helped a bit,' he said. 'But there were a few things on the debit side.' He grinned at her. 'Askew, the chap you clobbered with the big pebble down at Chesil Bank - he was a Customs and Excise man.'
'Oh God. Why didn't he say so?'
They often don't mention it,' he shrugged. 'Apparently we threw another spanner in the works there. He was watching for the two cars with the stuff and suddenly we turn up. He had to put me out of action and quick.'
'But you told him you were police.'
'That might be the reason. Apparently the Customs were mounting their own operation on the Jungfrau and her mates and were trying to get in before the police. It's all kudos, you know. Nobody told anybody what was happening. The drug squad and the Customs are not exactly in love. And we clobbered Askew, who is now probably collecting
VAT
arrears somewhere. It apparently brought a rare smile to the face of Mr Logan Berry, until I wrecked his bit of the action.'
They turned and walked away from the direction in which Davies had been progressing. She regarded him seriously. His lip was taking longer to heal these days. 'What about this new note? Mod told me. From the Silesia Survivors?' she asked. 'Don't you think you ought to drop the whole thing now?'
He stopped, took his arm from around her waist and produced a creased sheet of paper from his inside pocket. 'I am,' he said. He handed the single sheet to her. 'One thing which is not completely obvious about this note, without examining it too closely, is that the paper was stolen from the local public library. Look, see, on the reverse side, if you care to turn it over, at the bottom it says: "Brent Library Services".' 'Mod!' she exclaimed.
'He'd never make a forger,' Davies grinned. 'He thinks something to worry about, like Lofty, keeps me happy, busy, lively.'
'Does it?'
'Yes, I suppose so.' He looked at her. 'But now there's you as well.'
They stopped and kissed in the street. 'Do you want to come for a walk with me and Kitty?' Davies asked. 'We could go and get him. He needs a bit of air.'
'So do I,' she laughed, taking his arm. 'Come on, Dangerous, let's go down the cemetery.'