'I would. I was just wondering about the single-parent business.'
'I think there's generally more stability with both parents around, unless the marriage is in a really bad way. It's what the stats show, anyway. Shall I go on?'
'Yes.'
'There shouldn't be all that many in Eastvale, I don't think. Most people move away or get married. Next I'd 'stake out' selected pubs, as they say on the telly.'
'I've told you how many pubs there are in Eastvale. We don't have anything like the manpower.'
'Use what you have. He's tried the same pub twice. Why not a third time? There's one you can cover. And you must have some pretty policewomen around who'd be happy to work overtime to help get rid of this particular criminal, surely?'
Banks nodded. 'Go on.'
'As far as the other two pubs are concerned, you can cover them, too. If he struck lucky once he might try for a second time.'
'So you suggest that we cover the pubs he's already operated in?'
'Yes.'
'Good. We're already doing that.'
'Bastard!' Jenny laughed and slapped his arm playfully. 'You've got to admit, though, I was on the right track, wasn't I?'
'Definitely. Any time you need a job. Is there anything else?'
'You might check around the pornographic bookshops-if there are any in Eastvale-and the strip-clubs. I don't mean that you should pester everyone who enjoys seeing a bit of tit and ass now and then, but make your presence felt. Maybe if you put the wind up him he'll make a mistake.'
'You think he's likely to hang around such places?'
'It's possible. After all, it's looking, isn't it? Even if it's not as thrilling as the other kind. By the way, are there places like that in Eastvale?'
'One or two. We keep an eye on them, but I'll do as you recommend, push a bit harder.'
Jenny nodded. 'Excuse me for asking,' she said, 'but how did you get that scar?' And she leaned forward and touched the small scar by Banks's right eye.
'Accident,' he said tersely. 'Years ago.'
'How disappointing. And I thought you must have got it in some heroic struggle with a knife-wielding maniac, or perhaps from a gun that went off as you grappled to save someone's life.'
'You've got quite a romantic imagination for a psychologist.'
'And you've got none! Come on, where did you get it?'
'I told you, an accident.'
'What kind of accident?'
'I fell off my tricycle.'
'Liar. You're only doing this because you think it makes you mysterious, aren't you?'
'And you're only teasing me because you've had too much to drink.'
'Ooh, I haven't.'
Banks laughed. 'Perhaps not. But if you drink any more you will have, and then I'll have to book you for drunken driving.'
'I haven't got my car. I walked up to town before we met and spent an hour or so in the library.'
'I've got mine today-and I haven't had too much to drink. Come on, I'll give you a lift.'
It was raining fast again, and Banks drove carefully around the base of Castle Hill, down the narrow, winding streets, crossed the river, and pulled up outside Jenny's house by The Green about five minutes later.
'Coming in for a coffee?' she asked.
'Just a quick one.'
IV
Trevor and Mick sat in the front room sharing out the money. Trevor had already palmed about fifty pounds, and he then managed to persuade Mick to tell Lenny that they'd only found fifty. He knew that Lenny would make up his profit by selling the jewelry, anyway.
Mick was restless. He'd taken some uppers before going out and some downers when they got back, just to take the edge off. Now the drugs were clashing and fighting it out in his body. He couldn't settle and listen to music or watch telly, and Trevor, bored with him, was getting ready to go. They looked out of the window at the rain. Across The Green, they saw a car pull up outside one of the old houses.
'It's that bird,' Mick said. 'The redhead with the long legs. Ooh, I'd like to feel them wrapped around my waist. Who's she with? Some fucking wanker for sure.'
'I think it's that copper,' Trevor said, recognizing Banks. 'Funny, that, I saw him with her the other night at the old bag's house.'
'Maybe she's a cop, then. Waste of a good screw, if you ask me. Nice pair of tits she's got, though.'
'Maybe he's just knocking her off,' Trevor said. 'He's going in, anyway.'
'Lucky bastard.'
'It's funny, though, seeing them twice like that.'
'What's so funny? I see her all the time. She only lives across The Green, you know.'
'I mean seeing them together like that.'
'He's probably poking her. Fucking hell, wouldn't I just like those long legs wrapped around my waist.'
But Mick was fast slipping into the arms of Morpheus. The amphetamine, already mostly burned up, was losing to the barbiturate, and he felt as if his brain was slowly turning to cotton-wool and his senses were closing like valves. The light around the edges of his eyes dimmed, and he could hear a gentle whooshing, like the ocean, in his ears; his tongue felt too tired and too heavy to speak.
Trevor recognized the signs, put on his coat and left. It had been a good night, one of the best in years, and he felt, as he walked home through the quiet town reliving the excitement, that he could hardly wait for next Monday.
Chapter EIGHT
I
The sudden creaking of rusty hinges broke the silence in the cool church. Sandra and Harriet looked around and saw Robin Allott coming in, followed closely by Norman Chester.
'So this is where you're hiding,' Norman said, as he shut the heavy door behind them. 'We were wondering where the lovely ladies had got to.' His voice echoed from the stone walls.
'What are you doing?' Robin asked.
'Waiting for the sun,' Sandra replied. 'I want to get a good shot of the stained-glass window here.'
'It shouldn't be long,' Robin said, walking down the aisle toward them. 'The clouds seem to be breaking up and the wind's pushing them along nicely. It is quite beautiful, isn't it?'
Sandra nodded, glancing up again at the east window. They stood in the Parish Church of St. Mary, Muker, one of the places the Camera Club was visiting on its trip to Swaledale. Most club members were out walking along Ivelet Side putting Terry Whigham's ideas on landscape photography into practice with shots of the spectacular view of Oxnop, Muker Side and the dark mass of Great Shunner Fell. Harriet and Sandra, however, had stuck to the village itself, photographing the craft center, village store and old Literary Institute, before approaching St. Mary's.
'It's supposed to depict the landscape outside,' Robin went on, pointing to the window. 'You can see Christ
