DI Hathaway had ignored several requests from Chief Superintendent Moody for an update on the investigation into Alec Pickman's death. Now it had escalated to a demand. Tempted as he was to reply 'victim still dead' a second time, James instead wrote, 'possible link to case of the small bombs', then added a 'sir' for good measure. Reluctantly James went to meet Rawbone for an appointment at the morgue to make sure his victim really was still dead. According to DC Green, DI Peterson was reported to be following Pickman to and from the Red Crawl each night.


Lizzie peered at the screen of the first laptop, the one Brad had finished with. Again all she saw were numbers, mostly zeroes and ones. Listening to Brad chunter on while defusing she worked out he was looking for patterns within the series of numbers denoting chain reactions. How he defused a bomb clattering away on the keyboard was still a mystery to her.

The door to the small bomb-proof room burst open and a man entered. He was carrying a box. "Hallo Hobson and Detective Sergeant Maddox."

Lizzie was prepared to defend Brad from the intruder. As she stared at him in amazement it was clear he was a friend not a foe, at least for the moment.

Brad looked up from the laptop and his tired face broke into a feeble grin. "About time you got here Capelan. I needed a coffee hours ago."

Setting the box down, Capelan replied, "It's that damn police tail they have on me." He pulled out coffees for each of them, an apple for Brad and a bag of pork scratchings for Lizzie.

"Which one, the good guys or bad guys," he glanced at Lizzie, "or gals?"

"Difficult to tell one from the other, I don't trust either side." He spied Lizzie staring at her snack. "It's my job to know things sergeant."

"Not my job to ask", she replied and ripped open the bag. As Lizzie ate and watched the two men pore over the code displayed on the laptop, she made connections between the mysterious death of Alec Pickman, the canoe, the sinking of the boat, the elusive Mick Capelan, and the case of the small bombs. She hadn't yet worked out how the women's prison was linked, that connection was before her time.

After his meeting with Rawbone, James almost wished Robbie had not taken the afternoon off. While James was happy to find Robbie was continuing to show Laura he loved her he wanted to discuss his theories about Pickman and the case of the small bombs with his old mentor, not Peterson. The next best thing was to think like Lewis. James began to draw what Jean Innocent would have called a graphics arts project on the board that Robbie often used. He sketched a fortress in the center and wrote 'women's' prison' underneath. Then he drew a figure nursing a pint on a bar stool and wrote 'Red Crawl'. On the left was a list of characters, 'Alec Pickman', 'Mick Capelan', 'Grace Orde', unknown bomber-functional but not brilliant chemist, and 'Red Crawl-informant'. The last he grudgingly credited Peterson with. Action Man was sure an insider at the Red Crawl was passing information on to the bomber to keep him one step ahead of the law. James added the name 'Mrs. Collinson' to the list as a nod to Peterson. At the bottom he drew Alec Pickman's boat and an all too familiar and unpopular canoe.

Next to Grace Orde's name he drew a figure of a man with an X over it, then an arrow to Alec Pickman with a question mark. James stepped back to survey his creation. He kept staring at the pub scene. Something about the name, was it just a coincidence? It must mean something. Robbie used to quote Morse, 'everything means something'. Red Crawl, Red Crawl, Red Crawl, he wrote three more times taking note of each letter and thinking like Morse. He came up with the name of a functional but not brilliant chemist from a previous case who would have ties to a women's prison, not likely the mastermind, but possibly the bomb creator. He put out an arrest warrant for Carl Drew.


On her way home from lunch with Jean, Laura took a scenic detour to meet Robbie for a short walk.

"Beautiful place, this!" exclaimed Robbie, with Flavia in a baby carrier on his back, as he and Laura reached the top of a small hill and were rewarded with a view of a waterfall below. Laura adjusted Flavia's hat then put her arm around Robbie's waist. "It's no Niagara Falls but it will do for starters."

"How did you know I always wanted to go there?"

"I do listen on those rare occasions we get a chance to speak."

"So you would go there with me? What about the bairn?"

"Brad promised to take some time off after he finishes his current assignment. He and Carole should be able to manage Flavia and her mother for two weeks. I'm sure Mrs. Collinson would lend a hand." Laura heaved her shoulders. "This was a lovely moment but we should start back. It will be dark soon." Laura liked to keep to a schedule and was already planning Flavia's next feeding. She let go of Robbie's waist and turned back towards the walking path.

Before Laura could take a second step Robbie grabbed her hand and pulled her close to his chest. "There's something I want you to see before we go."

Out of step they walked hand in hand for a few minutes before Robbie stopped at a clearing. Laura could hear the noise of a small airplane circling above them. The cloud of the jet stream organized into letters and then words in the sky. Robbie raised their paired hands and pointed up and Laura followed his lead. Her face was a picture of disbelief as she gazed at the writing, 'Robbie Lewis loves Laura Hobson'. They both stood motionless for a few moments until Flavia broke the spell with a small laugh. Robbie said a silent thank-you to James for promising to make a sign that would show Laura that Robbie loved her. Laura said a silent prayer thanking God for not striking Robbie down with lightning. Then, grinning ear to ear she covered Flavia's eyes with one hand and reached up to pull Robbie's head down with the other.

After a moment Flavia expressed her displeasure at not witnessing the passionate kiss of her godparents and Robbie and Laura came back to earth. Silently they started back down to the car park, holding hands and smiling like lovesick teenagers all the way. As Robbie got Flavia buckled into her seat Laura reluctantly responded to her vibrating phone. Robbie closed the backseat door then opened the front passenger door for Laura putting his hand on the small of her back to steer her in. All the while Laura kept reading and Robbie saw the happiness drain from her face.

"Laura, what?"

"It's Flavia's father. He's coming to see us tomorrow and bringing a solicitor with him." She showed him the end of the message.

Robbie squinted at the small print. As the phone buzzed again with another message there was no mistaking the caller id.

Cale