INTERLUDE

'Now,' Brian said. 'I'm Julian, you're the killer.' They were standing in the small alley where the murder had taken place. It was very straightforward and didn't seem to have any corners where the killer could have hidden, although it would surely be dark at night.

'Right,' said Gerry, 'what do I do?'

'Well, I'm walking through this alley on my way home... you try to hide around the corner and surprise me when I walk by.' Gerry hid himself where Brian indicated. Brian walked down the alley, trying to look as if he was not expecting any attack. Gerry listened for Brian's footsteps and jumped at Brian's back.

'That doesn't really work, does it?' Gerry asked.

'No, you can't attack me properly from behind like that. Alright, try walking towards me and when we cross each other you attack.'

'What the hell are you two doing here? This is private property!' An enormous man came slinking out of the shadows, startling both of them.

'And this is a crime scene!' The man approached Brian slowly upon his reply.

'Oh yeah? When did the crime take place, then?'

'Ten years ago,' Gerry replied. The man barked a short laugh.

'So you're police officers? Hah. Took you long enough. Not likely to be many traces left.'

'We weren't looking for traces. We were reconstructing the events,' Gerry said crossly.

'What happened?' the man asked, seeming curious despite himself.

'Excuse me, who are you?' Brian asked.

'Barty Senns. I own the pub here,' Barty Senns pointed at the pub, 'and this alley is a part of the pub grounds. So policemen or not, you're trespassing.'

'Or are we?' Gerry remarked, holding up a warrant. Senns nodded gruffly and asked whether he could help them with anything.

'Mr Senns, were you here ten years ago?'

'Yeah, I've had the pub for nearly two decades.'

Brian produced a photograph of Julian Swan and showed it to Senns. 'Did you ever meet this boy?' Senns looked at the picture and frowned. 'He seems kind of familiar, but I couldn't tell you his name.'

'His name is Julian Swan. He was killed ten years ago in this alley,' Gerry prompted.

'Oh yeah, Julian! It's coming back now. He came to have a drink in the pub occasionally. Sometimes he had a girl with him. Never saw him with the same girl twice, though.' Then Gerry's words seemed to sink in. 'He's dead?' Senns asked softly. Both men nodded. 'That's a pity. I didn't know him well, but he seemed like a nice lad to me.'

'If he was killed in this alley, and he visited your pub occasionally...' Gerry started.

'...then he may have been in the pub the night he died,' Brian finished.

'But then again, pubs close at 11PM. And Julian was killed at 1AM. Why would he have stuck around in this alley for two hours?' Gerry wondered.

'A girl?' Senns suggested. 'I don't know when he died and even if I did I wouldn't remember whether he was at my pub that night, but a lot of couples used to make out in this alley after the pub closed.'

'For two whole hours?' Brian said incredulously.

'What's two hours when you're having fun, Mr...?'

'Lane,' Brian added automatically.

'But even so,' Gerry said. 'Where did the girl go? Where was she when he got killed?'

-

'Hey, how did you get on?' Sandra asked Brian and Gerry.

'Tea?' Jack asked them. They all said yes and then Brian answered Sandra's question.

'Our reconstruction didn't work so well, but then a certain Barty Senns appeared.'

'Who's Barty Senns?' came the logical question from Jack.

'He owns the pub near the alley,' Gerry said. 'The Green Lion.'

'And that's not everything. Julian regularly visited Mr Senns' pub,' Brian added.

'Yeah, and he reckons there was a girl there with Julian the night he died,' Gerry finished.

'Ginny Massen?' Sandra presumed.

'That'd be my guess,' Brian said.

'How very interesting,' Jack said, handing everyone their tea.

'What about you?' Brian asked Sandra and Jack.

'Lizzy admitted Gemma was telling the truth,' Sandra replied.

'Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?' Gerry asked, sipping his tea.

'I think it's time to have a go at Ginny Massen,' Sandra said. The others agreed.

'I'll telephone her, tell her to get in here tomorrow morning,' Brian suggested.

'Better make that afternoon,' Sandra corrected. 'I have to go see Strickland in the morning.' She frowned a little at the prospect and saw a smile tugging at the corners of Gerry's mouth. She glared at him, then smiled, too.

-

Strickland was trying to push his feelings of jealousy away so that he could tell Sandra off from a professional point of view, not a personal one. He wasn't doing very well and was still composing himself when she knocked on the door. 'Come in,' he called.

'I believe you wanted to see me, sir?' she said with that overly polite attitude she always used when she knew he was angry at her.

'Have you completely lost your mind, Sandra?' Strickland said straightaway.

'No, I haven't,' she replied, glaring coldly at him.

'Having it off with Gerry Standing is not the kind of professional attitude I expect from you!'

'With respect, sir, I was not having it off in the office.' There was a little bit too much emphasis on the sir.

'But you certainly were at home.'

'What I do at home is no concern of yours, sir.'

'Like hell it isn't,' he muttered. 'Of all the men you could get, you pick Gerry Standing?' he asked incredulously.

'He's a decent man,' she argued.

'Not as decent as you deserve.'

'I'll thank you to let me be the judge of that.'

'You don't need to be with him because you think you can't have anybody else. Half of the Met would...' Strickland coughed, blushed and failed to finish his sentence. I don't believe this. Gerry was right. He does want to be with me.

'I'm not with him because I think he's the best I can get. I'm with him because I feel a lot of really good things when I'm near Gerry. And I also think that who I choose to be with is entirely my own affair. Sir,' she added to keep up the pretense that they were having a polite conversation.

'He's too old for you,' he tried.

'But why should you care?' Her eyes challenged him to say it.

'You should be with someone your own age, Sandra. Someone like... someone like me,' he finally said.

'You cannot be serious,' Sandra said, staring at him. Suspecting it was one thing, but having Strickland actually own up to it was quite another.

'I am,' he said, 'dead serious.' He took a few steps forward.

'Stay away from me,' she hissed, then left.

-

'He said what?' Gerry asked, not sure whether to be angry or burst out laughing.

'You should be with someone your own age. Someone like me,' Sandra quoted. Brian and Jack pulled up their eyebrows. 'Told you,' Gerry said. 'He's jealous. He's been after you for years, and now he's probably wondering whether the situation would be different if he'd asked you out before I did.'

Sandra laughed. 'You know what, Gerry? I actually think you're right.'