Sorry, I can only type and publish at quarter speed...


Tommy tried hard not to smirk. He had said it to be provocative and throw Barbara off balance, but he meant it too. He did want her to be the mother of his children. Her reaction had been priceless. If they had not been standing in the middle of a police tent, he would have kissed her with unmistakable passion and reinforced that he wanted to start their family immediately.

He and David were already in the car by the time Barbara, still red-faced and shaken, emerged. Tommy watched her walk towards them slowly. He needed this case to be finished quickly. They had unfinished business.

"She's great isn't she?"

Tommy turned and gave David a savage look. "Yes, she is."

David raised his hand. "No, I didn't mean like that. She's way too old... I mean for me, not for you of course. I just think she's a great detective. She's always thinking, coming up with ideas. They talk about you two but to see it is something else. I want to be that good one day. To be part of a team that solves something like this."

Tommy smiled at the young policeman. "You are part of this team, David. You're a part of solving this crime, and you're doing invaluable work."

Barbara hopped in the car. "I had a thought." Tommy and David both laughed, earning an angry frown. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Tommy said, "what was your thought?"

"Spendling never left the house. His mother is hiding him. He was upstairs when we went there."

"Let's confirm your theory then shall we?"

Ten minutes later, Tommy pulled into Spendling's street and spotted the big white van parked opposite his house. "The surveillance unit is hardly subtle."

Spendling's mother looked exhausted when she answered the door. Tommy noticed her assistance dog behind her. "Mrs Spendling, we know Peter is hiding here in the house. We also know he has been buying drugs for you. We have no interest in that matter. We are trying to solve the bombing of a police station and murder of seventeen people."

"Peter had nothing to do with that!"

Tommy tried a sympathetic smile. "Missus Spendling..."

"It's alright, Mum. I can't keep hiding."

Spendling looked scared. He was a tall man who was about twenty kilos overweight, but even so, Tommy could see from his body shape that he had once been very fit. As he walked towards them, hIs limp was more pronounced than Lynley had expected. "It might be easier if you come back with us for formal questioning."

"Okay. Mum knows nothing about any of this, though."

Tommy looked carefully at Spendling. "Are you confessing to the bombing?"

"No! I had nothing to do with it. But Mum didn't know about the trouble I was in. Am I under arrest?"

Barbara stepped forward. "No, not at this stage. We just want to interview you. See what you know."

Spendling patted the dog and kissed his mother. "I'll be home soon. I had nothing to do with this."

Tommy led Spendling to the car while Barbara went over and dismissed the surveillance team. The journey back was silent. Spendling sat sullenly in the back staring out the window.

"David, find Winston please. I want you both to observe the interview."

Tommy left Spendling in the interview area while he had a briefing with Barbara. "Thoughts?"

"He seems defeated. If it was him, he'll break down quickly I think. You go hard. I'll be the reasonable one."

For thirty minutes they questioned Spendling. He was open and frank and appeared to be co-operative. Everything they knew about Donna Higgins and Cyrus Jones was confirmed. Spendling had been frustrated by Jones and the way he had tried to emasculate him through fat-shaming and threats about buying drugs. Spendling owed his dealer nearly five thousand pounds and had been forced to start acting as a dealer himself to maintain supply for his mother. "I didn't want to, but he had me over a barrel. I drew the line when he wanted me to sell harder stuff."

"How do you distribute it?" Tommy asked.

"Via work. Bored secretaries mainly but they often take the 'lunch order' for the business. One of the colleges orders three kilos a week."

Barbara whistled."They sell it to the students?"

"Yeah, mainly. Some porters have a lucrative sideline going. It might be Oxford, but they are still just kids out by themselves for the first time. I hated doing it. I refused to sell the party drugs, though. That's when things got nasty."

"Who is your supplier?"

"I don't know his name. He's called The Welshman. I once heard someone call him Daffyd, but it might have been David."

"Where do you collect it?"

"From a luggage locker at Oxford station. I have a key and so do they. I pick up every Tuesday morning in a sports bag. It's easy. I put one in with the money inside and pull theirs out. Can I use the bathroom?"

"Winston, would you mind escorting Mr Spendling?"

Winston shrugged. "This way."

Tommy, Barbara and David sat silently. Barbara cocked her head which usually meant she had something on her mind. "What?" Tommy asked.

"I don't think he did it."

"I'm inclined to agree. He's scared, but I believe what he's told us so far. David, are there any records of drug dealers called Daffyd or David?"

"I'll check the computer." David's fingers made the keyboard rattle. "There's a Daffyd Davies, aka Two Daves. He has a record for trafficking. Two years ago he was caught trying to import 5000 ecstasy tablets."

Tommy was curious. "Arresting officer?"

"DS Hathaway, Sir. Davies received two years, but was paroled after eight months."

Barbara snorted. "Makes you wonder why we bother sometimes."

Tommy agreed but ignored her remark. "Anything else about him?"

David scanned his screen. "No. Born in Cardiff to a single mother. Orphaned at nine. Spent three years in foster homes... Hello!"

"What?" Tommy asked.

"His last foster home was with Mr and Mrs Jones. He went from there onto the juvenile offenders' programme when he was sixteen. It says two boys were caught but he confessed and his foster brother was released. After that, he disappears from the records."

"His foster brother being Evan Cyrus Jones."

David looked up in awe. "How did you know that?"

"He watches too many crime dramas where everything falls neatly into place. This might be our breakthrough. Let's push Spendling harder about Jones."

When Winston returned with Spendling, Tommy scrutinised the man carefully. He was neatly dressed in dark trousers and a shirt that had been lightly starched. Despite his limp, he stood tall when he walked. Ex-military, proud and protective of his mother - they were qualities that could make him a ruthless killer who was toying with them, or a man who was genuinely ashamed to have stepped outside the law. "When did you first start buying marijuana Mr Spendling?"

"My mother has pancreatic cancer. It's very painful. She was given some by a friend about six months ago, and it helped. She asked me to get more. I made enquiries and found a student who bought some from his porter. I went with him and purchased a few days worth for Mum."

"Which college?" Barbara asked.

Spendling looked alarmed. "Do I have to say?"

Tommy used his sternest look. "Yes, and the name of the porter."

With a heavy sigh, Spendling complied. "He was the one who suggested I could get it cheaper if sold it too. Mum was using more and more, and I had been given some in advance of paying. Then the debt's interest grew. In the end, I no choice. None. I didn't want to sell it, but it was only weed."

"It's still illegal."

"I know, but Mum..."

Tommy felt sorry for him. "I understand. We have little interest in that at the moment, but it does seem linked to this case. How did Jones know about your dealing?"

"I don't know. I'd confided in Donna, and I thought it was her. I confronted her, but she denied telling him. Told me she'd never do that. I believed her. Besides, he knew everything. The name of my dealer, how much I owed, how and where I sold them. I hadn't told Donna any of that."

Tommy, Barbara and David looked at each other. Tommy asked Spendling a few more questions about his knowledge of explosives then asked him to wait in the recreation tent. "If I were you, I'd stay. You'll be safer here than on the streets."

As Winston escorted him away, Tommy turned to the others. "Thoughts?"

"I believe him," Barbara said. "We've been working on the idea that Spendling planted the bombs in the photocopier, possibly for revenge. What if we're looking at this the wrong way round? What if he was the target?"

David seemed doubtful. "But the timing of the explosion, all the police being called back?"

Tommy took up Barbara's argument. "What if that's just coincidence? What if the bombs were supposed to be isolated and only went off simultaneously because of the gas leak?"

Barbara nodded. "I know that's a big coincidence, but it's possible. If this Daffyd was worried Spendling would talk or if..." Her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"It was something Stuart said, that men will do anything for love."

"Oh, you think. Hmm, yes, possible."

"He sounded mean enough, maybe a bit unhinged."

David looked from one to the other. "You think Jones did it because he was jealous of Spendling?"

Tommy tried not to smile as he flicked back through his notes. The lad was quickly learning to interpret what Winston referred to as their 'private gobbledygook'. "It's a possibility we can't ignore."

David began rubbing the left side of his face. "David?"

"Sir, I think I knew something that I didn't tell you."

"Yes?"

"Jones told me once that his brother had spent time in South America and Australia."

"Relevance?"

"He had something to do with blasting in open cut mines."

Tommy thought about it. "Blood brother or foster brother? Was this brother Davies?"

"I don't know."

"Then find out!"

"Yes, Sir." David began to type furiously. Tommy saw the anxiety and guilt on the young policeman's face and regretted snapping. He ran his fingers through his hair. This case was beginning to get to him.

Barbara turned to look at David. "Hey, don't feel bad."

"I should have remembered. That's something directly relevant."

"Our memory only works by having triggers. As detectives, we solve the puzzle one piece at a time. Some pieces are like blue sky. You need the other pieces to make them meaningful." David gave her a grateful smile.

Tommy agreed. "Clues are only the mistakes of perpetrators. If it is the same man, it gave Jones access to knowledge and semtex. See what you can find. Have Winston help if you need to and the local boys. The DI and I are going to the hospital to see if Lewis or Hathaway know anything about Jones or Davies."

"I'll phone you as soon as I have anything."

"You were a bit hard on David," Barbara said as they walked to the car.

"I know."

"That's it?"

"I didn't want this life anymore. I wanted to retreat here and have a quiet life. I want us to be able to enjoy time together, not have to solve cases. I want to be home, in my bed, making love with you."

"But?"

"Part of me enjoys the challenge. And I've missed working with you. But we can't work together beyond this case."

"But we can share your bed."

Tommy smiled. "Ever the pragmatist. Come on then, let's get this solved."


Robbie was sitting by the window in a wheelchair. His leg was elevated and supported but a strut. Tommy stopped dead in his tracks and put his arm out to stop Barbara marching into the room. Laura was bent over Robbie, who had no pants on. She appeared to be vigorously rubbing his groin. Robbie had his head back and a huge smile. Laura looked up and immediately stopped her ministrations. "Tommy! Barbara! I was just..."

"Sorry to interrupt."

To Tommy's horror, Barbara pushed past him. "How are you feeling?"

Laura turned the wheelchair to face them, and Tommy was relieved to see Robbie was wearing small cotton shorts. "Itchy!," he replied. "Laura was just rubbing in some cream. I had a reaction to that yellow stuff they paint on you."

Behind them, James began to laugh. It started as a small chuckle but built into a good chortle. Everyone looked at each other and understood what Tommy had thought.

"I wish, lad. Not quite up to that just yet," Robbie said with a hint of regret.

"Any news?" a red-faced Laura asked.

They briefed them then questioned them about Jones and Davies. "Sorry I don't know more," Robbie said, "I still can't believe it was a copper."

"I can," James said. "Davies is an unpleasant man. So was Jones but I can't see him blowing himself up."

"I might have an idea," Laura said as she gave Robbie a quick kiss on the cheek. "You'll have to do without me for a few hours. I need to find Stuart and check something on Jones' body."

"Okay, love."

Laura paused at the door. "And Tommy, if you want to rub cream into Robbie's other leg for me, feel free."

The others began to laugh. Tommy tried to keep a straight face. When Barbara slid her arm around his waist and rubbed his back, he relented and after a quick kiss joined in their laughter.