Doyle parked in front of Bodie's building and started to get out of the car but his partner was already running down the steps. As he pulled away from the curb, he asked, "So where did you take Mattie last night?"
"The Ritz."
The car swerved slightly. "Just how did you afford one of the most expensive hotels in London?"
Bodie shrugged. "I wanted to impress her. Where did you take her for dinner?"
"The Ivy." Doyle looked defiant. "I wanted to impress her too."
"See any celebrities?"
"Maureen O'Hara."
"You did not!"
"I most certainly did." Doyle grinned. "She was wearing a long mink coat and the biggest emeralds I've ever seen. Mattie's eyes almost popped out of her head."
Bodie said grudgingly, "You're ahead on points, mate, but it's up to her, don't forget."
They were still squabbling when they walked into Cowley's office and he looked at them narrowly. "I want you two to keep your minds on the job, not your nightlife."
"We are," said Bodie with a virtuous air.
"Day and night," Doyle chimed in.
"And what have you come up with?"
Bodie sat down, started to put his feet up on Cowley's desk, and settled for throwing one leg over the arm of his chair. "We've checked every single person who had access to the submarine plans outside of the Second Sea Lord's private office and there isn't a single one who could have stolen all the information that went missing."
Doyle said, "It's possible there's a ring working in the Navy, but the odds of that are vanishingly small. A single engineer might be a traitor, but a group? Going completely undetected?" He shook his head. "We're concentrating our attention now on Admiral Burney's personal assistant, Thomas Watkins."
"Well, keep me informed," said Cowley. "I don't want the Second Sea Lord and the Home Secretary breathing down my neck one moment longer than necessary."