‘Criminals are prime victims as much as prime suspects, you see. They mix with the wrong people and turn up in the wrong places.’
‘That’s why they’re criminals.’
‘It’s a bit more complicated than that.’
‘Not unless you make it so,’ she sighed. ‘Umm, I wonder if Popescu knows the dirty old man. Or maybe he’s bluffing. Making it up from fragments of news and the information we’ve released.’
‘Well, we’ll soon find out if he’s playing for time. I’ll test him out; verify a few facts. There’s the question of the dog, for instance.’
Appleyard nodded. ‘The dirty old man had a small dog with him according to Lydia, but we haven’t made that detail public.’
‘Which means if he genuinely knows anything, he’ll tell us – as long as he thinks he’ll receive some kind of pardon in return.’
‘Completel
