The thirst is quenched, the hunger gone,
And my heart is cracked across;
My face is haggard in the glass,
My lips are withered with a kiss,
My breasts are thin.
The Inspector came striding into the room waving a piece of pink paper. The Sergeant looked up from the typewriter and wondered what was in store for her now. “It’s a D33/CONT-FX,” said the Inspector, pulling up a chair beside the metal desk.
“Yes, sir.”
“Official notification of a departmental interest in an on-going investigation.”
“Never seen one before, sir.”
“From the very top.”
“Cardiff?”
“The Home Secretary.”
“What’s it mean, sir?”
“It’s come via Special Branch.”
“There’s a security angle?”
“I saw the Chief Constable this morning.”
“I don’t understand...”
“They’ve asked him to release you.”
“Special duties?” asked the Sergeant, thinking of the expenses she could claim.
“They want you on Elba.”
“Why me, sir?”
The very same question had occurred to the Inspector when the Chief Constable had spoken with him. Why the Sergeant? He just couldn’t see what she could offer if the security services were involved. “You speak Italian?”
“Not a word, sir.”
“Ever been there before?”
“Never been further than Chipping Sodbury, sir. My niece’s wedding. Married a jockey.”
“Know anything about Elba?” If something was happening in Italy, he thought, then MI6 was involved, and Special Branch was just a cover.
“Not to speak of.”
“We have two mutilated bodies, a case of cannibalism, a slaughtered dog and Nogood Boyo has completely disappeared.” Not to mention that respectable Quakers and Jews were mixed up in the case, and Napoléon, too, by the look of it. What on earth, wondered the Inspector, did they have in common?
“So why me, sir? Why drop a tiddler in a big pond?” asked the Sergeant, looking perplexed. “My auntie always said...”
Rising from the chair, the Inspector folded the pink paper into his pocket and walked across the room. He looked back over his shoulder and winked at the Sergeant. “And mind your rear end when you’re out there.”
“Sir?”
“Italian men. Surely your auntie’s told you?”