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you noticed that?’
    ‘Aye, that’s true enough. But I don’t see where that takes us, Josie, to tell you the truth.’
    Armstrong glanced at his watch, and for the first time in the fifteen minutes that he’d been with her Henry was aware that he really should be somewhere else.
    ‘Well, I had an idea. What if he’d done it before? What if he’d visited to make a donation, or whatever it is, before? Could he be so quick because it isn’t the first time that he’s done it?’
    It took Armstrong a moment to see what Josie meant. ‘It’s a thought, certainly. But Ted at the foodbank would have mentioned something if it had happened before, wouldn’t he?’
    ‘Maybe he forgot.’
    ‘Possibly, but I doubt it. I volunteer there, so I know Ted pretty well. He’s a pretty switched-on old guy, to tell the truth. They get quite a few chancers in there, and he usually sees them off.’
    ‘You volunteer at the food bank? Really? I’ve been thinking about doing that.’
    ‘Great. Why not come with me one evening then, and I’ll introduce you.’
    ‘I’d like that, thanks. So is it worth checking with this Ted bloke? Just on the off chance, like.’
     
    Josie smiled at him, and Henry fished his personal phone out of his pocket, and called the foodbank. Josie listened to his half of the conversation as he spoke first to Ted, and then to one of the volunteer drivers.
    ‘So about two weeks ago, you think this was? And the vehicle seemed to have more fuel in it than it had the previous day? OK, thanks.’ When he rang off he smiled at Josie. ‘Nice one. It looks like you were right. Our man has done it before. So if he’s done it twice…’
    ‘He may go back again?’
    ‘Exactly, he just might do that. Pepper, my boss, has told me that I can spend a bit of time on this one, so I will. Thanks for the heads-up, like.’
    ‘You’re not going to stake the place out, are you?’
    ‘No, certainly not. If I can actually get a few quid out of Pepper I’ll contact the tech team and ask them to put a wireless intruder alarm on the garage door for me. It’ll send me a text if the door is opened at night. What time was he there before, when we’ve got him on CCTV?’
    ‘The corrected time was just after midnight.’
    ‘Fine, I’ll ask them to set it so that it’s active between 10pm and 4am.’
    ‘Will you nick this bloke, if you catch him?’
    ‘I’ll have a chat with him first. And I’ll certainly be telling him to stop making donations, if they are donations, like this. But if the fuel’s actually coming from a bent source then aye, I’ll nick him for that. Of course I will.’
    ‘But he’s actually a bit of a superhero, isn’t he? Going around giving stuff to good causes like that. And you wouldn’t arrest one of them, would you?’
    ‘If they were wearing spandex in the hours of darkness then I would, aye. There’s just no call for that sort of showing off, is there?’
    Josie laughed. ‘So will you let me know when you’re going to the foodbank again?’
    ‘Aye, I’ll text you.’
    ‘Have you got my number?’
    ‘No, good point. You should be the bloody detective.’
     
    Henry was whistling as he bounded back up the stairs. Well, it wasn’t every day that the food bank recruited a new volunteer. He overtook Pepper on the second landing, because she was carrying a steaming Pot Noodle as carefully as if it were spent nuclear fuel, and as they walked up the stairs to the CID suite he told her about the development in the un-theft case.
    ‘The what?’ said Pepper, and Henry told her that Josie from CCTV analysis had coined the phrase.
    ‘She’s that pretty young volunteer, isn’t she?’
    ‘Can’t say I’ve noticed’, said Henry, and laughed a nanosecond before Pepper did.
    ‘I’d say she sounds a bit posh for you, love, except you’re the poshest man I’ve ever met. And I’ve met some right toffs, in my time. Usually only when I’m nicking them, like, but even so. But if your man