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This might be important. We don’t want her wondering where you’ve really been. Perhaps she’d get upset.’
    â€˜I don’t have to cook up some answer. I went there.’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜Get your sleep now,’ he said.
    When he climbed into bed with Denise she grunted and muttered ‘Col,’ as if to prove she definitely knew who was sleeping with her tonight and didn’t object. To welcome him, she gave a feeble half wave of her right hand, but without raising her head.
    â€˜Surveillance,’ he said.
    â€˜Ugh?’
    â€˜Surveillance.’
    She grunted again and then went silent. He put an arm around her and they slept spoons. Denise liked morning lovemaking and then a cigarette or two to begin the day right. Harpur didn’t smoke but thought the rest of it would be fine. They’d get up to have breakfast with the children before they went to school, then go back to bed for a while, their lips tasting of black pudding at first.
    Iles said: ‘Something’s around, Col.’
    â€˜Around?’ This was a Jill word, wasn’t it?
    â€˜No question, around.’
    â€˜In what respect, sir?’ Harpur said.
    â€˜I get that feeling.’
    â€˜Which?’
    â€˜Perhaps you do yourself.’
    â€˜Which feeling?’ Harpur said. Iles could intuit. Iles had unstrangulated genius somewhere within and always liable to break out full of puff and brilliance and concealment. Iles heard things, but also sensed things, foresaw things, stored things. Harpur tried not to tell the Assistant Chief too much, hoping to balance up and give himself a chance. Harpur, of course, realized that one of the things the ACC in his magical fashion most probably sensed was that he (Harpur) held back from telling him (Iles) everything he (Harpur) knew. This meant each of them suspected the other of using the spoken word to cloud and even obstruct understanding rather than assist it. They conscientiously and skilfully struggled to avoid all-out disclosure. Harpur thought that anyone listening to them talk would feel each took his own dedicated route, and that these routes only rarely and briefly criss-crossed.
    â€˜They had one of their Agincourt hooleys last Monday,’ Iles said.
    â€˜Is that right? I don’t diary them any longer.’
    â€˜Why not?’
    â€˜Absolutely routine.’
    â€˜In what respect, Col?’
    â€˜We know who’ll be there. And we know the sort of trimmed stuff they’ll be told. But, yes, they do come around. Is that what you meant – “around”?’
    â€˜Its flavour – I didn’t like its flavour.’
    â€˜You know its flavour, sir.’
    â€˜Something’s around, Col. Something basic, considerable and perilous.’
    â€˜We’ll have to deal with it.’
    â€˜â€œDeal with it”! So confident! So matter-of-fact! I love your primitive optimism, Col.’ ‘Thank you, sir.’ ‘At my rank, Harpur, one looks for factors beyond the actual matter-of-fact facts. Yes, factors beyond the matterof-fact facts. The matter-of-fact fact in this case is the Agincourt dinner – a matter-of-fact fact in the sense that it happened.’
    â€˜Yes, as a matter of fact, it’s a fact it would probably be about time for it to, as you say, sir – come around, as a fact.’ ‘I agree, we don’t take much notice of it any longer – as a fact, that is,’ the ACC said.
    â€˜We can’t learn much from it.’
    â€˜Behind this fact – the dinner and festivities – is a bigger element, though – what I’ve termed for you – so the idea is not beyond you . . . what I’ve termed for you, a factor.’
    â€˜Is that right, sir?’
    â€˜This dinner has a context both ahead and back.’
    â€˜Ah.’
    â€˜Oh, yes, a factor, a context, Col. Dimensions. Width. That’s what I’m getting at when I say