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stress the positive aspects of the proposed reforms: that everyone in London would have the same access to the same force, regardless of rank, situation or address.
    When Fox had solicited his opinion, what Pyke did not say, because it would have implicated himself, was that Peel disliked the Runners not just because they received incentives and rewards for work successfully undertaken but rather because, in order to do so, they had to mix freely with criminals. In other words, Peel did not understand that they could not do their job without information provided by criminal informers. And while Pyke took it upon himself to personally benefit from these illicit associations, he had also made more arrests and gained more convictions than any other Runner attached to the office.
    But unlike Fox, who believed in the Bow Street Runners so completely that it blinded him to the political realities of the situation, or Vines, whose main concern was to haul himself up the career ladder, he had no love for the organisation he worked for, and no special feelings for its leaders.
    For him, being a Runner was simply a means to an end. It enabled him to travel to all parts of the city under the protective cloak of Fox’s authority.
    Fox told them that he had briefed Sir Henry about the situation during dinner. This news would be passed on to the Home Secretary. Vines seemed disturbed by this information.
    ‘Was that wise, telling Hobhouse so quickly?’ he said, unable to conceal his frown.
    ‘Perhaps not wise but necessary,’ Fox said, firmly.
    ‘But surely it might have been prudent to take stock of the situation ourselves before asking for outside assistance.’
    ‘Even if you don’t, I have to consider the wider implications of all this. A young couple and their newborn baby, slaughtered in their own lodgings? My God, it’s the Ratcliffe highway all over again.’
    Though Pyke had been only thirteen at the time, he still remembered the froth of panic and moral outrage that had been whipped up when a man called Williams had murdered two families in their homes on the Ratcliffe highway.
    ‘And look what that did,’ Vines said, shaking his head. ‘It placed police reform right back at the top of the political agenda. You can guarantee Peel will use this situation to push the police bill forward. It’s like a gift, fallen into his lap. If there are any waverers left in the House, it’ll drive ’em running into Peel’s grateful arms. And we will have a new police force before the month’s out.’
    Pyke allowed Vines’s words to settle before he said, ‘Even a man of Peel’s undoubted ambition would not consider a mutilated newborn to be some kind of political gift.’
    Vines reddened. ‘Yes, well, I’m sure you know what I meant.’
    ‘Pyke’s right,’ Fox said. ‘Whether Peel will exploit the situation for his own purposes is not for us to speculate. For now, I fear we have more pressing issues of public order to deal with.’ He looked up at Vines. ‘I take it the building and its perimeter have been secured and the mob outside placated?’
    Sullenly, Vines said it had been taken care of. He explained that two of his men, Goddard and Townsend, were questioning the residents, particularly those who roomed on the upper floor, and any pertinent information would be relayed back to him. Pyke was tempted to ask how Goddard and Townsend would know what information was pertinent or otherwise but he kept his silence. He also knew for a fact that Goddard and Townsend were, by no means, Vines’s men.
    ‘Good, well, perhaps we should start by paying some attention to the three victims. That would seem to me to be a matter of enormous sensitivity.’ Fox turned to Pyke. ‘Have you managed to identify them yet?’
    Pyke realised Vines had not yet grasped the significance of Fox’s concerns and he was not about to make it easy for him.
    ‘The landlady, Miss Clamp, told me that the building has five rooms on the top floor