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business. Suppose you see a man walk a dog. He stops at a phone box. He comes out smiling. That poor dog won’t get much exercise. Take it from me.’
    â€˜Do they have a dog, Dad?’ David asked.
    â€˜Mr Shayler might have made a late-night phone call from his house about something other than a woman,’ Muffin said. ‘Maybe he has money troubles.’
    â€˜Money troubles,’ the Old Man said. ‘That’s more like it. He’s up to the neck with a bookie. He gambles with clients’ money. Or the stock market. Yes, this Jack Shayler sounds more like a money problem.’
    Salvatore leaned to whisper into Muffin’s ear, ‘My father is obsessed by money.’
    â€˜What’s he saying?’ the Old Man said. ‘What’s he talking about me?’
    â€˜Salvatore, don’t be rude,’ Mama said.
    â€˜Sorry, Mama,’ Salvatore said. ‘I was agreeing about the money problem.’
    â€˜You have a money problem?’ the Old Man said. ‘Is that what he said? Work for a living, that solves it. Huh!’
    â€˜So what happens next, Dad?’ David asked. ‘Do you want me to tail Mr Shayler tomorrow morning? I could do it. It’s only English first lesson.’
    â€˜We’re not following anybody yet. But what do you think we are doing?’ The question was addressed to David but with a sweep of his hands Angelo opened it to the rest of the table.
    â€˜Bug their telephone?’ Marie suggested.
    â€˜Good,’ the Old Man said.
    â€˜But not yet,’ Angelo said.
    â€˜Someone small could hide in the house and watch him,’ David said.
    â€˜Small brains aren’t enough,’ Marie said with a toss of her hair.
    â€˜Meet Shayler yourselves?’ Salvatore said. ‘Or go through their rubbish and see if you can find secrets on paper?’
    â€˜All this investigation is expensive,’ the Old Man said. ‘Five hundred won’t last long. What does she say about when that runs out?’
    â€˜She says she’ll pay whatever it takes,’ Angelo said. ‘And that she trusts us.’
    â€˜Spare no expense,’ the Old Man said. ‘Cottages. Huh.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘All painters should make such money.’
    Muffin said, ‘Isn’t this cloak-and-dagger stuff a little premature, Angelo, if I may say so?’
    â€˜Go on.’
    â€˜Well, it seems to me that your client is drawing a lot of conclusions from one tiny episode. I accept that she’s the best person to judge whether the incident is important or not. But surely you and she need more information before you start tapping telephones or following people or sorting through the trash.’
    Angelo smiled broadly. ‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘Good. Good. Good.’
    â€˜So what are you doing, bubba?’ Salvatore asked.
    â€˜Two things. Number one, this afternoon I rang Charlie.’
    â€˜A friend of the family,’ Salvatore told Muffin, ‘who is a policeman.’
    â€˜Charlie will run all the names,’ Angelo said. ‘But more important …’ Angelo nodded to Dr Muffin, ‘number two, tonight Mrs Shayler will leave the bottle of washing-up liquid out again. And she’ll try to sniff her husband’s mug.’
    Salvatore turned to Muffin. ‘There’s nothing quite so glamorous as being private eyes,’ he said.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Angelo was alone when he opened his office at nine on Wednesday morning. Gina, required as a witness in a Crown Court trial, had driven to Bristol immediately after breakfast.
    The previous night, in bed, Angelo had asked about Rosetta. ‘So what’s upsetting her?’
    â€˜We didn’t talk about it,’ Gina said.
    â€˜Oh,’ Angelo said.
    â€˜She went to the glass porch and sat looking across the river. When I went in she said, “Don’t ask,” so I didn’t. I said, “May I sit with