Robin Hood Yard. Mark Sanderson

Lane (named after a former Lord Mayor). On the opposite corner, high up on the front of the building, two mice nibbled a piece of cheese. The small sculpture commemorated a fight that had broken out on the roof of the building when one workman accused a colleague of eating one of his sandwiches. During the exchange of blows that followed, one of the men fell to his death. Only then was it discovered that the actual culprits were mice.

      Talk about hard cheese. Johnny lit a cigarette. He should have made more of an effort to contact Lizzie. He could have put her mind at ease.

      The bell of St Margaret Pattens in Rood Lane chimed seven times.

      “Steadman! How the devil are you?” Culver shook his hand with enthusiasm. After the day he’d had it made a pleasant change to be greeted warmly.

      “All the better for seeing you.”

      Johnny followed him through the doors of the General Wolfe Tavern. A blast of heat, noise and smoke engulfed them.

      In his line of work Johnny was no stranger to the company of thieves but he’d yet to encounter a more plausible rogue. David Culver was the black sheep of a good Yorkshire family, privately educated, morally bankrupt. He made his money in one of the 180 or so bucket shops that tarnished the jealously protected image of the City. Their brokers, not bound by the rules of the Stock Exchange, were free to pursue share-plugging projects that were little better than systematic attempts to defraud the public. Nevertheless, Johnny – aware of the paradox – considered them more honest than their regulated, apparently respectable, rivals.

      “Champagne?” Culver grinned, revealing surprisingly small, sharp teeth. Then again, he was known as the Shark. “It’s been a good day.”

      “Don’t tell me. I’m all out of righteous indignation. It’s the sins of others that interest me today.”

      In fact Culver was the nearest thing the City had to a saint. He gave away a lot of his ill-gotten gains merely to prove a point. If people could afford to play the stock market, they could afford to lose. Or rather, they should be compelled to share their fortunes with those less fortunate.

      “Your very good health!” Culver lifted his silver tankard. The landlord kept it behind the bar for him; Culver claimed the precious metal was the only thing that did not taint the Laurent-Perrier.

      Johnny raised his glass.

      “Typical socialist!” Culver sneered. “Always willing to share his thirst with your champagne.”

      The bottled sunshine tasted exquisite.

      “I take it you’ve heard about the murders?”

      “Who hasn’t? I also heard the poor buggers lost more than their lives.”

      “Where’d you get that from? So far I’ve only written mutilated. The police haven’t released any specific details.”

      “Officially.”

      As usual Culver was extraordinarily well informed. “Chittleborough worked round the corner. The rumour mills, naturally, have been spinning yarns.”

      “Did you know him?”

      “No. He was small fry. Can’t think why anyone would want to kill him. As you know, I only go after big fish. When I make a killing, it’s strictly metaphorical.”

      “Why bother though? You could do anything you want.”

      “I’m doing precisely that.” He waved his arm expansively. “It’s all a game. I enjoy it. There are a lot of clever, rich people in the City. I want to prove I’m cleverer – and want to be richer – than all of them.”

      “And how are you going to do that?”

      Culver swigged from his tankard. “Don’t play the innocent. You’re not as green as you’re cabbage-looking. Knowledge is power.”

      “Indeed – but information is not a bar of Cadbury’s. If you eat the chocolate, the bar is gone.”

      “And if you give it to a friend, he’ll eat it, not you.”

      “So that’s where shares, selective leaks, come in.”

      “Yes – but open secrets are worthless. The more people who know, the less powerful the knowledge, the less profit you’ll make. And, of course, word travels fast. I knew about Chamberlain’s little piece of paper before the ink on it was dry.”

      “Pease in our time.”

      “Peace in our time.”

      “Indeed – but the dead men had both eaten pork and pease pudding shortly before they died.”

      “Ha! Jack the Quipper strikes again.”

      Culver poured the last few drops into Johnny’s glass. Some believed that meant he’d never have a child. So far the superstition had not been disproved.

      “Let’s have another. One is never enough.”

      The Shark disappeared into the sea of swaying backs and soon returned with a second bottle plus a plate of oysters. The landlord clearly knew where his best interests lay.

      “So will there be another war?” Johnny helped himself to one of the creatures that, until recently, had – like him – survived by picking up tidbits.

      “Indubitably. The City doesn’t want military action – it interrupts revenue streams – but it will, of course, make the best of it. Arms manufacturers, textile makers and anyone else who lands a government contract will earn millions. Then there are the deals that will never see the light of day.”

      “Such as?”

      Culver leaned closer. “Cheques can bounce but Hitler’s proved Czechs can be double-crossed too.”

      Johnny’s antennae quivered. Culver was a master bam-boozler, a king of bluff, but he sensed that on this occasion he was on the verge of telling the truth.

      “Montagu Norman is forever on the phone to Berlin.”

      The governor of the Bank of England – accurately nicknamed Mountebank – was anxious for business with the Third Reich to continue.

      “Deutsche Bank, Kleinworts, Schröders – there are plenty of German banks in London and there are still plenty of people willing to arrange credit for the Fatherland.”

      “The City’s bankrolling the Nazis?” Culver feigned astonishment.

      “You might say that. I certainly didn’t.”

      “Does Leo Adler know about this? He’s Jewish!”

      “Why don’t you ask him?”

      “Don’t you worry, I will. Thank you, David.”

      A surge of adrenalin swept through him. This was the break he’d been searching for. His spirits soared.

      “What can I do for you in return?”

      “Nothing, Steadman.” He watched a bead of condensation trickle down the side of his tankard. “Nothing yet. Consider it a gesture of goodwill. A big chocolate bar.”

      “Thanks for sharing it with me – whatever your motives.”

      “Remember to keep my name out of it. As a glorified salesman, my mouth is all I’ve got.”

      “Of course. Of course.”

      Johnny, somewhat unsteadily, got to his feet and shook Culver’s hand. The moneyman didn’t let go straightaway.

      “While you’re at it, you might ask about the gold deposited in the Bank of England by the Czechoslovak National Bank. It’s worth at least six million …”

       EIGHT