stated, then, that your gesture worked very well, Desmond,â Upton said.
âI think I can claim to have rung with due force,â Iles said, âthough Iâm not here to claim that if someone else had pressed the bell, matters would have been different. Just the one, long, plain-speaking ding, however â without subsequent fiddly additions. No need for any special, pre-agreed warning signal, was there, sir?â
âNo, indeed,â Upton said.
âWhat would I wish to warn him of?â Iles replied.
âQuite,â Upton said. âOh, quite. Now, I can, of course, see that Emberâs prompt appearance in day attire might not be totally exceptional, because he is a club owner and no doubt is kept late on some special nights there.â
âHe does have occasional trouble persuading people to quit The Monty, despite the sty that it is,â Iles said. âI rather like the French word for doorman or bouncer â itâs videur , as you probably know, sir. A chucker-out. An emptier! Often, Ralph could do with a couple of those.â
Upton said: âAnd then we have your introductory words to him, Desmond, as reported by Francis Garland just now. I wrote these as: âRalph, hereâs a treat!ââ
âIt might well have been a cry of that sort,â Iles said. âSomething matey and exuberant to take away a little of the shock and unpleasantness of our arrival pre-breakfast.â
âAnd yet it does not appear to have been a shock at all, does it?â Upton said. âIn a sense, anti-shock, flagrantly non-shock, since he was totally prepared.â
âOne couldnât have forecast that,â Iles said.
âPossibly not,â Upton said. âPossibly not. First-name terms?â
âItâs how it is with people like Ember,â Iles said.
ââPeople like Emberâ being?â Upton said.
âThatâs quite a tricky one, sir. Ember is very various,â Iles said. âI think most here would agree with this.â
âPeople like Ember are rare, thank God,â Upton said. His voice became steely and purposeful. âThey are shameless, large-scale, ruthless, moneyed traders in illegal substances, and most likely parties to all types of criminal violence connected with their business, including the murder of a woman and child. They mix what they call âbashâ with the cocaine they trade â traditionally uncostly stuff like baby milk powder or caffeine, but now potentially dangerous pharmaceutical products such as benzocaine â to fool customers and hugely increase profits.â
âWeâre working on the murders, sir,â Iles said.
âBut itâs Emberâs answer to your greeting that surely is bound to stand out, Desmond,â Upton said. ââIâd heard youâd be calling at around this time today.â I have this right, too?â
âThatâs how he responded, yes, sir,â Iles said.
âYes,â Garland said.
ââIâd heard,â he says. But how could he have heard?â Upton asked. âNot simply that there would be a raid, but the time and date. Had there been gossip outside the team?â
âIâd ordered complete silence. My people would understand that need,â Garland said. âWe do this sort of unheralded visit as virtually standard. And the confidentiality is standard, also.â
âThe blatant and complete failure of that confidentiality here must make for some uneasiness, mustnât it?â the Chief said.
âUnquestionably,â Iles replied at once.
âAnd Mr Harpur expressed uneasiness at once, didnât he?â Upton said.
âThat kind of directness, meat-and-potatoes frankness, is typical of Col,â Iles replied. âItâs not necessarily naive.â
âI make it that he raised the matter three times,â Upton said, looking again at his