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movie the week before.
    O’Keefe sidetracked into his favourite topic: money.
    â€˜It’ll cost a few nicker to get him squealing. I had to slip him a fiver to get him as far as this.’
    Draper slammed the desk and made the telephones tinkle.
    â€˜All right, all right, you flaming Dublin crook, you’ll get it back. Now wheel him in before I flatten your earholes.’
    Irish slithered through the door and reappeared with a skinny young man in a bright blue suit. He had long sideburns and a weak receding chin.
    â€˜This is Alfie Day,’ announced Irish proudly, as if he was presenting a child prodigy. ‘He keeps that radio shop in Piper’s Court.’
    Conrad scowled at the seedy electrician without enthusiasm.
    â€˜What d’you lug him up here for?’
    Alfie looked uneasily from one to the other.
    â€˜I heard that Irish was asking around about Golding … I wondered if a bit of info was worth any bunce to you. I was told to keep my trap shut, mind. I might get the sticky end if he finds out.’
    â€˜Depends on what you got to tell me,’ grunted Draper.
    The radio dealer smiled weakly. ‘I thought it might be worth a pony,’ he said hopefully. His voice trailed off as he saw the expression on Draper’s face.
    â€˜Twenty-five! Go and get stuffed, mate. Say your piece and I’ll see if I can squeeze you out a fiver.’
    â€˜I don’t exactly know anything about him – personally – but I did a job for him … he said I was to keep quiet about it.’
    Conrad’s expression spurred him to carry on quickly.
    â€˜He came to me a few months back and asked me to fit a tape recorder to the telephone in this dame’s flat – the one that copped it last weekend. It was a cagey job – I had to do it all inside a couple of hours when she was out of the place. He gave me a key and said he’d keep her out of the way long enough for me to fix it up.’
    Conrad felt a cold lump grow in the pit of his stomach. ‘What then?’ he said hollowly.
    â€˜I had to make a false bottom in a cupboard for it, and connect the recorder to the telephone junction box in the bedroom.’
    Draper’s icy patch spread across his middle. He wasn’t sure what all this meant, but he felt that it wasn’t good for his health. ‘Go on!’ he said between his teeth.
    â€˜Not much more to it,’ answered Alfie. ‘The motor was wired so that it started to run as soon as the receiver was lifted on the phone. It was transistorised, so it didn’t need to warm up – it was ready to go straight away – wouldn’t miss a word.’
    The betting shop magnate thought for a moment.
    â€˜Was this a two-way gadget – could it pick up both callers’ voices?’
    Alfie nodded. ‘Oh, yes … there was an extra big spool fitted so that it would run for over an hour if needed. Golding said that he might have to leave it a couple of weeks at a time.’ He looked hopefully at Conrad. ‘That’s all.’
    The big man ignored his hint for a reward.
    â€˜How did Golding get on to you? Did he know you before?’
    â€˜No, Ray Silver in the Nineties Club recommended me – I’d just done some work on the microphones there.’
    â€˜And you don’t know anything about this Golding? Did he say where he was from or anything else at all about himself?’
    The man in the awful suit shook his head vigorously.
    â€˜Nah, he was as tight as a bleeding oyster. Didn’t say a dicky bird. He told me what to do, gave me the lolly afterwards and told me to screw my mouth down … I’m taking a risk grassing to you, mister, straight I am.’ He ended on a whine.
    Conrad stood up, peeled a couple of blue notes off his roll, and gave them to the electrician.
    â€˜Right, shove off. You needn’t worry about Golding; it’s me you want to think about. If you drop a