P.C. Dapper wasn’t a dim cop. Experience taught him that you made life a lot easier for yourself if you didn’t notice things. Witnesses rarely impressed him. ‘Never saw a thing guv’nor’ was almost always enough for him.
Exceptions were rare, the last time being when he saw the police commissioner go into Mrs. Pike’s Kitchen — which was a little confusing for some, as it was the café owned by Gladys Pike.
Chance had it he was across the road, down by the post office, talking to Fingers O’Flaharty for nearly an hour about some local jobs which had Mike Dapper and his mates flummoxed. ‘Always prize specimens, never more than one, the scene of the crime left so tidy you wouldn’t know there’d been a rose bush there in the first place’.
‘Give me a list and I’ll keep my eyes open. I won’t share it around. In this game you can’t trust anyone. I had two of my exhibition dahlias stolen from the back of my car at the Town Show a few weeks back. Wasn’t gone 5 minutes. I thought is was some kids, but now I’m not so sure’.
Can I stick with the roses for now Fingers. If we can crack this one, we’ll probably get you dahlias back at the same time’.
‘Okay’.
‘Good man’.
Roses nor Dahlias, few flowers for that matter, were Dapper’s cup of tea. He was a runner bean, tomatoes and peppermint man. It was then that his radio crackled ‘Incident reported at Central Road, Mrs. Pike’s Kitchen. 472 can you respond?’
Sarge, Mike here, not Scotland Yard. I’m as good as outside’.
‘Roger 472’.
‘Bollocks’.
Fingers laughed. ’I did my service with him you know. The same then. You’d have thought he was a colonel in the Coldstream Guards — not a lance-corporal in the catering corp. Like his missus though. He brought her back from Germany’.
‘Yes, an odd couple. One day I’ll get the story out of Mia’.
‘Mia is it?’
‘Much more fun being with Mia I promise’.
‘You should be careful who you talk to’.
‘I know the real reason they call you Fingers, so don’t even go there’.
‘Dib dib and all that. You better go before the villain gets away’.
‘You know me so well. Take care. Love to Audrey’.
As Mike Dapper crossed the road, he straightened his back, stuck out his chest and began to walk as if he had a bus to catch. He preferred being a peacemaker to a law enforcer, so he had two fingers crossed. He saw Gladys looking out of the café window, then go away, then cone back. When she saw him she opened the door.
‘Thank God it’s you Mike. I’ve a problem in the bedroom’ Gladys said in a whisper. He looked at the customers in Mrs. Pike’s Kitchen and nodded. There was no sign of the Commissioner…
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