Sir Laurence listened with dismay as his erstwhile agent informed him of the night’s

doings so far. He made notes as he decided what options he could employ to turn

things to achieve his goals. Rafferty might force things if he stayed out in the open.

The knight told Rafferty to hold on. He moved to another phone on the desk. He had

to make two calls.

Fletcher made the first call. It was to a detective they had on their payroll. He asked

the man to collect the bullets at the house of the shooting mentioned by Rafferty.

He asked the detective to compare the bullets to Corklin’s murder if he could. He also

asked for comparisons to any unsolved murder in London. It was better to throw a net

wide enough to net a lot of fish, than trying to just net one. The detective

acknowledged the order.

Sir Laurence called a stool pigeon he used to keep tabs on the underworld next. The

man was not reliable, but sometimes he came up with something useful. The knight

asked him about Billy Bones and his relationship with Mick Brown.

“Well, Guv, Billy Bones keeps to himself,” said the informant. “Almost no one knows

what he looks like. He supposed to have some woman in the north part of the city.”

“Do you know the name of the woman, Sam?,” said Sir Laurence. “It might be vital

to my business.”

“Not really,” said Sam. “I heard it was something like Margaret, Margie. She works

at a clothing shop named Yellow Rose.”

“Thank you, Sam,” said Sir Laurence. “Your payment will be left in the usual place.”

“Thanks, Guv,” said Sam.

The knight hung up. He went back to the open line where Rafferty waited for him.

“Rafferty?,” asked Sir Laurence.

“I’m still here,” said the detective.

“One of my informants gave me the partial name of a woman associated with Billy

Bones,” said Sir Laurence. “A Margaret. She works at a clothing store called the

Yellow Rose.”

“I’ll look into it,” said Rafferty. “I suppose there’s no home address.”

“The informer didn’t know it,” said the knight. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to see if I can find this woman,” said Rafferty. “Is there anything I need

to know before I get started?”

“I have someone trying to match the bullets from your shooting to the Corklin

murder, and any other murder that might be filed at the Yard,” said Sir Laurence. “I

will let you know if there is news.”

“Thanks,” said Rafferty. “I’ll call you when I know something.”

Sir Laurence put the headset down at the end of the call. He rubbed his chin. He had

expected Rafferty to start rapidly, but not like this. He might have to rethink his

project strategy.

“Let me know if he checks back in, Greer,” said Sir Laurence. “I have to do some

paperwork.”

“Yes, sir,” said Greer.

The operator checked his notes. He began typing up what had been reported by

Rafferty. He shook his head at the burning down of the casino. He made a note to get

a report from the fire brigade when possible.

Sir Laurence settled behind his desk. He looked at the reports on his desk. He

grimaced. Where did he start?

He decided to start with the candidates from Glasgow. The operation wanted to set

up offices in other parts of the island and Ireland. He weeded the files down to two.

He needed to contact one of his assistants to let them know to keep his candidates

under watch. As soon as Rafferty had things in hand, he could talk to them and see

if they would be interested in the job.

He sorted messages from various sources. Some of them were not that important, but

could use a little checking. He might put Rafferty on those to clear them up.

A message from MI-6 reported a sighting of a spy activity. They didn’t have any real

suspect yet. They thought the Yellow Rose was involved.

He paused. Where had he heard that name before?

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He stood and went to the door to the outer office. Greer worked on his notes. The

operator looked up from his typing.

“Sir?,” said the operator.

“Yellow Rose?,” said Sir Laurence.

“It’s the place you sent Rafferty to look for Billy Bones’s girlfriend,” said Greer.

“Problem?”

“Perhaps,” said the knight. “I have to go out. If Rafferty calls in, tell him to watch out

at the Yellow Rose.”

“Understood,” said Greer.

Sir Laurence picked up his hat and cane as he left the office. He put the hat on as he

headed for the elevator. What was Billy Bones’s girl doing with a connection to a

foreign government? What had they sent Rafferty to do?

He found his car. He got behind the wheel. He had sent his driver home for the day

before he had realized he would need him.

Things were moving too fast. He smiled to himself. He had wanted Rafferty to stir the

pot until he could get more agents into the field. The detective was doing that right

enough.

He reviewed the facts in his head and he didn’t like the implications that were in the

things he didn’t know. How big a problem had Rafferty triggered by going after

Bones of all the people associated with Mick Brown?

The shooting after the meeting must have been what triggered Rafferty. How had he

decided on Bones over the rest of the associated pack of wolves?

That was a question for another day.

What they did about the Yellow Rose was a more immediate concern. Anything they

did could cause the spy apparatus detected by MI-6 to fold up and move. That would

waste months of work by the other agency. He couldn’t allow that.

He didn’t see how he could stop it with Rafferty already in motion.

The best he could do was try to mitigate things so MI-6 still had their trail to follow.

Sir Laurence drove through the streets with care and precision. He found the shop

tucked between two other clothing places. A small pub was on the corner of the

block. He glanced at the window, but didn’t see Rafferty in the crowd. He drove

down the block, pulling in at the curb behind a dark green sedan.

Where was his agent?

Sir Laurence scanned the street on all sides of his car. He didn’t see anyone close to

Rafferty, or his masked persona. What was his next move?

He decided that he should check the inside of the pub. Maybe Rafferty had stationed

himself inside and away from the glass. At the very least, he could get something to

drink while he was looking.

The knight walked to the pub. He supposed he was looking at a minor center for the

local criminals. He made sure his wallet was where no one could get at it before he

stepped inside. He didn’t see Rafferty as he walked to the bar.

He decided to take up a position at the bar. He could keep his eye on the rest of the

room, and the windows from the end. And it let him blend in with the people already

there.

He ordered a glass of beer and took it to the end of the bar. He could be wrong.

Rafferty might be waiting for the next night to break into the place. He might be

taking the rest of his first night waiting to see what would happen after he smashed

open Brown’s casino.

He dismissed that speculation. Rafferty had moved by reflex after deciding to take the

job. He had a clear wedge he was trying to push. He wouldn’t stop now except to rest

and evaluate his next target.

Where was he examining the Yellow Rose? He had to be close by to watch the shop.

He didn’t have to be in the street. Maybe one of the roofs overlooking the block held

a good spot to watch the street.

Sir Laurence appearing on the scene might give him pause. The agency could not

destroy an MI-6 operation without getting something to give back. MI-5 and MI-6

covered most of the intelligence gathering for the Crown. Another agency ripping

their apparatuses apart would not be appreciated.

How did he stop his agent from doing that?

He sipped at his beer and watched the other patrons. No one came close. They seemed

involved in the conversations they were having. Some asked about him to their

friends. He was an oddity at the neighborhood pub.

The locals didn’t like that, but they weren’t ready to do anything about it yet.

A familiar face entered the pub. Sir Laurence sipped his beer. At least he had

confirmation that Billy Bones hung around in the neighborhood.

He didn’t see a woman with him. Where was this elusive Margaret? Once the pair

were together, he could follow them out of the pub to wherever they were going.

Then he could see if there was evidence connecting Bones to Corklin, or the attempt

on Rafferty.

How did it all tie in with the suspected spy ring, and Mick Brown?

Sir Laurence saw an army uniform through the window glass. He stood and drank

part of his beer before heading for the door. He checked as he went. No one moved

to follow him.

He stepped out on the street and looked both ways. He saw the uniform down the

street. He walked down to the end of the block so he could have a chat with his new

employee.

“Mr. Rafferty?,” whispered Sir Laurence. “We need to talk.”

“What are you doing here?,” asked Rafferty. He had his mask up to protect his face.

“The Yellow Rose is a suspected spy nest,” said Sir Laurence. “I saw the notification

and came down to warn you that it was being watched by Intelligence.”

“Right,” said Rafferty. “How does it connect to Brown?”

“I have no idea,” said Sir Laurence. “Bones and his paramour are in the pub. How do

you want to handle that?”

“I’m going to wait for them to come out, and then I am going to talk to Bones,” said

Rafferty. “I don’t know what to do about the woman. If she is a spy, we’ll need more

evidence than MI-6's say so. We need something we can follow to the source.”

“Take Bones,” said Sir Laurence. “Find out what you can from him. We want to

concentrate on Brown, and Corklin. Drop him somewhere the police will find him.”

“What about the woman?,” said Rafferty. “If I take Bones in front of her, that might

cause her to flee.”

“That would be fine,” said Sir Laurence. “I’m going to find a phone booth to ask for

an auxiliary to help us. Take Bones, I’ll follow the woman until the auxiliary can take

over.”

“So we’re going to use Bones to try to find out what the woman is doing,” said

Rafferty. “I don’t see how it will work.”

“It might not,” said Sir Laurence. “We just don’t have anything to lose by letting her

go so we can follow her.”

“Right,” said Rafferty. “Better make that call. There’s no telling when they’ll leave.”

Sir Laurence walked off in search of a phone he could use to call his contact.