Page 100 of The Hallmarked Man
‘One of ’em was a soldier.’
Strike made a note before saying,
‘Was Knowles’ picture a mugshot?’
‘Yeah,’ said Todd, and answering the unasked question he said, ‘it weren’ just that. ’E looked like Wright.’
‘Wright was pretty well disguised, from what I’ve seen on the shop’s security footage.’
‘Well… yeah,’ admitted Todd.
‘Looked like he was one of those men who can grow a thick beard,’ said Strike.
‘It was fick, yeah,’ conceded Todd. ‘Some blokes can do that, can’ they? Go from ’ere’ – Todd tapped a stubby forefinger at a point two inches beneath his eye – ‘to ’alfway down yer neck. Pamela told ’im to tidy it up a bit, but Wright told me ’e ’ad acne scarring. Wanted to keep it ’idden.’
‘Really?’ said Strike, and he made another note before saying, ‘I’ve got a few pictures here, if you wouldn’t mind having a look. I think you’ll have seen at least one of them before.
Sure enough, when Todd laid eyes on the pictures of Niall Semple, he said,
‘Yeah, that’s ’im, that’s the soldier.’
He passed over the picture of Tyler Powell with a slight shake of the head, but lingered, grinning again, over the photo of the man Strike had no choice but to call Dick de Lion, until they found out his real name. In the least lewd picture of him Strike had managed to find online, de Lion was shirtless.
‘Woss ’e – a stripper?’
‘Not as far as I know,’ said Strike.
‘Mind, ’ewasthat colour, Wright.’
‘Fake tanned?’
‘Yeah. Could of bin ’im, maybe…’
Todd squinted, and Strike assumed he was trying to visualise the blond Dick de Lion with dark hair, a full beard and glasses. De Lion had brown eyes and very white teeth, although these had possibly been enhanced in the photograph.
‘Couldof bin ’im,’ said Todd.
‘How sure are you? Out of ten?’
‘Dunno… five? But itcouldof bin ’im – Wright was a bit—’
Instead of finishing the sentence, Todd raised his right hand and let it hang, limply, from his wrist.
‘What?’ said Strike. ‘Camp?’
‘Poncey. Yeah.’
Todd turned from the picture of de Lion to that of Rupert Fleetwood.
‘Nah,’ he said, ‘don’ fink so.’
He handed the pictures back.
‘Did you have much to do with Wright, at the shop?’ Strike asked.
‘A bit.’
‘Talk to him at all?’
