Policeman's Progress by Bernard Knight

about us, Thor – and quick. I can’t take much more of this.’
    Hansen tapped her hand placatingly. ‘It’s all working out fine – that little affair tonight will hurry it on.’
    She shook her head emphatically. ‘It’s got to be now. He’s turning nasty.’
    He squeezed her fingers, then drew back his hand discreetly. ‘All right, darling – I’ll have another word with Papagos and see if he can bring things to a head more quickly.’
    He hesitated, as if unsure of how much he should tell.
    â€˜There’s something else, Laura, something that would clinch it, but I don’t think that I should tell you just yet.’
    Laura leaned forward eagerly. ‘What is it? Come on, for God’s sake, don’t go telling half-truths and then leaving them.’
    He shook his head stubbornly. ‘No, I shouldn’t have said anything. But I wanted you to know that I’ve got it all worked out.’
    He refused to be drawn in spite of her persuasion and she was left with a tantalizing mystery.
    â€˜Whatever it is, Thor, make it quick! I want us to get on the level, not behind Jackie’s back – we can even get married.’
    He nodded and furtively squeezed her hand again, wondering how he was going to break the news that he had a wife in Copenhagen, though he hadn’t seen her for eight years. His habitual poker face hid a turbulent, scheming mind, with ambition as its main driving force.
    Laura looked at him speculatively. ‘You knew these wops when you were in London?’
    Thor nodded. ‘They have a grip on one section of the Soho clubs – including the place I managed before I came here.’
    â€˜And yet you got on all right with them?’
    She sounded dubious.
    â€˜You have to be protected by someone down there, darling – if it hadn’t been them, it would be some other gang. Better to pay up and let them fight your battles, than commit suicide, like Jackie did tonight.’
    Laura bit her lip. ‘They won’t hurt him – physically, I mean?’
    He shrugged. ‘Perhaps not, if he plays sensibly from now on. But if he keeps on acting stubborn, he may get a better beating than he can hand out.’
    â€˜He seems to have changed in the last few days,’ went on the singer, slightly maudlin now, with a few drinks inside her. ‘He’s so cocky, as if he’s done something marvellous … throwing himself around like some cheap gangster.’
    Thor patted the back of her hand. ‘That’s all part of this affair I hinted at. He’s going to fall with a big crash soon and I wouldn’t want you to go down with him.’
    She sighed and glanced at her diamante wristwatch.
    â€˜Nearly time for my next number – God, if you knew how I hate these gawping idiots!’
    Adjusting the neckline of her dress to show even more white flesh, she glanced about the club to see if the boys from the band were preparing to get back to the platform. Her eyes fixed on Freddie, sitting at a nearby table. ‘Lover-girl is back again, I see,’ she commented.
    Thor Hansen turned his head to see Alex Bolam’s daughter sitting with the guitar player. ‘Her old man has never been in here at the same time,’ he mused. ‘I wonder if that’s deliberate.’
    Laura’s heavily mascaraed eyes opened wider.
    â€˜Here’s your chance to find out, sweet – here’s the old man himself!’
    The tall figure of Alec Bolam appeared just inside the glass doors. He had thrown his hat on Herbert’s counter outside and strode in to the club room, his eyes picking out his daughter at once. He materialized above the couple as the manager and singer watched with interest from the bar.
    Freddie looked up in guilty surprise, then rose to his feet and stared from father to daughter with nervous uncertainty.
    Laura and the Dane could hear none of the words, but