Sentence
The Threehundredandsixtyninth
Later, and it seemed
to Pan that it was much later,
though it can't have been more than an hour, when he and Sam sat
together in the little Café just down the road from the Bar,
joined there by the two undercover officers – Angela Costello and
Christine Murricane – who were on their break from their
jobs as 'exotic dancers', a term which, as Angie told it, covered almost everything possible short of actual sex with the punters, and if that was wanted it was strictly a 'private arrangement' between the girls and their clients in which the bar took no part and was conducted off the premises and usually in a little flat above, accessed by a separate door in the alley behind, rented by the hour from Malky's sister who theoretically lived there, although there were only three rooms, all available, a little poky kitchen, and a shower/toilet room, but the flat belonged to Raquel and there were no direct connections between what went on there and the bar downstairs, other than all the obvious ones – “oh,” said Angie, with a wink, “there's some really springy withy in one of the rooms for the punters who like a bit of fem-dom,” and the two girls giggled, and Pan realised that he was old enough to be their grandfather, maybe even great-grandfather; Angie and Chris told the two 'retired' case officers what they had learned of Malky's links to the Ring of Gold – the paedophile ring which Tavish Dalwhinnie had been investigating for the past five years (and some) and it made interesting listening; they showed the two men the cards which they had found, with photographs of very young girls 'available for discerning admirers of female form – boys can also provide entertainment' although the only contact details were for Raquel, this sideline seemed to be kept at arm's length from Malky himself and the licensed Bar; although the landlines in both premises were tapped, it was clear that Malky and his associates also used burner mobiles, and while one-sided conversations within the two premises could be overheard, the calls were to other burners and there was no way of telling who they belonged to, although from what had been intercepted, it was clear that Malky was the supplier but also had a number of subordinates who identified suitable 'properties' in which he might be interested; “it all makes him sound like a developer building up his portfolio of rented properties,” said Pan, with a look of disgust on his face, “and I suppose that is in fact what he is doing,” which was when a huge cheer came from the back and the excited voices of Gino, his son and son-in-law told them that Hibs had just secured a place in the Final for the Scottish Cup after beating Dundee United on penalties, but Sam broke in, following on from Pan's last remark: “and some for selling-on too – abuse is endemic among this lot, it's what they do, and they don't lose any sleep over the suffering they cause, which is why it is so important that we net them; Angie, Chris, we need to find a way of identifying the scouts, finding out where Malky meets them, getting proof that he is buying the kids from them; and then who are his contacts further up the chain – from what you have seen or heard, do you think any of these two groups, the sellers and the buyers, ever come into the place?” Angie and Chris looked at each other, and Chris nodded: “Sir, we think that Deirdre is involved, or at least knows more than she tells us; I made a passing remark about a punter, well, on tape you'll have heard me say 'wanker',” and Sam nodded, grinning, “getting a stiletto stuck in his napper, and it really freaked Deirdre out, and I mean big time! she's a neurotic blet, but I think she was genuinely concerned for me, and she warned me not to let Malky hear me saying anything about that, but I know that was how the attempt to murder Angus Ogg was carried out – could that be worth looking into?” and Sam nodded: “see if you can get into Deirdre's confidence, maybe say you appreciate that she's got more experience than you two and indicate that you feel you'd benefit from her advice, ask her along for a drink after work – also, she's got a flat in Portobello, that's where she lives, with her mum and her daughter, see if you can get into it: it's catch-as-catch-can, and I know you'll do what you can, and if you do manage an entry, check out if it would be a useful place to monitor; good work, girls,” and with that the two young women hurried back to work, getting a few whistles from passing workmen on the way.
jobs as 'exotic dancers', a term which, as Angie told it, covered almost everything possible short of actual sex with the punters, and if that was wanted it was strictly a 'private arrangement' between the girls and their clients in which the bar took no part and was conducted off the premises and usually in a little flat above, accessed by a separate door in the alley behind, rented by the hour from Malky's sister who theoretically lived there, although there were only three rooms, all available, a little poky kitchen, and a shower/toilet room, but the flat belonged to Raquel and there were no direct connections between what went on there and the bar downstairs, other than all the obvious ones – “oh,” said Angie, with a wink, “there's some really springy withy in one of the rooms for the punters who like a bit of fem-dom,” and the two girls giggled, and Pan realised that he was old enough to be their grandfather, maybe even great-grandfather; Angie and Chris told the two 'retired' case officers what they had learned of Malky's links to the Ring of Gold – the paedophile ring which Tavish Dalwhinnie had been investigating for the past five years (and some) and it made interesting listening; they showed the two men the cards which they had found, with photographs of very young girls 'available for discerning admirers of female form – boys can also provide entertainment' although the only contact details were for Raquel, this sideline seemed to be kept at arm's length from Malky himself and the licensed Bar; although the landlines in both premises were tapped, it was clear that Malky and his associates also used burner mobiles, and while one-sided conversations within the two premises could be overheard, the calls were to other burners and there was no way of telling who they belonged to, although from what had been intercepted, it was clear that Malky was the supplier but also had a number of subordinates who identified suitable 'properties' in which he might be interested; “it all makes him sound like a developer building up his portfolio of rented properties,” said Pan, with a look of disgust on his face, “and I suppose that is in fact what he is doing,” which was when a huge cheer came from the back and the excited voices of Gino, his son and son-in-law told them that Hibs had just secured a place in the Final for the Scottish Cup after beating Dundee United on penalties, but Sam broke in, following on from Pan's last remark: “and some for selling-on too – abuse is endemic among this lot, it's what they do, and they don't lose any sleep over the suffering they cause, which is why it is so important that we net them; Angie, Chris, we need to find a way of identifying the scouts, finding out where Malky meets them, getting proof that he is buying the kids from them; and then who are his contacts further up the chain – from what you have seen or heard, do you think any of these two groups, the sellers and the buyers, ever come into the place?” Angie and Chris looked at each other, and Chris nodded: “Sir, we think that Deirdre is involved, or at least knows more than she tells us; I made a passing remark about a punter, well, on tape you'll have heard me say 'wanker',” and Sam nodded, grinning, “getting a stiletto stuck in his napper, and it really freaked Deirdre out, and I mean big time! she's a neurotic blet, but I think she was genuinely concerned for me, and she warned me not to let Malky hear me saying anything about that, but I know that was how the attempt to murder Angus Ogg was carried out – could that be worth looking into?” and Sam nodded: “see if you can get into Deirdre's confidence, maybe say you appreciate that she's got more experience than you two and indicate that you feel you'd benefit from her advice, ask her along for a drink after work – also, she's got a flat in Portobello, that's where she lives, with her mum and her daughter, see if you can get into it: it's catch-as-catch-can, and I know you'll do what you can, and if you do manage an entry, check out if it would be a useful place to monitor; good work, girls,” and with that the two young women hurried back to work, getting a few whistles from passing workmen on the way.
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