Up to that point in the day, neither detective had his PR on and Rik had only switched his on for . . . well, boredom, really. He was instantly transported into a foot chase in Blackpool town centre, consisting of various hurried and worried transmissions, others more measured and calming, and he recognized the gruff but controlled tones of Bill Robbins in amongst them. There were many exchanges between mobile and foot patrols descending on an incident – one which Rik did not immediately understand – and then came the ‘Officer down’ message, at which point he had rushed out to Henry, thinking he would want to know about this. He found him around the back of the KFC talking to Mark – who had, as Rik guessed, tried to slip out and disappear. Henry was holding Mark’s sleeve and it looked as though the pair were having a few moments of tension. But Rik knew what was important and that he and Henry might be needed elsewhere p.d.q. Mark Carter could be picked up as and when, so it didn’t concern Rik too much when Mark saw his chance and fled.
