DC Burton, at his side, was staring through the windscreen, watching Liz Maud who had just been dropped off by the tail car and was waiting a couple of minutes before making her next phone call.
'Let's call it a night,' Frost began when Button's fingers suddenly tightened on his arm. Frost's head came up. 'Yes, son, I see it.' His radio paged him. The other surveillance car. They had seen it also.
A metallic grey Peugeot slithered round the corner, stopping at the end of the road. Its lights went out.
'Can you clock the registration number?' Frost asked, scrubbing at the windscreen with his coat cuff. Burton shook his head. It was too dark. Very slowly, the Peugeot began to inch forward. Frost frowned. 'What's he up to?' The car shuddered to a halt by the phone kiosk and a burly man in a black zip-up jacket got out and approached Liz. They could see him talking to her, but she was firmly shaking her head. Suddenly, he grabbed hold of her arm and tried to drag her towards the car.
'This is it,' exclaimed Frost excitedly, clicking on his radio. 'All units stand by. Be ready to follow a metallic grey Peugeot 605, no registration details yet.' He squinted through the windscreen, puzzled at what he saw. 'What is she playing at?' Liz was resisting. She had pushed the man off and was walking quickly away. 'Go with the nice man,' pleaded Frost.
Burton, his hand on the door handle, was getting ready to run across to her assistance. 'No,' ordered Frost. 'Wait!' As he spoke the man chased after Liz and grabbed her again and again Frost had to restrain Burton. 'Wait, son.' He couldn't make out why Liz wasn't going quietly. She knew they would be tailing. Then a shrill, animal-like scream of pain shivered the air. Liz and the man were struggling and he hurled her to the ground.
'Sod tailing him,' said Frost. 'Get him.' He chased after Burton, yelling into the radio for assistance as he did so. A second man had now got out of the Peugeot. Something silver flashed in the moonlight. A knife. Another bloody knife! Two in one night.
Burton put on a spun of speed. 'Drop it' he screamed
The second man spun round, seeing the DC for the first time. He jabbed the knife menacingly. 'Stay out of this, sonny!' Then he gave a grunt, his eyes rolled upwards and he dropped like a stone as Frost's torch cracked down on his head.
They didn't give him a second glance as they ran over to the black-jacketed man, who was straddling Liz and had his fist raised ready to smash into her face. Burton grabbed the wrist, feeling with his free hand for the handcuffs in his pocket. As the man threatened to buck Burton off, Frost grabbed a handful of hair, yanked the man off Liz, then smashed his face hard against the pavement. As Burton snapped on the cuffs, Frost gave it another bang for luck, before turning his attention to Liz Maud. 'You all right, love?'
'I'm fine.' She rose to her feet and brushed down her clothes, then she prodded the black-jacketed man with her foot. 'Do you see who it is?' Frost rolled him over and shone his torch on a bruised and blooded face. 'Mickey Harris!' he said. 'Nice to see you again.' Frost looked at the other man who was rising unsteadily to his feet, shaking his head and rubbing the bump on his scalp. Harry Grafton. 'Which of you bastards hit me?' he demanded.
'No-one hit you, Mr Grafton,' beamed Frost. 'You tripped and fell.'
Burton had dragged Mickey Harris to his feet. The man was spitting blood and wincing with pain. 'I want a doctor. That bloody cow kicked me in the goolies.'
'Was it you screaming?' asked Frost. 'I thought it was her.'
'And I'm suing for assault. You handcuffed me then you smashed my face on the pavement.'
'Tut, tut,' reproved Frost. 'Policemen don't do things like that. We tried to stop you falling but you tripped and accidentally banged your head on the pavement three times.' His expression hardened. 'I thought I told you to leave the toms alone, Mickey?'
'She offered me her services and I refused. That's why she kneed me.' He spat out bloody saliva. 'My tooth's broken.'
'There's a coincidence,' said Frost. 'That young tom you beat up, her tooth was broken as well.' He turned to Liz. 'What happened, love?'
'He threatened to cut me up if I didn't move off of Harry Grafton's territory,' said Liz.
'Just a minute,' called Grafton, pushing his way between them. He tugged a wad of notes from his wallet and stuffed them in the pocket of Liz's coat. 'There's a hundred quid there, darling. Keep your mouth shut, stay stum and I'll double it.'
Frost snatched the wad of notes and shook his head in mock reproof. 'Oh dear, oh dear, you've done it this time, Harry. Bribing a police officer to withhold evidence, in front of witnesses too.'
Grafton blinked in astonishment. 'Police officer?' He peered at Liz, who pulled off the wig. 'Remember me?' she asked Mickey Harris.
Grafton turned to Frost in protest. 'There's no way you'll get away with this, Frost — this is entrapment.'
'We are going to get away with it,' Frost replied. 'We didn't entrap you. We were here on an entirely different case.'
'Anyway, I never knew she was a police officer.'
Frost 'tut-tutted' again. 'She called out, "I'm a policewoman." ' He pointed to the group of police officers who were now watching the proceedings. 'In the earshot of all those unimpeachable, unbiased witnesses who will swear on stacks of bibles-'
'You're a bastard,' snarled Grafton.
'You're upset,' smiled Frost, 'so I shall put that down to a momentary lapse of good taste.' He jerked a thumb. 'Take them to the nick: armed with a deadly weapon, assaulting a police officer, attempted bribery of a police officer and dropping blood and bits of broken tooth on a public footpath.' He watched Jordan and Simms bundle them into the car and drive off. 'Well, not a bad result, even if it wasn't the one we were after. Let's call it a night and try again tomorrow.'
Police Superintendent Mullett studied the overtime claim form Frost had presented and winced. The third consecutive night without a result and the overtime bill was soaring. 'This isn't good enough, Frost. All this money expended and nothing to show for it.'
'We can only dangle the bait,' said Frost. 'We can't force him to swallow it… he picks his own time.'
'Well, he's now left it too late. I'm pulling the plug on Operation Decoy as of now. Heaven knows what County is going to say when they see this bill.'
'County knows we can't give guarantees,' said Frost. 'One more night. I've got a feeling in my water that tonight's the night.'
'No,' said Mullett firmly. 'You've had that same feeling the past three nights.'
I'll cut out one of the cars and use mine instead,' Frost offered. 'Just think of the praise you'll get from County if we pull it off…'
'And the flak I'll get if we don't…' Mullett wavered. If Frost could pull it off and he could get on the phone to the Chief Constable to modestly announce that Denton Division had done it again… 'All right, Frost. One more night… but this is the limit and if your lack of success continues, then I'm taking you off the case.' He skimmed through the wad of receipts Frost had handed over to support the claimed expenses. Some of them looked decidedly dubious. Many of the cab fare receipts seemed to be signed in the same hand although the names were different. He stared hard at Frost, but the man seemed completely unconcerned. Damn. If only he could prove it. He pulled out his pen and signed the authorization. Frost, face impassive, suppressed a sigh of relief and snatched the authorization back before Mullett could go through it more thoroughly. 'I'll get this off to County now, Super.' He had a few more receipts to slip in and a final total to alter now that Mullett had obligingly signed the covering authorization. He rose to go.