It isn’t obvious where, how or when but my mobile seems to be missing. The landline rings and it’s the police. The patient policeman gives me a number and tells me to bring ID to the Poplar police station – another mystery solved.
Another mystery begins – how did he know it was mine and how did he get my number? The landline rings again but this time it’s a friend – did you lose your phone the voice smirks. Later there is another call also gleefully enquiring about the status of my mobile, followed by a third and a fourth – all of them sharing a secret policeman’s joke. How many abbreviations did the PC ring before he could establish a connection – a cross-reference to a name that didn’t appear amongst my numbers? I go to police station but the man behind the desk remains as straight faced as me.