Pie in the Sky

Crabbe finds himself in charge of ACC Fisher’s latest brainchild -- the Public Duties Squad. Joined by PCs Morton and Guthrie, talented officers who have been sidelined by scandalous pasts, Crabbe’s team can be hired out by the public and their first gig is as security at a new private housing estate. Meanwhile, trouble comes to Pie in the Sky in the guise of illegal tomatoes.

A local financier is on trial for fraud and ACC Fisher wants to put him away, so he has Crabbe and the Public Duties Squad protect the squabbling, sequestered jurors once they retire to consider the verdict. But when the jurors start being tampered with, can Crabbe figure out who’s behind it -- and why? Back at Pie in the Sky, there’s a lecherous diner to deal with.

The Public Duties Squad has been hired to guard the Trubbs sausage factory from animal-rights protesters. A tour of the factory and a taste of the famous Thunderbolt pork and veal sausage give Crabbe pause, however. There’s something a little off about the taste, and the freezer was full of nothing but old beef. On top of that, Crabbe has to worry that Margaret’s friend’s new beau is a con man.

Crabbe takes his squad to posh Hatterly College to look into the assault of Alex Stillwell -- Commander Stillwell’s son. A blustery housemaster is all too happy to place blame on random “local thugs,” but a handful of Ecstacy pills and ACC Fisher’s surprise connection to the case has Crabbe looking at things from a different angle. Meanwhile, Gary has to handle some unwanted attention.

What does Troubleshooters, a private security firm, have to do with professional football? Quite a lot, as it turns out, when they’re set to take on the police in an upcoming match. Troubleshooters have been beating the police to crime scenes lately, and Fisher’s not about to let his team be beaten on the field, too! What lengths will each side go to for victory?

When a friendly teenager turns up at Pie in the Sky looking for work, Crabbe takes him on. Nicky is very helpful in the kitchen -- he can even gut a fish -- but he’s been sleeping in the henhouse, and something about his story doesn’t add up. When Nicky goes missing with the previous night’s takings, Crabbe’s sure he’s in trouble. The only question is, from whom?

The Crabbes are taking a rare weekend off, headed to London, leaving Gary and Sally to manage Pie in the Sky. They’re borrowing a flat from a friend away on business, but a fully packed suitcase hidden under the bed and a panicked message on the answering machine causes them some concern. Before long, Crabbe is reaching out to underworld contacts and visiting an old haunt of his -- some vacation!

Crabbe has lost his legendary sense of taste and smell, but that doesn’t stop ACC Fisher from insisting that he and the Public Duties Squad investigate tire wholesaler Peter Watson. There doesn’t seem to be anything untoward about Watson, but Fisher is determined to pin something -- anything -- on him. Can Crabbe figure out why? Does it even matter, if he’ll never taste or smell again?