We finished with a tour of the grounds, which were very pleasant if you discounted the odd scorch mark on the grass and the blue swans. Even as I opened my mouth to ask, there was a small bang from the second floor and the windows rattled. ‘Hold on,’ said Chief Farrell. ‘I’m duty officer this week and I want to see if the fire alarms go off.’ They didn’t. ‘That's good, isn’t it?’ I said. He sighed. ‘No, it just means they’ve taken the batteries out again.’
