Derek O'Connor

In the novel Cat Among the Pigeons, Derek O'Connor was a Special Branch operative and subordinate of Ephraim Pikeaway. Pikeaway sent him to inform Joan Sutcliffe about the death of her brother Bob Rawlinson. He was also assigned the delicate task of ascertaining if Rawlinson had passed Joan a parcel of some kind while they were in Ramat. While Derek was with Joan at the hotel, he caught a man snooping among her luggage. He claimed to be an electrician but after he left, Derek confirmed that he was a fake. Derek managed to persuade Joan to unpack and search all of her luggage but did not find anything.

Still on the job, Derek ensured that surveillance was maintained on the Sutcliffe residence. Soon enough, a burglar Andrew Ball broke in, presumably having been sent by the foreign interests concerned with finding Rawlinson's package. Derek gave Ball enough time to do a thorough job and only moved in to arrest him later. Unfortunately for all concerned, Ball had failed to find anything either.