Detective-Inspector Verrall

In the short story Mr Eastwood's Adventure, writer Anthony Eastwood receives a phone call from a stranger, a woman calling herself "Carmen" who told him that it was a matter of life and death and asked him to meet her at 320 Kirk Street, the address of the second hand glassware shop of Mother Gibson. There he must use codeword "cucumber" which would access to a private room. Shortly after going there and meeting Carmen, Detective-Inspector Verrall and Detective-Sergeant Carter arrive at the room to arrest Eastwood. They believe he is a person named Conrad Fleckman who is wanted for murder. Eastwood decided to take the policemen to his flat to show documents which would prove his true identity.

Eastwood later learned that he had been the victim of an elaborate hoax and robbery executed by The Patterson gang. The person claiming to be Inspector Verrall was actually a gang member. The gang members employed the good cop/bad cop psychological techniue in confronting Eastwood. For this purpose, "Verrall" played the good cop. "Verrall" (whose real name is not given) was described as a small dark man with "quiet grey eyes". He treated Eastwood with a fair amount of courtesy, leading Eastwood to conclude that "these Scotland Yard men" were "decent fellows". At one point, Sergeant Carter addressed Verrall, his superior as "Joe" and asked him to hail a taxi. This could potentially have blown their covers but Eastwood never noticed.