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Maybe it was hindsight, but things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse back then, falling apart, or perhaps that had been happening for a while, and he had only just noticed because he was there, in the thick of it. He probably wouldn’t have noticed the change in political climate if he’d stayed in Peterborough. Perhaps the business career would have worked out if he hadn’t got caught up in the tail end of the sixties in Notting Hill. As it was, by the end of his first year, he had lost all interest in cost accounting, industrial psychology and mercantile law.
But he had no memory of hearing about the murder of a girl at a festival in Yorkshire. Back then, the provinces, especially in the north, were of little interest to those at the center of things, and local police forces worked far more independently of one another than they did today. He wondered if Enderby was right about Linda Lofthouse’s murder being the one Nick Barber had referred to. He had been so certain it was Robin Merchant, and he still wasn’t ruling that possibility out. But the news about Linda Lofthouse brought a whole new complexion to things, even if her murder had been solved. Was the killer still in jail? If not, could he somehow be involved in Nick Barber’s death? The more Banks thought about it, no matter what Catherine Gervaise said, the more he thought he was right, and that Barber had died for digging up the past, which that someone wanted to remain buried.
Banks noticed a few clouds drift in from the east as he ate his haddock and chips, and by the time he had finished it was starting to drizzle. He paid, left a small tip and headed for his car. Before he set off, he phoned Ken Blackstone in Leeds and asked him to find out what he could about Stanley Chadwick and the Linda Lofthouse investigation.
Sunday, 21st September, 1969
Steve answered the door late that Sunday afternoon, and when he saw Yvo
Yvo
Steve turned to face her. “So you went straight to Daddy.”
“I was upset. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“You never told me your father was a pig.”
“You never asked. Besides, what does it matter?”
“What does it matter? He violated our space. Him and the others. We got busted. That’s what matters. Now we’re going to have to go to court tomorrow morning. I’ll get a fine at least. And if my parents find out, I’m fucked. They’ll stop my allowance. That’s all down to you.”
“But it wasn’t my fault, Steve. I’m sorry, really I am. I didn’t know they were going to bust you.” Yvo
He jerked away and sat down in the armchair. “Oh, come off it. You must have known damn well we’d be sitting around here smoking a few joints and listening to music. It’s not as if you haven’t done it with us often enough.”
Yvo
“Then you’re more stupid than I thought you were. Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t want you coming around here anymore. Whether you wanted to or not, you’ve brought nothing but trouble. Who knows who might follow you?”
Yvo
Steve laughed. “If only you could hear yourself.”
“Is it true?”
“What if I have?”
“I thought we… I mean… I didn’t…”
“Oh, Yvo
“But I don’t want to see anyone else. I want to see you.”
“What you’re really saying is that you don’t want me to see anyone else. You can’t own someone, Yvo
“But it’s true.”
Steve turned away his face. “Well, I don’t want to see you. That’s just not on anymore.”
“But-”
“I mean it. And you won’t be welcome at Bayswater Terrace or Carberry Place, either. They got raided as well, in case you didn’t know. People got busted, and they’re not happy with you. Word gets around, you know. It’s still a small scene.”
“So what should I have done? Tell me what I should have done.”
“You shouldn’t have done anything. You should have kept your stupid mouth shut. You should have known bringing the pigs in would only mean trouble for us.”
“But he’s my father. I had to tell someone. I was so upset, Steve, I was shaking like a leaf. McGarrity…”
“I’ve told you before he’s harmless.”
“That’s not the way he seemed to me.”
“You were stoned, the way I hear it. Maybe your imagination was ru
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Steve sighed. “I can’t trust you anymore, Yvo
“But I love you, Steve.”
“No you don’t. Don’t be stupid. That’s not real love you’re talking about, that’s just romantic schoolgirl crap. It’s possessive love, all jealousy and control, all the negative emotions. You’re not mature enough to know what real love is.”
Yvo
He stood up. “This is a fucking waste of time. Look, I’m not arguing with you anymore. Why don’t you just go? And don’t come back.”
“But, Steve-”
Steve pointed to the door and raised his voice. “Just go. And don’t send your father and his piggy friends around here again or you might find yourself in serious trouble.”
Yvo
“Never mind. Just fuck off.”
Yvo
“It’s not so much what he said or did, Guv,” said Winsome, “it was the pleasure he took in doing it.”
A
“Insensitive?” Winsome took a gulp of her vodka and tonic. “Insensitive? It was more like bloody sadistic. I’m sorry, Guv, but I’m still shaking. See?”
She stuck her hand out. A
“No. I can walk home from here. I’ll have the same again, thanks.”
A